Strawberry Bruschetta is an easy Italian-inspired appetizer recipe for warm weather! Fresh ripe strawberries are diced and mixed with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, and a homemade balsamic dressing, spooned with the juices on top of homemade garlic-rubbed crostini (or store-bought if you want to save some time). Serve the strawberry bruschetta on top of grilled chicken for a main dish or to enjoy it as a gluten-free option.
If you need me, I’ll just be eating this Strawberry Bruschetta by the spoonful all summer long. This is such a refreshing, unique, and delicious recipe!
When my local farm had their first batch of ripe strawberries, I knew I had to make something special with them. I love the balance of flavors in this Strawberry Bruschetta. The chopped tomatoes, as well as a teeny tiny bit of fresh garlic, help add savoriness to help balance the sweetness of the strawberries. And the fresh basil and balsamic dressing complement everything so well!
I made some homemade garlic-rubbed crostini to go with the bruschetta – which is as simple as slicing a baguette, brushing with oil, baking, and rubbing with a clove of garlic (which adds a subtle garlic taste to each slice). Topping the crunchy crostini pieces with a generous pile of strawberry bruschetta and a little spoonful of the juices, along with an optional drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh basil garnish, is such a delectable treat!
Ingredients in Strawberry Bruschetta
- Strawberries – try to get in-season, fresh strawberries if possible. I don’t recommend frozen for this recipe as the texture will be too mushy.
- Cherry tomatoes – or a diced larger tomato if you don’t have cherry.
- Fresh basil
- Balsamic vinegar – try to get the good stuff – aged balsamic or four leaf (but any will do)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- A baguette – to make the crostini (but no judgement if you buy pre-made crostini to serve with the bruschetta instead!)
- Fresh garlic – you’ll use a cut clove of garlic to rub the crostini as well as grate into the dressing for the bruschetta.
How to make Strawberry Bruschetta
- Slice the baguette diagonally into about 20 slices. Place on a parchment covered rimmed baking sheet.
- Brush each baguette slice with olive oil on both sides. Bake at 425 degrees for 7-9 minutes.
- As soon as the crostini come out of the oven, rub the cut side of a garlic clove half gently on the surface of each one. Sprinkle the crostini with salt.
- While the crostini is cooking, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and 1/2 clove fresh garlic.
- Add chopped strawberries, tomatoes, and fresh basil to the bowl.
- Mix together and serve spooned on top of the crostini, with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and more fresh basil if you like. Optional: refrigerate bruschetta for 30 minutes – 2 hours to allow flavors to marry before serving.
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full instructions and ingredient amounts.
FAQs
Yes! The bruschetta itself will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. The crostini, however, will go stale quickly. I recommend making that the same day you plan on eating it.
This Strawberry Bruschetta would be delicious served over grilled chicken, as a salsa with tortilla chips, or on crackers. You can also top a bed of greens with it for a salad. But I’m not above just eating it plain with a spoon!
I don’t recommend this, as the texture will be fairly mushy.
Fresh garlic goes a LONG way so I only recommend a half of a clove, and a small clove at that. If you really love fresh garlic, feel free to add more. Or if you are sensitive to garlic, you can leave it out. The longer the bruschetta sits and the flavors marry, the more the garlic flavor will mellow out.
Other Strawberry Recipes
Other Easy Italian Recipes
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Strawberry Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil on Homemade Crostini
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crostini:
- 1 baguette cut on the diagonal into about 20 slices, 1/2" thick
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more if needed
- 1/2 clove of garlic cut in half crosswise
For the Strawberry Bruschetta:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar preferably aged/four leaf (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 2 cups chopped strawberries diced into approximately 1/4"-1/2" chunks (about 16 oz.)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped cherry or grape tomatoes quartered or chopped into approximately 1/4"-1/2" chunks (about 1 pint)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves cut chiffonade or chopped
- balsamic glaze and extra fresh basil for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place baguette slices on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil, flip, and brush the backs as well (using more olive oil than indicated as needed). Bake at 425 degrees F for 7-9 minutes, until golden brown.
- Immediately after taking them out of the oven, rub the top of each slice of bread with the cut side of the half clove of garlic. You can use tongs to hold the bread slices if they are too hot to hold. You don't need to be too aggressive about this – just gently rub it to infuse the garlic flavor. Sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt flakes. SAVE the garlic clove piece for the bruschetta!
- Meanwhile, while the crostini is baking, make the strawberry bruschetta. In a medium sized bowl, add the extra-virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons), the balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon), kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon), and a few turns fresh cracked pepper. Use a microplane zester to grate the 1/2 garlic clove into the mix. Whisk together to emulsify into a thick, cohesive dressing.
- Add the chopped strawberries (2 cups), chopped tomatoes (1 1/2 cups), and chopped fresh basil (1/4 cup) to the bowl. Stir to mix together.
- Optional: For best results, allow flavors to marry by refrigerating the bruschetta for 2 hours, or at a minimum 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve by spooning the bruschetta mixture on top of the crostini pieces, with a little extra liquid from the bottom of the bowl. If you like, you can drizzle some balsamic glaze on top and garnish with extra fresh basil.
Notes
- Refrigeration time will help marry all the flavors together and result in a better bruschetta, as well as mellow out the raw garlic flavor. It’s recommended, but not required.
- This strawberry bruschetta will stay good for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The crostini will become quite stale so they are best eaten the day of baking.
- You can serve the bruschetta on other things besides crostini, such as grilled chicken, on a salad, on crackers, or as a salsa for tortilla chips.
- If you’re sensitive to raw garlic, it can be omitted. If you love raw garlic, feel free to add more, but be careful as it can overpower the other flavors quickly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
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