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Bruschetta (Italian Tomato and Basil Topped Toasts)

Bruschetta is one of those creations that almost everyone agrees upon: that they love it! Using fresh, top quality ingredients is key to obtaining the best results.

bruschetta slice on pieces of toast

I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite things in the world: bruschetta.

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Bruschetta is such a beautiful and delicious appetizer to serve. Whether it is a starter for a weeknight family meal, or for a small dinner with guests or even a large finger food party; it’s something everyone seems to love!

red tomato cut into pieces

Best quality Ingredients = Best result

As I always stress, the main thing to remember in order to have bruschetta taste as good as it looks, is to use top quality ingredients which is central to all Mediterranean diet recipes.

  1. Heirloom, organic or homegrown tomatoes are usually the best. If you do not have access to these, choose tomatoes which actually smell like tomatoes; if they are on the vine, the vine should be green and not dry.
  2. Fresh garlic (definitely not in a jar or frozen), is key to good bruschetta, as is fresh Italian basil and good quality extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Fresh basil. If you use the dried stuff, it just won’t taste good.
  4. Salt is important too! Have you found a salt you love? If not, you should do a taste test among a few good quality salts. I do most of my cooking with Crystal Kosher, but also love Maldon, or other Italian or French sea salts for dishes like bruschetta.

Here’s another fresh tomato dish to try: burrata filled tomatoes!

burrata filled tomatoes on a white plate with leaves of basil

How to Pronounce Bruschetta

Incidentally, I’d also like to tell you how to correctly pronounce “bruschetta” because it’s not “brew-shettah”. The correct pronunciation is “brew-skay-tah” (ch in Italian is pronounced as a “k”). See, that was easy, right?

Okay, that’s your Italian lesson for the day, now let’s make some BREW-SKAY-TAH!!

slice of bruschetta next to toast

Bruschetta

family recipe                            makes enough for about 3 or 4 servings

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

  • tomatoes, preferably organic, heirloom or homegrown
  • fresh garlic 
  • fresh basil
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt (you can always add more)
  • slices of toast (try to use a rustic, crusty Italian loaf, ciabatta or a baguette)

Directions for Bruschetta

Dice the tomatoes into small cubes and put into a medium sized bowl.

Next, finely mince the garlic. You can use a garlic press, but I much prefer to do it by hand or to use this little contraption I found at Williams Sonoma–it’s so much fun to use and makes perfect little cubes of garlic. (Alternatively, rub a cut clove of garlic over the toast, just to give a hint of garlic, and omit the cloves in the tomatoes. This is more popular in Italy.)


ready to mince garlic in a tool
Now, add the garlic to the tomatoes.

chopped tomatoes with minced garlic on top and basil leaves in the background

Chop one or two large basil leaves into little pieces and place all 3 ingredients into a bowl.

sweet basil leaves on a paper towel

Add a the extra virgin olive oil and Kosher or sea salt, to taste. Mix well, and if it doesn’t taste wonderful, you probably need to add more salt to the bruschetta topping.

All that’s left to do is to top the bread with the lovely tomato mixture and enjoy!

topping toast with the tomato mixture to make bruschetta

TIP:  don’t make bruschetta ahead of time as the juice will make the bread soggy very quickly. Add the salt and oil and and top the toast just before serving.

Try this other classic Italian antipasto: prosciutto and melon.

prosciutto and melon on a tray

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close up of bruschetta with tomatoes

Bruschetta

Servings: 3 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
One of Italy's most famous appetizers: bruschetta is a classic, simple Italian antipasto.
4.9 from 25 votes

Ingredients

  • 3 tomatoes (medium sized, preferably organic, heirloom or homegrown)
  • 3 cloves garlic (fresh, 2 if they're large)
  • 3 leaves basil (fresh)
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt (or sea salt)
  • slices of toast (to serve, try to use a crusty Italian loaf, ciabatta or a baguette)

Instructions

  • Dice the tomatoes into small cubes and put into a medium sized bowl.
  • Next, finely mince the garlic. You can use a garlic press, but I much prefer to do it by hand. Add the garlic to the tomatoes.
  • Chop one or two large basil leaves into little pieces and place all three of the ingredients into a bowl.
  • Add the extra virgin olive oil and Kosher or sea salt, to taste. Mix well, and if it doesn't taste wonderful, you probably need to add more salt. All that's left to do is to top the bread with the lovely tomato mixture and enjoy!

Notes

  • (Alternatively, rub a cut clove of garlic over the toast, just to give a hint of garlic, and omit the cloves in the tomatoes. This is more popular in Italy.)
  • You can omit the garlic completely if you don't like it.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 577mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1051IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.5mg

bruschetta slice on toast

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4.92 from 25 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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48 Comments

  1. Hi Christina – so you don’t toast the bread and rub the garlic on it? Is that something completely different – crostini?

    1. Oh yes, you absolutely can do that, that is very traditional, but some people only do that and don’t add the garlic. Whatever you prefer. I’m mostly talking about recipes that add lots of other herbs, seasonings, ingredients and balsamic vinegar/glaze. Those are not authentic. :)