The Best Homemade Bruschetta

Name: The Best Homemade Bruschetta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 medium-size loaf sourdough bread (about 6 1/2” slices, cut in halves); 4 medium-size or 2 large tomatoes; 4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons minced garlic; Fresh basil, chopped; Salt; Pepper

By: Sammi Haber Brondo | NYC Dietitian

Truly, obsessed is an understatement when it comes to this homemade bruschetta. I go through phases of eating it every single day on repeat. And I have a feeling once you try it, you’ll be doing the same too.

I love tomatoes. To me, there’s nothing better than a perfectly in season, ripe tomato. Ugh, SO good!

But, even if you don’t like tomatoes, you’d probably like this recipe. Bold statement, I know. But you’ve got finely chopped tomatoes. Garlic. Cheese. Olive oil. Bread. What’s not to like?!

When I was pregnant, I couldn’t get enough of this recipe. My friend and fellow dietitian, Rachel Fine of To The Pointe Nutrition, was also pregnant and due around the same time as me. Our cravings were always so similar - we’d talk about what we were craving and eating almost daily. She taught me how to make this bruschetta and the recipe was created based off hers.

Rachel taught me a trick that’s key to making bruschetta: you blanch the tomatoes in order to peel off the skin first. So simple, but such an important step!

Once you make it, there are so many ways to enjoy this bruschetta. Serve it as an app before entertaining. Eat it as a snack. Have it as part of a meal. It seriously goes with anything.

What I love about this recipe too is that the bruschetta mixture gets even better the longer it sits. Make it ahead of time, store it in the fridge and add it on top of bread when you’re ready to eat or serve.

Oh and can we talk about the mozzarella cheese?! While it’s not necessarily “traditional” to serve bruschetta with cheese, you just can’t beat that cheese/tomato combination. The addition of fresh mozzarella makes this recipe SO good.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Broil bread

Turn the oven to broil.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place sliced and halved bread on the baking sheet and broil in the oven for about 5 minutes, until golden.

Peel the skin off the tomatoes

Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, add tomatoes.

Let tomatoes sit for just about a minute, until the skin starts to crack. Remove tomatoes and add to an ice bath.

Dice tomatoes

Peel skin off of the tomatoes. Finely dice tomatoes and add to a bowl.

Mix everything together

Dice the mozzarella cheese.

Add mozzarella cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl with the tomatoes and mix to combine.

Top the bread & garnish

Add the bruschetta mixture on top of the broiled bread. Add chopped basil to garnish.

Everything else you need to know

Tomatoes: The riper and more in season your tomatoes are, the better this will taste. Almost any tomato variety will work, too - just avoid smaller tomatoes like grape or cherry tomatoes. If you have heirloom tomatoes, they would be so delish.
Olive oil: As a bonus, try brushing a little bit of olive oil on your bread before toasting.
Garlic: You know I love a good kitchen hack. I always keep pre-minced garlic in my fridge. It’s the ultimate time saver!
Storage: You can make bruschetta up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge - the flavors will really heighten the longer it’s stored, too. Wait to toast your bread and add it on top of bread until you’re ready to eat it.

Did you try this recipe?

I hope you love this Homemade Bruschetta recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment below, mention @Veggiesandchocolate or tag #Veggiesandchocolate so I know how you liked it. I can’t wait to see your creations!