In Italy, tomato bruschetta is a very simple affair.

It has: toasted bread rubbed with garlic, fresh tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, and basil. That’s it.

In the United States, many Italian restaurants have started drizzling balsamic vinegar on the tomato bruschetta to add a little zing.

How to Pick Balsamic Vinegar

Aged balsamic vinegar is sweeter, richer, and thicker. I love the aged balsamic vinegar from Trader Joe’s. It is perfect with this tomato bruschetta recipe.

Other recipes that with aged balsamic vinegar are my balsamic roasted brussels sprouts with bacon.

How to pick tomatoes

You are looking for bright red skin/flesh.

The tomato should also have soft flesh that will give a little when you push it.

If the tomato is overly soft, the tomato is over-ripe,.

If the tomato is overly hard/green, the tomato is under-ripe.

Vine-ripened tomatoes work really nicely for tomato bruschetta. The tomato needs to be sweet and delicious. Vine-ripened tomatoes tend to be sweeter and more flavorful. Buy organic if you can.

What bread to use for bruschetta

Ciabatta works perfectly for bruschetta. But you can also use French baguette or some other crusty bread.

Print

Bruschetta

Fresh sweet tomato on crunchy ciabatta bread, drizzled with olive oil and balasmic vinegar.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword appetizer, bruschetta, fresh, tomato

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf ciabatta bread sliced into 1-inch thick pieces
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 small bunch basil chopped
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper

Instructions

• Evenly drizzle olive oil onto the sliced bread. Toast at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes until lightly brown. When it is brown and crispy, take out of the oven and immediately rub the surface of all the toasts with 1 clove of raw garlic.
• Prepare the tomatoes. Dice them and season with 1 pinch of salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and chopped basil leaves.
• Place tomato mixture generously on top of toasts and drizzle with a finishing touch of olive oil.

Price Comparison

Ciabatta bread ($1.50), Tomato ($.95), basil ($.50), balsamic vinegar ($.10).

Restaurant ($9-12) vs. Home-made ($3.05). As you can see, the price difference is huge. You are paying well over triple the price to have bruschetta at a restaurant. Since this one is so simple to make and affordable, try making this for yourself at home!

Tag me on Instagram @jennskitchendiary if you’ve made any of these recipes! Love seeing all the variations.