How to Make Bruschetta: A Garden to Table Recipe

How to Make Bruschetta: A Garden to Table Recipe

This year, my tomatoes are out of control! I’ve grown so many cherry tomatoes in my backyard and I’ve been trying to figure out just what to do with all of them. Maybe it’s the Italian in me from my mom’s side of the family, but I got the urge for some nice fresh bruschetta, so I figured it would be a perfect chance to use up some of my tomatoes. While I’m at it, I’m gonna take this opportunity to show you how to make bruschetta with fresh ingredients straight from your garden!

Ingredients for Bruschetta

Cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shredded parm, salt & pepper, baguette

Bruschetta is pretty simple to make, only requiring a few basic ingredients. You will need:

30-40 small cherry tomatoes

1/3-1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used a parm/mozzarella mixture)

1 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to Make Bruschetta

Step 1- Dice Your Cherry Tomatoes

30-40 cherry tomatoes will give you about 2 cups after dicing, depending on their size. The beauty of this recipe is nothing needs to be exact. I cut each tomato into about 8 pieces.

30-40 cherry tomatoes will give you about 2 cups when diced

Step 2- Chop Your Basil Leaves

Now it’s time to chop your basil leaves. Ideally, you want 1/3 cup of basil after it is chopped. If you start with about a 1/2 cup of whole basil leaves, this should give you about what you want when chopped.

Fresh basil straight from my grow rack

PRO TIP:

Stack your basil leaves and roll them up tightly. This will make them very easy to chop and give you uniform pieces.

Stack and roll your basil leaves to make them easier to chop
chop about 1/3 cup of basil

Step 3- Chop Your Garlic

Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic. If you are a garlic lover and want to add more, it’s totally your call. I would suggest starting with 2 and adding more little by little though, because garlic can quickly overpower a dish.

Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic

Step 4- Combine Chopped Ingredients & Cheese

Now, combine your diced tomatoes, chopped basil, and chopped garlic in a medium sized bowl. Measure about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese and mix all of the ingredients together.

Combine chopped ingredients in a medium bowl, and measure 1/4 cup of shredded cheese
Add in cheese & mix together well

Step 5- Add Oil & Vinegar, Season with Salt & Pepper

The rest is simple! Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar & 1 tsp of olive oil to the mixture.

Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar & 1 tsp of olive oil

Next, add a little bit of salt & finely ground pepper. Start with 1/4 tsp of salt & pepper, and adjust to your liking. Mix all of the ingredients well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix ingredients well

Step 6- Cover & Refrigerate

Now all that’s left to do is transfer your bruschetta into whichever bowl you will be serving it in, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours minimum. The longer you refrigerate it, the more time the ingredients will be able to meld together and create a wonderful flavor.

Transfer your bruschetta to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours

Step 7- Toast a Baguette & Enjoy!

It’s finally time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! There are plenty of recipes that involve bruschetta including bruschetta chicken and bruschetta pasta, just to name a couple. But I’m going to keep it simple and enjoy mine with some nice toasted baguette slices.

Just slice a baguette into thin pieces (about 1/2 inch), and toast them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Cut a baguette into thin slices and toast for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees

Now just serve it up however you like and be proud of the bruschetta you just made!

Time to enjoy some garden fresh bruschetta!

Conclusion

Bruschetta is super easy to make and is a great way to utilize your surplus of tomatoes. Also, it’s a great dish for when you’re entertaining guests or just in the mood for something refreshing.

I hope this inspired you to make your own bruschetta, and I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Please feel free to comment below with any tips or questions for me, and don’t forget to subscribe below to receive all of our latest content!

Enjoy your Bruschetta!

Cody

Thistle Downs Farm

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