Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Easy Appetizer Idea Is Just 2 Ingredients

Ina Garten has the easiest of all appetizer recipes — it’s so simple, it doesn’t even require instructions beyond some basic assembly. The Barefoot Contessa star pairs just two ingredients for a delicious treat.

Ina Garten’s easy 2 ingredient appetizer is a snap to make

Garten’s healthy appetizer recipe is melon wrapped in prosciutto, with two amazing tastes that are perfect together. Since there are only two ingredients and no cooking involved, the “recipe” is as easy as wrapping prosciutto around slices of melon.

“Melon in prosciutto,” she said while demonstrating how to make the recipe on an episode of Barefoot Contessa. “It’s really easy — all I have to do is assemble it.” She cut a galia melon for the appetizer, explaining that it’s “a really gorgeous… really fragrant, green melon.”

Garten wrapped slices of prosciutto around the wedges of melon. “It looks good. It tastes good. It’s easy,” she said with a smile.

The Barefoot Contessa star also offered a substitution if you don’t have prosciutto. “This is prosciutto de parma, which is really delicious, but you can use very thinly sliced Smithfield ham or any kind of cured ham for this,” she explained.

Once assembled, Garten laid the melon wrapped in prosciutto on a platter. “You want the prosciutto to be sliced thin enough so it’s easy to eat but you want it thick enough so it doesn’t sort of shred when you peel it apart,” she advised.

“And it’s done!” she said of her quick appetizer. “It’s my kind of no-cooking cooking.”

The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.

Ina Garten shared a different twist on the 2 ingredient appetizer

In August 2020, Garten shared another spin on the prosciutto and melon appetizer on her Instagram account, with a photo of farm-fresh cantaloupe with prosciutto, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

“Melons from the farmstand are so perfect right now you don’t even need a recipe!,” she explained in the caption. “I slice them, add thinly sliced prosciutto, a drizzle of olive oil, and S&P. So simple and delicious!! #treatyourself.”

This display eliminates the need to individually wrap each melon slice while adding an extra boost of flavor from oil and seasonings.

Her fans love the easy appetizer recipe

Many of Garten’s fans responded in the comments on her Instagram post and they were loving the easy appetizer idea. One fan commented, “I like that way rather than the 80’s way of wrapping each slice with the parma.”

Others were thrilled with the simplicity of the recipe. “Gotta love cantaloupe and prosciutto,” one person commented, while another remarked, “So simple and sooooo good!”

“I tried this with really ripe cantaloupe and it was amazing!,” another fan commented.

Others shared how it was a favorite and offered their take on the quick appetizer, with comments like, “My absolute favorite!! Never added olive oil — usually just S & P. Will definitely try this!,” “One of my favorite snacks. Now I need to go buy a melon and prosciutto,” and “Add a drizzle of balsamic too!”