This easy to make cheesy tomato bruschetta is a hit at parties. Just use fresh basil, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil plus some mozzarella cheese – all on top of toasted bread.
Bruschetta has its roots in 15th century Italy, but it’s as popular as ever today. Whether you’re having a few friends over for wine or you have a big crowd gathering around the TV for a playoff game, cheesy tomato bruschetta is a classy and tasty addition to any gathering.
Ingredients
Bruschetta is typically considered a summer appetizer, but with the availability of fresh produce year-round, you can have this treat any time. Here’s what you’ll need to make this tomato bruschetta:
- Tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Cheese (mozzarella – shown below)
- (Optional) Balsamic vinegar
- Ciabatta or baguette bread to toast
I used Campari tomatoes, but I found they were pretty juicy. They’re very tasty though, so they work fine. Just be aware you might have some juice left in the bowl after you’ve spooned the bruschetta onto the toast. Roma tomatoes are a good option too. I used the leftover juice in some soup.
For the bread, use French bread, a baguette, or ciabatta bread. Fresh sourdough bread works too. Whatever you use, make sure it’s easy to slice into thick pieces and toast. I used sliced ciabatta buns and it took about three of those. If you use a baguette, it will require 1/2 to 1/3 of the loaf.
You can use shredded parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella or you can omit the cheese altogether for a vegan appetizer.
This recipe makes enough bruschetta mix for about 10 slices of toasted ciabatta bread. The bread pieces shown here are about four inches long and about 2 inches wide. If you use a baguette, you’ll wind up with more pieces of toasted bread.
Making Cheesy Tomato Bruschetta
Rinse the tomatoes and put the garlic in about two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar is optional, but it helps bring out the flavor of the garlic and it adds a pleasant tanginess to the bruschetta.
Chop the fresh tomatoes and basil into small pieces. I used herb scissors to cut the basil, but you can use a sharp knife if you don’t have any herb scissors.
Put the chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic (with balsamic vinegar) and the olive oil into a bowl.
Thoroughly mix these ingredients.
Cut the mozzarella cheese into small pieces and toast the bread.
After the bread is toasted, spoon the bruschetta mix onto the toasted bread and top with the mozzarella cheese.
Serve immediately. You can also put out the toasted bread, cheese, and bruschetta mixture and let everyone make their own at the table. This cheesy tomato bruschetta goes great with wine or beer.
Did you know?
Lots of the vine-ripened tomatoes that you see in the stores are grown in giant greenhouses out in the middle of nowhere. When we traveled to the Davis Mountains in far west Texas last year we saw some of them. There are no greenhouses in the photo below, but there are some near where I took this picture.
Cheesy Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 6 campari or roma tomatoes about 12 ounces of tomatoes
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
- Fresh-ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
- 3 ciabatta buns or about 1/2 baguette
Instructions
- Rinse the tomatoes and basil.
- Pat dry the basil.
- Put the garlic through a garlic press and add it to a small dish with about two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.
- Chop the fresh tomatoes and basil into small pieces.
- Put the chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic (with balsamic vinegar) and the olive oil into a bowl and stir everything together.
- Cut the mozzarella cheese into small pieces.
- Toast the bread.
- Spoon the bruschetta mix onto the toasted bread and top with the mozzarella cheese.
Notes
- The number of servings depends on the type and size of the bread that you choose.
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