Bruschetta

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All of the best tips we learned in Italy about how to make classic tomato basil bruschetta.

Tomato season means…time to make tomato bruschetta! ♡

I’ve long been a big fan of this classic Italian appetizer. But a few years ago during our trip to Rome, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a cooking class on the art of making traditional tomato basil bruschetta and learned a few tips and techniques we found helpful. So I figured that tomato season would be a good time to pop in here and share a bit of what we learned!

First, a quick note about pronunciation. Americans often pronounce bruschetta with an “sh” sound, but the Italian ch is actually pronounced like an English “k”, so it should sound more like broo-skeh-tah. (By the way, the plural of bruschetta is bruschette — broo-skeh-teh.) Its name is derived from the Roman verb meaning “to toast” or “to roast over coals,” which makes sense because bruschetta is commonly regarded as one of the best uses for leftover bread.

Tomato bruschetta been a popular dish in Italy since the 16th century, back when tomatoes first arrived on the scene in Europe. And as with most classic Italian dishes, the components of tomato bruschetta are intentionally kept simple so that the vibrant, fresh flavor of each ingredient can each really shine through. All you need are ripe tomatoes, good-quality olive oil, fresh basil, garlic, oregano, sea salt and crusty bread to make an excellent batch of bruschette al pomodoro. It’s a quick and easy appetizer to assemble. And, if you’d like, you can even prep the crostini and tomato basil topping hours in advance and assemble just before serving, making bruschetta a terrific option for easy entertaining.

The most important thing that our instructor stressed again and again is that amazing tomatoes make for amazing bruschetta. So let’s make the most of tomato season and whip up a quick batch of bruschetta!

Bruschetta Ingredients

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients that you will need to make homemade bruschetta:

• Fresh tomatoes: Definitely the most important ingredient in your bruschetta. ♡ Always use tomatoes that are as ripe and in-season as possible, and be sure to core (scoop out the seeds) and finely-dice the tomatoes (so that they are easy to eat) before adding them to the recipe. I prefer using smaller varieties of tomatoes, such as Roma, cherry or cluster tomatoes (a.k.a. tomatoes on the vine) to make bruschetta, which tend to be more sweet and tender. But just about any variety of fresh ripe tomato that you love best will work.
• Good-quality olive oil: Keyword: good-quality. With so few ingredients in a classic bruschetta recipe, it’s worth investing in a nicer-quality bottle of extra virgin olive oil since its flavor will really shine through. I’m quite partial to a medium-bodied peppery olive oil in bruschetta, but any mild or fuller-bodied olive oil that you love best will do.
• Garlic: We’ll slice off the cloves in half (as shown in the photo below) and rub them on the freshly-toasted bread to add some spicy fresh garlic flavor to each piece of bruschetta. Be sure to leave the garlic cloves peeled so that you can grasp them easily yet prevent your fingers from smelling like garlic. (By the way, this method is identical to how rub garlic onto pan con tomate in Spain!)
• Fresh basil: Here in our house, we love adding lots of fresh basil to our bruschetta topping, but feel free to add however much or little that you prefer.
• Dried oregano: During our travels in Italy, I noticed that most of the bruschetta we sampled had a bit of dried oregano added to the tomato mixture, which adds an earthy and aromatic note to the tomato topping.
• Fine sea salt: As always, don’t forget to season the bruschetta with a generous pinch of fine sea salt to bring out its best flavor.
• Red onion (optional): Red onion is not traditionally added to most Italian bruschetta recipes, but I really love the extra pop of sweetness, crunch, and bite that it adds to tomato bruschetta topping, so feel free to add some if you’d like. And if you prefer to mellow out its flavor, you can always rinse the diced onion with cold water briefly in a strainer before adding it to the recipe.
• Crostini: Here is my favorite method for how to make perfectly golden and crisp crostini using 3 ingredients — a baguette, olive oil and flaky sea salt.

