Vegetarian Recipes

Bruschetta

Sure, you could wrap everything in bacon for your holiday appetizer spread if you wanted to, but when you offer something fresh and colorful, I find it always disappears first! This easy Bruschetta recipe comes together in minutes and keeps the whole crowd happy before sitting down for your big holiday meal. The texture combination of the crispy toasted baguette, the juicy, ripe tomatoes, and the fresh basil is absolutely perfect. I never worry about leftovers when I serve this easy appetizer!

What is Bruschetta?

Bruschetta is the perfect appetizer for any occasion. It doesn’t matter if it’s the holiday season or a hot summer day; it’s one of my all-time favorite finger foods to serve. This recipe is a traditional Italian antipasto (appetizer) made from toasted bread, topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic. It’s also one of the best ways to use up slightly stale bread and make it taste delicious!

Here’s what you’ll need to make this homemade bruschetta recipe:

Slicer Tomatoes: Any ripe tomatoes will work, but I went for slicer tomatoes because they looked ripest at the store. Choose whatever fresh tomatoes suit your budget—you need about 3 cups total once diced small. I don’t recommend using canned tomatoes, though! Fresh is best for this recipe.
Shallot: Not all recipes call for shallots, but I like the mild flavor it adds. If you have onion on hand, I recommend dicing it very small and soaking or straining the onion in cold water to cut some of the bite.
Garlic: Mince it up as finely as possible. You want the garlic to be evenly distributed throughout the topping to infuse every bite with flavor.
Fresh Basil: I just love the flavor fresh basil brings to this recipe. So, please, use fresh! Dried basil doesn’t replicate the same taste and texture.
Olive Oil: Mix this in with all the topping ingredients to bring everything together.
Salt & Black Pepper: Simple seasonings are all you need here!
Balsamic Vinegar: I mix a little balsamic vinegar into the topping for a little tang and sweetness. It’s absolutely delicious and adds another layer of flavor.
Baguette: I almost always use a baguette whenever I make this appetizer. They’re pretty easy to find where I live and are pretty inexpensive. However, you can use ciabatta, sourdough, or any other crusty bread. If it’s sturdy enough to hold toppings once toasted, it’ll work well. Also, your bread can be fresh or slightly stale, so that day-old loaf won’t go to waste!

What Else Can I Add?

In Italy, ‘bruschetta’ refers to a slice of grilled or toasted bread traditionally drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with garlic, rather than the fresh tomato mixture we commonly think of. It’s often topped it with all sorts of things like cured meats and cheese, which means the possibilities for variations are endless! Here are some fun additions to this recipe I think you’ll enjoy:

Prosciutto or other cured meats
A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
Caramelized onions
Burrata cheese or a sliced ball of fresh mozzarella (the kind you’d use in a Caprese salad, not shredded)
Roasted red peppers
A drizzle of homemade balsamic glaze

To save a little time and money, I simply toast my baguette slices and then pile on the toppings. But if you want to lean towards the traditional route, you can brush the bread with olive oil, grill it, and then rub it with a fresh garlic clove before adding the toppings. Either way, it’s delicious!
Dice everything into small pieces for easy eating. This will also help the topping stretch further so you can pile each slice high with flavor!
Be sure to deseed your tomatoes before dicing them, as too many seeds can make the mixture watery. This is really easy to do—just slice the tomatoes in half and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.
I highly recommend letting your tomato mixture marinate in the bowl for 15 minutes before serving. The flavors meld together nicely, and the salt will draw out excess liquid from the tomatoes. This is my secret to perfectly crisp, not soggy, tomato bruschetta! You can either drain this liquid or use a slotted spoon to scoop the tomato mixture onto your bread.

How to Serve

This easy recipe is the best stand-alone appetizer or addition to a larger holiday spread. I’ll be serving my recipe for bruschetta alongside marinated olives, cheese, cranberry orange relish, and crackers for a festive antipasto platter this year! But it’s just as delicious when served with a hearty dinner option like lasagna or chicken parmesan. Or, for something different, use the tomato mixture to make bruschetta pasta or as a topping for homemade pizza or a salad.

Make It Ahead

Recipes I can prep beforehand are a LIFESAVER for me during the busy holiday season. So, while this recipe is best made fresh, you can get a head start by prepping the topping mixture and storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, toast your baguette slices and top with the prepared mixture.

The salt will draw more liquid from the tomatoes as they sit, so don’t forget to strain them before topping the baguette slices. I don’t recommend assembling this dish until right before serving, though, as the bread will get soggy!

Overhead view of bruschetta on a wooden chopping board.

