Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: A classic Italian appetizer made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and basil, this tomato bruschetta recipe is bright and delicious, and super easy to make.
How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small mixing bowl
Servings: 24
This is one of those classic recipes that should be a basic in everyone’s kitchen. Bruschetta al pomodoro is a simple Italian appetizer consisting of toasted bread slices topped with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil. It’s often served in Italian restaurants but you’ll find that tomato bruschetta are very easy to make at home.
Pronunciation Tip
Bruschetta is pronounced: broo skeh tuh.
Classic Bruschetta Recipe
Simple but so flavorful! Made with fresh chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, minced garlic, red onion, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper, the bright flavors of this tomato bruschetta recipe just explode in your mouth.
Served with toasted bread. The savory tomato mixture is spooned onto crunchy golden bread slices. The classic Italian recipe uses thicker slices of rustic bread but for an appetizer, it’s usually served it on smaller-sized crostini. You can easily make crostini at home using a baguette-style of bread.
DIY-style appetizer. I find that it works out better if you serve the bread and tomatoes separately. If you assemble the bruschetta ahead of time, the juicy tomato mixture soaks into the crostini, making them soggy. Tomato bruschetta really are the best if you make them right before you pop them into your mouth.
Can be made ahead. You can toast the bread at least a day or two ahead. Once it’s toasted, it’s much like a cracker and keeps well. The tomato mixture can be a few hours ahead; simply allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Ingredient Notes
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are the best choice for this classic bruschetta because they are meatier, have fewer seeds, and aren’t quite as juicy as a regular garden tomato. That being said, if you happen to have a different type of tomato in your kitchen, maybe even home grown, by all means use it. Squeeze excess pulp and seeds out if your tomatoes are really juicy. I’ve chopped up cherry and grape tomatoes, too, with good results.
- Basil: Fresh basil is essential to this success of this recipe. Add the basil immediately before serving the bruschetta. Chopped basil turns an unappetizing color rather quickly.
- Red onion: Finely minced red onion adds texture and flavor.
- Garlic: I usually mince or press one clove of garlic. You can adjust the amount of garlic to your liking.
- Olive oil: Choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil. It will really shine in a simple recipe like this tomato bruschetta recipe.
- Balsamic vinegar: Although balsamic vinegar isn’t a classic ingredient here, I like how it balances the acidity of the tomatoes, and adds an extra dimension of flavor.
How To Make This Classic Bruschetta Recipe
Prep the tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes up nice and small. Remember you’ll be serving this on little bread slices. If your tomato bruschetta has giant chunks in it, the topping will have a hard time staying on the bread.
Add remaining ingredients. Mince the onion and garlic and stir them into the tomatoes. Add olive oil, and a splash of balsamic, and stir it all together. Season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.
Let it set for awhile. Then let it marinate for a while. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and just let the tomatoes sit on your counter to marinate for at least a half hour or so. The flavors will blend together, and you can work on toasting the bread.
Serve. Spread a spoonful of the tomato mixture on the toasted bread slices, making your own classic tomato bruschetta. If you want, add a drizzle of balsamic glaze (as pictured). Enjoy with a glass of chilled pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or a crisp rosé.
Easy Recipe Variations
- Leave out the balsamic vinegar. Many recipes do not use balsamic vinegar but I love the flavor it adds. If you’re not a fan, leave it out. You could also use white balsamic vinegar to keep this from having a brownish appearance.
- Amp up the garlic. Increase the amount of garlic if you’re a garlic lover. You can also rub the crispy bread with a raw garlic clove while it’s still warm to really add a punch of garlic flavor.
- Make it cheesy. Add shredded Parmesan cheese to the mixture (about ¼ cup). Fresh mozzarella cheese is another option. Dice it small and stir it in, or place a small slice on the toast before layering on the tomatoes. Creamy ricotta could be added to the toasts as a spread.
- Add olives. Finely chopped Kalamata olives go really well with the tomatoes.
- Make it a main course. Instead of serving this tomato bruschetta on toasts, use it as a topping for cooked pasta. It’s fantastic served on this balsamic marinated chicken. In fact, check out my recipe for bruschetta chicken! Be sure to try my bruschetta orzo pasta salad, too.
Refrigerate: If you are making your tomato bruschetta recipe more than 2 hours in advance, I would refrigerate the mixture in an airtight container. If you are planning on doing this, don’t put the basil in until you’re ready to serve the bruschetta. Let the bruschetta come to room temperature before serving.
Freeze: I haven’t tested this but Google tells me you could make tomato bruschetta and freeze it up to 8 months. I would leave out the basil, and add fresh basil after you thaw it. However, since fresh tomatoes are available pretty much year round, it’s best if you just make this fresh. Nothing beats the fresh flavors of this combination, and it’s really quite easy to make.
More Appetizer Recipes
Classic Bruschetta Recipe
Ingredients
For crostini:
- 1 baguette, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
- ¼ cup olive oil
For topping:
- 16 oz. roma tomatoes, seeds removed, diced small (other types of tomatoes can be used)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove), or to taste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ cup thinly sliced or minced fresh basil
Instructions
- To make crostini: Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange baguette slices on a large rimmed baking sheet. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with olive oil.1 baguette, sliced into ¼ inch rounds, ¼ cup olive oil
- Bake crostini for 12 to 15 minutes or until very lightly golden and crisp. If desired, flip them over halfway through the baking time. They should be completely dry and crisp, much like a cracker. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, onion, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.16 oz. roma tomatoes, seeds removed, diced small, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove), or to taste, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- Cover, and let tomato mixture stand at room temperature for 30 minutes for flavors to combine.
- When ready to serve, stir in fresh basil. Spoon tomato mixture on top of toasted bread slices, and serve immediately.¼ cup thinly sliced or minced fresh basil
Notes
- Make ahead/storage: This bruschetta recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated up to three hours before serving. Serve at room temperature. Add basil immediately before serving.
- Add balsamic glaze. If you love balsamic, try drizzling the bruschetta with balsamic reduction or glaze.
- Add cheese. You can also add ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese to the mixture. The toasts can be spread with a layer of ricotta cheese before adding the tomatoes, or you could add a thin slice of fresh mozzarella cheese to the toasts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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