How to Make Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Basil and Parmesan

Bruschetta is a timeless, crowd pleasing appetizer. Whether it’s friends coming over for a backyard barbecue, a romantic dinner for two or a casual pasta dinner with family, bruschetta is always a hit. I mean, who doesn’t love fresh tomatoes with basil in a tasty oil and vinegar dressing nestled on top of toasty garlic bread and garnished with melted Parmesan cheese.

Other recipes using fresh garden tomatoes: Fresh Salsa, Panzanella or Bread Salad, Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Before we get to the recipe, let’s get the whole pronunciation thing out of the way. Our Italian friend, Fabio, says it’s pronounced “Bruce kett a”.  He also insists on it should be topped with either fresh Parmesan or chevre. I can totally live with that!

Recipe for Bruschetta

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4 from 6 votes

How to Make Bruschetta

This bruschetta is the perfect celebration of summer and garden tomatoes. Pair fresh tomatoes with basil and Parmesan on warmed bread.

Prep : 10 minutes mins

Cook : 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 6 Roma tomatoes Roma’s are ideal, but any tomato will work
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 6 large basil leaves chopped
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Baguette/Sourdough/French Bread
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 clove garlic cut in half
• 2-3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar optional

Instructions

• Wash and remove stem ends and any blemishes from tomatoes.
• Slice in half or quarters and remove the liquid/jelly from the tomatoes to get a less runny topping.
• Dice tomatoes into 1/4 inch or 1 cm sized pieces.
• In a bowl, combine tomatoes with garlic, chopped basil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Let rest to blend flavors.
• While mixture is resting, slice bread into 1/2 inch slices.
• Brush canola oil on both sides of the bread.
• Rub cut side of garlic on both sides of the oiled bread.
• Set your oven and oven rack to broil.
• Broil or toast bread on both sides under the broiler about 2 – 3 minutes per side.
• Place toasted bread on serving platter and carefully spoon on tomato mixture.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. If you'd like drizzle a good quality, sweet balsamic vinegar on top.

Notes

You can also serve the toasted bread and bruschetta mix separately so guests can assemble their own. This prevents the toast from getting soggy if you’re not serving and eating the bruschetta right away.

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What Type of Bread to Use

I prefer using thick cut French bread, baguettes or some sort of artisan bread, but you can use just about any kind of bread you have on hand. You can even use little crispy melba toast crackers. I just wouldn’t recommend white, thin sliced sandwich bread as it won’t hold up as well when loaded down with the delicious topping.

If you are using freshly bought or baked bread, it’s super important to toast the bread first as indicated in the recipe, you need to dry it out and form a nice crust to the bread so it doesn’t get all soggy from the topping.

If you have day old or slightly stale homemade sourdough or hearty yeast breads you may not need to toast the bread first, although toasting it with the oil and garlic will give it extra flavor and provide a nice consistent crunch.

Enjoy!

I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe or what your favorite way of serving bruschetta is. Please comment below or share your photos and ideas by tagging me on instagram @getgettys or Facebook @GettyStewart.HomeEconomist.

Getty Stewart is a Professional Home Economist, speaker, frequent media guest and writer dedicated to putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of several recipe books on enjoying and preserving fruit, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.

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