Easy Garlic Bread Bruschetta Recipe

This Easy Garlic Bread Bruschetta Recipe combines two amazing Italian appetizers! Toasty garlic bread topped with a flavorful balsamic tomato salad.

An Easy Bruschetta Recipe

This quick and easy appetizer is full of fresh ingredients and savory flavors. All you have to do is toast your bread, smother it with garlic, and add your hearty toppings! I love serving this garlic bread bruschetta with a classic Italian pasta dish.

This recipe is perfect for summer because tomatoes are in season. It’s a great healthy snack to make with your garden harvest. You can also pick up ripe and juicy tomatoes at your local grocery store or farmer’s market.

What is Bruschetta?

Bruschetta is one of the classics when it comes to Italian cuisine. It’s basically a flavorful tomato basil salad that’s served on top of freshly toasted bread. This version adds garlic into the mix for even more explosive flavor! It’s easy to make and it’s addicting.

Recipe Ingredients

For the Toasted Garlic Bread

• Italian Bread: Slice your bread into 1/2 inch thick slices.
• Olive Oil
• Garlic: Cut one clove of garlic in half.

For the Salad

• Grape Tomatoes: You can also use Roma tomatoes if you’d like.
• Parmesan Cheese
• Basil Ribbons: To make these, stack several basil leaves on top of one another, roll them up tightly, and slice the basil into thin ribbons.
• Minced Garlic
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar

How to Make Bruschetta

1. Heat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400˚F.
2. Brush Bread with Oil: Using a pastry brush, brush each slice of bread with olive oil; transfer slices to a baking sheet, oiled-side down.
3. Toast: Toast your bread in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, keeping an eye on the bread so it doesn’t burn.
4. Add Garlic: Remove your toast from the oven and rub the cut side of the garlic cloves over each slice of toasted bread. Set aside.
5. Make Salad: Transfer the prepared tomatoes to a mixing bowl. Add cheese, basil and garlic, stirring to combine.
6. Season: Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add Oil & Vinegar: Add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, mixing until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust accordingly.
8. Assemble & Serve: Divide up the salad over the toasted bread slices. Serve on a platter and enjoy!

Tips for the Best Bruschetta

• Use Fresh Ingredients: The fresher your ingredients are, the tastier your bruschetta will be.
• Season to Taste: Before you add your tomato basil salad to your toast, taste it and make sure you’re satisfied with the amount of seasoning. Just try not to eat it all from the bowl! 😉
• Start on Salad while Toasting Bread: As long as you’re keeping an eye on your bread while it’s toasting, you can start making your salad. This way, the salad will be ready to go when the bread is still nice and warm.

Serving Suggestions

Bruschetta is a delicious way to kick off any meal! Here are some of my favorite things to serve it with:

• Pasta: This appetizer goes great with just about every pasta dish you can think of. Try serving it with my super easy Skillet Lasagna!
• Chicken Breasts: Bruschetta tastes amazing with baked or grilled chicken breasts. You can also omit the garlic bread and serve your bruschetta salad over my Juicy Skillet Balsamic Chicken Breasts.
• Salad: For a hearty Italian dish that matches the freshness of this bruschetta, make my Italian Antipasto Pasta Salad!

Can Bruschetta Be Made in Advance?

• This appetizer recipe is amazing for meal prepping. You can make your salad up to a day ahead of time and store it, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Letting your salad soak will only make it more flavorful! Then, when you’re ready to serve your bruschetta, all you have to do is toast your bread.

How Long Does Bruschetta Keep?

• For the best results, I recommend serving your garlic bread bruschetta right away. But if you do have leftovers, you can definitely store them in the fridge.
• Keep them in a covered container and enjoy within a couple days.