Bruschetta Recipe

This easy Bruschetta recipe is a delicious and budget-friendly appetizer made with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, and a crunchy baguette base.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Total Cost ($8.63 recipe / $1.07 serving)

Prep Time 15

Rest Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings servings (4 bites per person)

Calories 111kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

3 slicer tomatoes, seeded and diced small (about 3 cups diced)* $3.63
1 small shallot, diced small $0.88
2 cloves garlic, minced $0.06
2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced (about 1 small clamshell)** $1.78
¼ tsp salt $0.01
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.04
3 tsp olive oil $0.18
2 tsp balsamic vinegar $0.08
1 baguette, cut into ¼-½ inch slices and toasted $1.97

Instructions

Seed and dice tomatoes, dice shallot, mince garlic, and mince basil. Gather salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
Stir to combine and let sit for 15 minutes.
Add 2 Tbsp of the tomato mix to each piece of sliced and toasted baguette.
Drizzle with balsamic glaze*** (if desired!) and serve.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You could substitute any affordable tomato for the slicer tomatoes I used. Roma is often less expensive, but the slicer tomatoes looked better when I was at the store, so that’s what I went for! I don’t recommend canned tomatoes, as the texture is too soft.

**Don’t skip the fresh basil, as it provides the defining flavor of this recipe. It does up the price quite a bit, but the flavor cannot be replicated with dry herbs. It’s worth the splurge!

***Optional: Whip up a quick batch of our homemade balsamic glaze for drizzling over each portion. It takes this appetizer to the next level!

Nutrition

Overhead view of bruschetta on a wooden chopping board, next to a bowl of the tomato topping, drizzled with balsamic glaze.

how to make Bruschetta – step by step photos

Diced tomatoes, minced fresh herbs, diced shallot, minced garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper on a wooden chopping board.

Seed and dice 3 tomatoes, dice 1 small shallot, mince 2 cloves garlic, and mince 2 Tbsp fresh basil. Gather ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 3 tsp olive oil, and 2 tsp balsamic vinegar.

Stir to combine and let sit for 15 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp of the tomato mix to each piece of sliced and toasted baguette.

Drizzle with balsamic glaze (if desired!) and serve! This simple appetizer is super fresh, easy to make, and the perfect way to kickstart your holiday meal.

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The post Bruschetta appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Don’t you just love it when a recipe is as simple as ‘mix + bake’? No pre-cooking, no unnecessary extra steps – just mix together all of the ingredients, and pop it in the oven. And that’s just the case for these vegetarian lentil meatballs (lentil balls? vegeballs? meatlessballs?). They couldn’t be easier.

Other easy ‘mix and bake’ recipes → easy nut roast; baked fajita rice; Boursin pasta.

Vegetarian Mediterranean lentil meatballs served with spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I served my lentil balls with spaghetti and tomato sauce – spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic that’s hard to improve on. If you prefer, you could equally serve these vegetarian meatballs with couscous and tzatziki, stuffed into pitta bread, or even just eaten straight from the oven (no judgment here). They’re packed with Mediterranean-inspired flavours, and they’re super versatile.

Mediterranean lentil meatballs on a baking tray.

What’s in these Lentil Meatballs?

The basic recipe for these lentil meatballs is canned lentils + flour + egg (the same base I used for my cheesy lentil burgers). Once you’ve got that far, you can jazz things up however you like. I added:

black olives
sun-dried tomatoes
parmesan-style cheese
fresh basil
garlic

If you like, you could easily switch things up to bring a different flavour profile to your meatballs – maybe you could make a Tex-Mex version, or use some Indian spices, for example.

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegetarian meatballs. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

cooked lentils. I used lentils from a can, because they’re so convenient – just drain them well, and they’re ready to use. If you can’t get canned lentils, you can boil dried brown or green lentils until they’re soft, then continue with the recipe as written. I would not recommend using red lentils for this recipe, as they will not give quite the same end result.
eggs
plain flour (I used wholemeal for extra fibre)
sun-dried tomatoes
black olives
parmesan-style cheese. ‘Real’ parmesan isn’t vegetarian, but there are plenty of vegetarian alternatives, which are very similar. Often, supermarkets sell a generic ‘Italian hard cheese’, which is usually vegetarian.
fresh basil
garlic granules

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and Mediterranean lentil meatballs.

Printable Instructions

Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Easy vegetarian lentil meatballs, made extra tasty with Mediterranean-inspired ingredients. These are so simple – just mix and bake!

Course Main meal

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings meatballs

Calories 216kcal

Author Becca Heyes