How to Make Bruschetta

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Roma tomatoes, red onion, basil, and garlic mingle together to make a fresh, delicious topping for bruschetta, the famous Italian grilled garlic toast appetizer.

This classic appetizer starts with grilled bread rubbed with fresh garlic and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. Warm garlic toast topped with tomato and basil salad — or bruchetta di pomodoro e basilico — is the most popular way to enjoy bruschetta in Italy.

If you know how to make bruschetta like the Italians, you know the toast may be served warm with an extra drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, with basil pesto, or topped with my personal favorite fresh tomato and basil salad!

Bruschetta (pronounced brew-SKET-uh) with tomato is perfect for Summer entertaining. Serve the toast warm from the grill alongside a bowl of the tomato basil salad and let your guests add their own topping. When made with fresh, in-season tomatoes, bruschetta boasts the most amazing flavor.

Craving more Italian-inspired appetizers? You may like my Mediterranean layer dip made with a homemade white bean hummus. Or, this easy roasted red pepper and artichoke dip is delicious served with pita chips and is a lovely accompaniment to grilled chicken, fish, or even angel hair pasta.  

Freaky Friday blog hop

Today is FREAKY FRIDAY, y’all! That may not mean a thing to you, but it’s pretty exciting for me. Freaky Friday is a fun blog project (the brainchild of Michaela from An Affair From the Heart) where a group of food bloggers secretly cook or bake a recipe from another blog they were assigned, then reveal the recipes at the same time on one Freaky Friday morning — that’s TODAY!

Tomato with Bruschetta: behind the recipe

And now for the big Freaky Friday reveal… meet Amy Nash, creator of House of Nash Eats!

Friends, you just don’t even know how much I admire Amy and continually drool over her beautiful blog. She’s a California girl who shares recipes for “modern comfort cooking” and a big number of those have a Southern flare, like Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream (oh, yeah!!) and even Fried Green Tomatoes. We must be soul sisters!

Besides being an amazing cook, Amy is a sweet, giving person with a heart for adoption. She has lots of stories and recipes inspired from her travels around the world, like these French Cream Puffs, Thai Coconut Mango Sticky Rice, and Authentic Carne Asada.

Truthfully, there were so many delicious recipes to choose from that it was hard to settle on just one to share with you today, but her easy tomato bruschetta recipe was calling my name! I absolutely love Italian food and can’t resist a good in-season tomato, so it was a win-win!

Key ingredients and substitutions

• Bread loaf — Choose a rustic bread that’s soft on the inside and crusty on the outside, like a French baguette.
• Garlic — This aromatic adds so much flavor to so many dishes! I love how fresh garlic transforms a simple piece of bread in this recipe!
• Extra-virgin olive oil — It’s important to use a good quality olive oil that’s EXTRA-virgin (not light) for a bolder flavor.

• Roma tomatoes — Look for tomatoes that are bright red, and firm yet slightly soft to the touch. Roma tomatoes are the Italian’s first choice, but sweet Campari tomatoes are also tasty.
• Basil — Mix torn fresh basil into the tomato salad and save some to garnish the top.
• Balsamic vinegar — You can make a balsamic reduction or use a high quality balsamic vinegar instead. I buy an 18-year aged balsamic vinegar at a local shop and am addicted!

How to make bruschetta

STEP 1 | Prepare the tomato salad

• Dice the tomatoes (do not peel) and place in a bowl with finely chopped red onion and garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (if using) over the tomato mixture. Stir gently.
• Add the basil and Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Garnish with more basil and Parmesan cheese if desired.

STEP 2 | Toast the bread

• The toast may be prepared outdoors on a grill or toasted in a 400-degree oven.
• Cut the bread loaf into 1/2-inch thick slices, either straight or on the diagonal for larger slices.
• Drizzle the bread with olive oil and place on a hot grill. Cook until toasted, turning, often.
• Immediately rub the toasted bread with a halved garlic clove to infuse it with more flavor.

STEP 3 | Serve

• If you like, drizzle the toast with a bit more olive oil.
• If serving immediately, place the toast on a plate and top with a spoonful of the tomato salad. Drizzle with a little balsamic reduction and garnish with more basil, if desired.
• Keep in mind the bread will get soggy if it sits too long with the tomato salad on top, so you may prefer to serve to let guest top their own toasts.

Frequently asked questions

Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Summer Edition Recipes:

1. An Affair from the Heart – Simple Tiramisu
2. Aunt Bee’s Recipes –Roasted Tomatillo Salsa {Salsa Verde}
3. Devour Dinner – Pepperoni Bread
4. Fresh April Flours – Bananas Foster Cake
5. The Fresh Cooky – Old Fashioned Lemon Squares
6. Hostess at Heart – Kentucky Butter Cake
7. House of Nash Eats – Apple Pie Ice Cream
8. Lemon Blossoms – Strawberry Cake
9. Lemoine Family Kitchen – Grilled Peach Burrata Arugula Salad
10. Life, Love & Good Food – Bruschetta with Tomato
11. Off the Eaten Path – Fresh Garden Salsa
12. Sue Bee Homemaker – Jalapeño Popper Dip with Bacon
13. The Speckled Palate – Lemon Zucchini Bread
14. Take Two Tapas – Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Bruschetta with Tomato

Author: Sheila Thigpen

Roma tomatoes, red onion, basil, and garlic mingle together to make a fresh, delicious topping for bruschetta, the famous Italian grilled garlic toast appetizer.

4.93 from 13 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 servings

Calories 152 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 Roma tomatoes
• ½ cup red onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 – 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar to taste
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated (optional)
• 1 French baguette sliced into 1/2-inch slices

Instructions

 

• Dice the tomatoes (do not peel) and place in a large shallow bowl with finely chopped red onion and minced garlic. Season with the salt and black pepper.
• Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (if using) over the tomato mixture and stir gently.
• Add the basil and Parmesan cheese, if using, and stir to combine. While you prepare the garlic toast, let the tomato salad rest at room temperature so the flavors can meld.
• Use a serrated knife to cut the bread loaf into 1/2-inch thick slices, either straight or on the diagonal for larger slices. Rub each slice of bread with a halved garlic clove, then drizzle with olive oil.
• Heat the oven or grill to 400 degrees. Place the bread slices on the hot grill (or on a baking sheet in the oven) and cook until toasted, turning often.
• Rub the toasted bread with a halved garlic clove to infuse it with more flavor. Serve the toast alongside the bowl of tomato salad. If desired, garnish the salad with more fresh basil, grated Parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar reduction.

Notes

Original recipe by House of Nash Eats

To make a balsamic reduction: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the balsamic vinegar to cool and thicken.

Leftovers: Bruschetta is best eaten fresh, so only toast the amount of bread you plan to eat at one sitting. However, you may store the tomato salad covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. When ready to serve, remove the tomato salad from the fridge and let it come to room temperature while you toast fresh slices of bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 152kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 218mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4g

Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Keyword appetizer, balsamic vinegar, Basil, bread, bruschetta, garlic toast, roma tomatoes, tomato salad

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was.

My previous Freaky Friday recipes!

• Sandwich Cubano
• Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Butter
• Gourmet Italian Grilled Burgers
• Healthy Greek Coleslaw
• Nikki’s Pasta e Fagioli Soup
• Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes
• Peppermint Chocolate Drop Cookies