Best Ever Tomato Bruschetta
An Easy Italian Appetizer
This recipe for the Best Ever Tomato Bruschetta is a shortcut twist on the traditional recipe that still packs a ton of flavor. Grape, tomatoes, shallots, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, my favorite garlic dressing, and a few pantry staples yields the best tasting tomato topping that offers the perfect bite every time.
I made this bruschetta yesterday for our friends who are staying with us at our lake house and they were just going crazy over it. While I would normally serve this in summer, it was such a bright and delicious treat for a cold winter day here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The topping made with the diced tomatoes, cheese, and garlic dressing is an easy way to get all the wonderful garlic taste without having to chop up cloves and rub it on the bread.
You can serve this on slices of toasty bread, as a topping to chicken, or tossed with your favorite pasta. I always get compliments when I make this recipe.
What is Bruschetta?
Bruschetta is a traditional Italian appetizer featuring toppings on toasted, oiled bread. Apparently it dates all the way back to Roman times!
While the tomato, garlic, and basil mixture is one of the most common preparations, there’s a lot of room for customization, whether it be different cheeses, meats, beans, or my delicious Pea Bruschetta.
You could even leave a bunch of toasted bread slices uncovered and put out different topping options for your guests to choose.
How Do You Pronounce Bruschetta?
You’re supposed to hit the “ch” sound like a hard “K,” so it should sound like “broo-SKEH-tah.” Of course if your friends are making fun of you for saying “bru-SHEH-tah” then maybe you shouldn’t have invited them over for this delightful appetizer in the first place!
Garlic Vinaigrette Shortcut
Many traditional recipes require you to cut individual garlic cloves and rub them on the bread. While that’s delicious, it can be a lot of work and will leave your fingers smelling like garlic for days.
That’s why I created this garlic dressing shortcut to get all the same flavor without the extra time and messy hands.
The garlic vinaigrette I use is this Garlic Expressions Dressing. It can be found at most stores.
Aldi also has a delicious Garlic Vinaigrette. I am sure you can find one you like if you aren’t able to find this one.
Personally I like this one and the one from Aldi because of the whole chunks of garlic in the dressing.
Tomatoes Are Seasonal
I know that some of us have access to really great tomatoes year round. I, however, live in the Midwest where we don’t so I like to use these tiny grape tomatoes.
They are ripe, sweet, and not mushy. I tend to have access to the Nature’s Sweet brand in my stores, but any brand of these little grape beauties will do.
These make a great appetizer for an Italian meal or as one of multiple small dishes for a garden party.
Best Ever Tomato Bruschetta Recipe
Best Ever Tomato Bruschetta will be the easiest and delicious recipe you have ever made. The garlic dressing is the secret for an easy appetizer that tastes just as good as the traditional dish.
Ingredients
- 1 10.5 ounce container of Grape Tomatoes, I like using the "Glorys" from Nature's Sweet Brand (there is a picture of these in my post outside of this recipe card)
- 8 ounces of Fresh Mozzarella
- 1 12.5 ounce bottle of Garlic Expressions Dressing, or your favorite Garlic Vinaigrette (picture of the one I use in the post)
- 0.5 ounce ounce package of Fresh Basil
- 2 smaller sized shallots
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of Spanish (green) Olive Juice
- 15 to 20 baguette or bread slices that are about 3 inches around in size.
- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
Instructions
- Cut your grape tomatoes VERY small, this is key. I cut each grape tomato into sixths. If they are very small, I do fourths. Add to a medium sized bowl, then sprinkle with the sugar.
- VERY finely dice your shallots. I also sometimes grate them into the tomatoes. Add them to your tomatoes.
- Finely mince your basil leaves after removing them from the stems. You want to have them minced very small, add to the tomatoes and shallots.
- Add your black pepper and olive juice and give this all a good stir.
- Dice your fresh mozzarella into small pieces, about the same size as the tomatoes.
- Add the fresh mozzarella to the tomatoes, add in the entire bottle of the garlic expressions dressing, stir this all well. cover and let this sit in the fridge for about 2 hours.
- About an hour before serving, let this sit out on the counter and come to room temperature. *If you want to make this ahead of time the tomato mixture can hang in the fridge for 24 hours. Do not add the mozzarella until about 2 hours before serving or the mozzarella will start to "cure" and harden.
- When ready to serve, brush both sides of the bread slices with mayo, then toast up in a skillet quickly until they are golden brown.
- You can top the bread slices with the tomato bruschetta mixture and serve or you can leave it separate and let people DIY. Use a slotted spoon when plating so the topping won't totally soak your bread.
- When the tomatoes are all gone the liquid left makes a great salad dressing.
**any questions about the products are in the post before the recipe card WITH pictures and links if needed.
Looking for another great appetizer? Then you should try my stuffed celery!
1 Comments
Penny Edwards
March 12, 2024 at 7:41 am
Great recipe! And the Garlic Expressions makes the BEST marinade for grilled chicken breasts too.