How To Make Bruschetta

Detailed instructions for how to make bruschetta are included in the recipe below, but here are a few extra tips to also keep in mind…

• Don’t overdo the garlic. A little bit of rubbed garlic goes a long way with bruschetta. So I recommend giving the first piece a quick taste test along with the tomato topping to learn how much garlic you prefer.
• Let the tomato topping marinate for at least 15 minutes. Or ideally — up to a few hours! This will allow the flavors to meld and really taste their best.
• Feel free to prep the tomato topping in advance. It can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 24 hours before serving, which is a great option for easy entertaining. You can also toast the bread up to a few hours in advance if you’d like, although I love serving it just out of the oven when it’s still nice and warm.
• Balance the acidity. If your tomatoes are quite acidic, you can always balance their flavor by adding a pinch of sugar to the tomato topping.
• Add the tomato topping just before serving. To prevent soggy bread, add the tomato topping to the crostini immediately before serving.
• Avoid overcrowding. If you pile too much tomato topping on each slice of crostini, it will be difficult to eat. A small scoop is just perfect.

Bruschetta Recipe Variations

There are, of course, endless variations that you can make with this easy bruschetta recipe. But here are a few of some more classic faves…

• Add balsamic vinegar: We often love mixing some balsamic vinegar into the tomato topping. Or alternately, you can drizzle balsamic glaze (a simple balsamic reduction made by simmering vinegar until thickened) over each piece of bruschetta just before serving.
• Add cheese: I also adore bruschetta with mozzarella! You can use either fresh balls of mozzarella sliced into rounds and sandwiched below the tomato topping, or small pearls mixed into the tomato topping, or torn burrata layered on top. We also often like to sprinkle some freshly-grated (or shaved) Parmesan on top of each piece of bruschetta too.
• Add salami: If you’d like to add some meat, any type of salami would also be delicious sandwiched between the crostini and tomato topping.
• Add different herbs: Feel free to also experiment with different fresh (or dried) Italian herbs in the tomato topping.
• Add fruit: I also occasionally love adding in some type of juicy fruit (such as fresh peaches, strawberries, cherries, etc) to the tomato topping for a sweet twist.
• Make it gluten-free: Be sure to use a variety of certified gluten-free crusty bread to make gluten-free bruschetta.
• Make it spicy: Feel free to add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the tomato topping to give it a bit of heat.
• Grill or toast the bread: Instead of baking a large batch of crostini in the oven, you’re welcome to use a toaster or a grill to toast the bread.

More Favorite Tomato Recipes:

Looking for more ways to put summer’s abundance of ripe tomatoes to use? Here are a few of my favorite fresh tomato recipes…

• • Bruschetta Pasta
  • Catalan Tomato Bread (Pa Amb Tomàquet or Pan Con Tomate)
  • 5-Ingredient Burst Tomato Spread
  • Authentic Gazpacho
  • Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes, Burrata and Basil

Bruschetta

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 9 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Yield: 16 to 20 servings 1x

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Description

All of the best tips we learned in Italy about how to make classic tomato bruschetta!

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Ingredients

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• 1 pound ripe tomatoes*, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup finely-diced red onion (optional)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing/drizzling
• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• 1 batch homemade crostini
• 2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled

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Instructions

1. Prep the tomato topping. Stir together the diced tomatoes, basil, red onion, olive oil and a pinch of salt together in a mixing bowl until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.
2. Make the crostini. Follow recipe instructions.
3. Add garlic. Slice off the ends of the garlic cloves (without removing the papery skins). Then rub the cut end of the garlic evenly over the tops of the bread slices to add as much or as little garlic flavor as you prefer, to taste.
4. Assemble. Taste the tomato topping and season with additional salt (and black pepper, if you’d like) to taste. Add a spoonful of the tomato topping mixture to each slice of bread, then drizzle a hint of olive oil over the tomato topping.
5. Serve. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Notes

Tomatoes: Always use the ripest fresh tomatoes that you can find. I typically use cluster tomatoes (a.k.a. tomatoes on the vine), Roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.

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