Bruschetta
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Juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and crisp baguette slices come together in this no-fuss bruschetta—easy to throw together and perfect for summer snacking.
Simple to make, bruschetta (pronounced broo-SKEH-tah) is an Italian appetizer of toasted bread drizzled with olive oil, rubbed with garlic, and topped with whatever’s fresh and in season. This version is all about two summer staples—ripe tomatoes and fresh basil—plus a handful of briny olives and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Feel free to make the recipe your own. If you’re not into olives, just leave them out. Or toss in some cubed fresh mozzarella and turn it into the ultimate girl dinner. Perfect with a glass of wine!
“Delicious! Good thing this is healthy because I ate a very large portion of these!”
What You’ll Need To Make Bruschetta
- Tomatoes, olives & basil: Juicy, briny and fresh, this combo makes a delicious bruschetta topping. Look for the juiciest, ripest summer tomatoes; I love heirlooms for their varied color and flavor.
- Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper & olive oil: A simple combo that brings it all together with sweet tang, richness, and just the right seasoning. Use good-quality oil and vinegar; it really makes a difference.
- Baguette & Garlic – The base of any good bruschetta. Toasted baguette slices get rubbed with garlic while they’re still warm, adding a layer of savory flavor that soaks right in. Look for a good, bakery-quality baguette—supermarket bread tends to be too soft and won’t hold up to juicy toppings.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Make the tomato mixture. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, pepper, and ⅓ cup of the oil. Toss to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. If the tomatoes aren’t very sweet, go ahead and stir in ⅛ teaspoon sugar.
Step 2. Toast the bread. Slice the baguette into ½-inch-thick slices and arrange on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bread with the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the bottoms are crisp and golden brown.
Step 3. Rub with garlic. Flip the bread slices so the golden side faces up. Rub the top side of each slice with the cut side of the garlic clove, going back and forth once or twice, depending on how garlicky you like it.
Step 4. Assemble and serve. Transfer the toasted bread to a serving platter and spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of bread. Sprinkle with more basil and serve within 10 minutes so the bread stays crisp.
Mix It Up
Want to switch things up? Once you’ve got the classic bruschetta recipe down, there are so many easy bruschetta toppings to try. Try burrata with roasted cherry tomatoes, mozzarella with tomato peach jam, or creamy goat cheese with roasted beets, or ricotta with a drizzle of hot honey. You can even go fruity—bruschetta with fig jam and prosciutto or strawberries and balsamic is always a hit. Whether you’re serving bruschetta for a party, date night, or just snacking with a glass of wine, it’s one of those recipes that’s endlessly riffable and always crowd-pleasing.
More Finger Foods You May like
Bruschetta
All it takes is a handful of ingredients to whip up bruschetta that’s fresh, full of flavor, and tastes like summer in every bite.
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom), cored and diced (3 to 4 tomatoes)
- ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- A few grinds freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 good quality baguette, cut into scant ½-in-thick slices on the bias
- 1 clove garlic, halved lengthwise
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set a rack in the middle position.
- In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, pepper, and ⅓ cup of the oil. Toss to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (If the tomatoes aren't as sweet as you'd like, add ⅛ teaspoon sugar.)
- Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bread with the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Bake for about 10 minutes, until crisp and golden on the bottom.
- Using tongs, flip the bread slices so the golden side is facing up. Rub the top side of each slice with the cut side of the garlic, going back and forth once (or twice, if you like your bruschetta extra garlicky). Transfer the toasted bread to a serving platter and top each slice with a spoonful of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle the bruschetta with more basil. Serve within 10 minutes so that the bread stays crisp.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The tomato mixture can be prepared up to 3 hours ahead of time and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. Taste and adjust seasoning before topping the toasted bread.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 piece
- Calories: 108
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 147 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made this exactly as is and it got rave reviews from my birthday club of 11 friends.
Is there a reason that the make-ahead instructions refers to only 3 hours in advance.? I would like to do it a day in advance.
Hi Linda, the tomatoes will start to degrade a bit after a few hours, so it’s just at its best if eaten within that 3-hour window. Hope that clarifies. 🙂
Thanks for your quick response.
This bruschetta is delicious! While I like olives, I was worried it would be too olive-forward, but you actually can’t really taste much of the olives in the finished product. The olives provide a nice brininess that perfectly complements the tomatoes and vinegar. Normally with bruschetta I grill the bread on the stove and then rub with a cut piece of garlic, but I loved that this recipe has you bake the bread! So much easier and less messy. Thanks Jenn for another great recipe!
I made this over the weekend for my friends and had a hard time not eating every bite myself! YUM!
Love this recipe at the height of tomato season. Have made it twice now to rave reviews.
Any thoughts on how to make a zucchini bruschetta? 😊
Thanks, Marilyn
Glad you enjoyed, Marilyn! Do you mean zucchini in place of the bread or a zucchini topping?
Love it, very simple and quick to make. I’m just making it for the second time as I have so many tomatoes in my garden. Goes well the Costco baguette.
Yup, we use the Costco baguette for everything as well! So good!
I made these last night and we loved them! I love garlic, and its taste was so nicely incorporated. I will just add less vinegar next time, but that’s up to one’s taste. Many thanks for the recipe 🙂
We bought a bunch of basil at the farmers market last Saturday and so we were looking for recipes to use it up. This was an amazing bruschetta recipe! Followed the recipe and it was divine, made the perfect late Sunday lunch while the little one was napping. I was worried the garlic flavour wouldn’t come through enough as I love garlic, but it was perfect. We also made a double batch of your kale walnut pesto (amazing as well!) and tonight we used the pesto to make your baked spinach/basil/cheese pasta (subbed gouda for fontina as that was what we had on hand) which was enjoyed. Thanks again Jen!
I made the bruschetta-it was delicious and easy!!! I love the addition of the Greek olives!
Our family loves bruschetta, having it often as in appetizer. We were all underwhelmed by this recipe because the balsamic vinegar overpowered the tomato/basil. Used a quality vinegar- it was just too much. My homegrown tomatoes were lost in it unfortunately. Did not use olives in it, so that might redeem it some. This is my first miss with Jenn’s recipes; I have her cookbook and often use her website for all of my recipes! This just didn’t appeal to my crowd.
Strange. 2 teaspoons doesn’t seem very much in a pound and a half of tomatoes. Are you sure you didn’t use tablespoons?