When fresh summer strawberries are in season, you have to take advantage of the haul. Sweet Strawberry Bruschetta is a great way to highlight these luscious berries.
This easy bruschetta recipe includes baguette slices slathered with ricotta cheese, topped a bruschetta mixture made with sweet fresh strawberries. Garnished with a balsamic glaze and shreds of fresh basil leaves. Served cold for easy summer entertaining.
A sweet bruschetta recipe that pops with colour and taste. Perfect for summer entertaining.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this strawberry balsamic bruschetta can be found at the bottom of this post.
Homemade bruschetta is so easy to make. Until I made fresh bruschetta for the first time, I was unaware of how quick and simple it is.
Turning simple ingredients into delicious dishes is one of my favourite things to do. Eating seasonal produce at its peak is so enjoyable. If only we could access to farm fresh produce all year long.
Have you tried grilled fruit desserts? Grilled Balsamic Strawberries are perfect for easy summer entertaining. Strawberries and balsamic pair so well together.
These Easy Crostini Appetizers are party perfect. With the explosive oil and vinegar pairings, crostini toppings are simple and delicious.
In my opinion, you can never go wrong with CHEESE and BREAD any time of day. Two things I can make a meal out of any day of the week. Speaking of turning ordinary into extraordinary, have you ever tried cold smoked cheese?
When anything is in season, I try to come up with lots of options and delicious ways to enjoy the harvest. We have enjoyed strawberry cocktails, strawberry popsicles, pies, and scones.
Strawberry crepes are delicious for a special occasion. Perfect for brunch or even as a dessert.
What Is In Strawberry Bruschetta?
I am a total bread and cheese lover, so a sweet bruschetta recipe sounded like a tasty plan to me.
This easy strawberry appetizer recipe requires only a few ingredients:
- fresh strawberries
- a nice fresh baguette
- ricotta cheese
- balsamic reduction
- fresh basil
- agave nectar
- basil flavoured olive oil
Strawberry Ricotta Bruschetta Is So Easy
Place strawberries in a blender and blitz until just roughly chopped. You can even chop the berries by hand if you like.
Next, I placed the chopped berries into a bowl and mixed in some strawberry balsamic glaze (which is just strawberry flavoured balsamic reduced down to thicken).
At this point, you can add some sweetener if you like. I mixed in a teaspoon of agave nectar.
Cut the bread, slather on the cheese, and top with the strawberry mixture. Garnish with a bit more balsamic reduction and fresh shreds of basil.
Suggestions/Recipe Tips
- Is bruschetta made with strawberries served hot or cold? I served this COLD. Makes for easy entertaining. I didn’t even toast the bread. Less stress and more time with family and friends is my goal.
- How to keep the bread from going soggy? Prepare this at THE LAST MINUTE. Have everything ready to go. This is super easy to put together at the last minute. If you are really pressed for time, have your bread cut into slices (kept in a ziplock bag).
- What is the best bread for bruschetta? I used a baguette. Any bread that is DENSE to hold the bruschetta toppings will work. Sourdough would be a great alternative.
- When to serve sweet bruschetta? ANYTIME! Strawberry appetizers are perfect for brunch, lunch, or even before dinner. In fact, I have also used this recipe for bruschetta as DESSERT TOO!
- Use a balsamic glaze or balsamic reduction for garnish. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own by reducing down some balsamic vinegar.
- Do you flavour the cheese? You don’t have too, but for this bruschetta recipe, I used some basil flavoured olive oil in the cheese mixture.
- Can you substitute the cheese? Yes, other great choices would be cream cheese, goat cheese, mascarpone, brie, or burrata.
- Do you have to sweeten the berries? It depends on the ripeness of the strawberries. I used a bit of agave, but you can also use maple syrup, honey or a bit of sugar. You can also not add any sweetener at all.
- Can you use other berries? By all means, try this with raspberries or blueberries.
If you are like me, this Sweet Strawberry Bruschetta is perfect for any time of day (or night). Bread, cheese, and berries can fit into any meal. Enjoy the strawberry season while it lasts.
Be sure to CLICK THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON located in the TOP MENU.
Looking for other great recipes with fruit? Here are a few to try:
- 18 Fresh Strawberry Recipes
- Pineapple Mango Salsa
- Fruit Cookie Kabobs
- Watermelon Pizza
- Quinoa Fruit Salad
Be sure to check out all the appetizers and finger foods on this blog.
Sweet Strawberry Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 baguette (sliced into thick pieces)
- 8 ounces strawberries
- 1 tablespoons balsamic reduction (I used strawberry flavoured balsamic glaze)
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar (optional)
- 10 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (I used basil flavoured)
- fresh basil (for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic reduction (for garnish)
Instructions
For the Strawberry Bruschetta:
- Wash the strawberries and place in a blender. Blitz until roughly chopped. Alternatively, you can cut the berries by hand into small pieces.Place in a bowl.
- Add the balsamic reduction (or balsamic glaze) and mix. Taste to see if you would like to add any sweetener. I used some agave, but you could use honey or sugar if you wish. Mix well and set aside till ready to use.
For the Ricotta:
- Place the ricotta in a bowl. You can use just plain ricotta if you like (or any other soft cheese). I like to flavour my cheese, so I added some basil flavoured olive oil. You can use plain olive oil, skip this step completely or add some fresh or dried herbs to flavour the cheese. Mix well.
To Assemble:
- Cut the baguette into thick slices (about 16 in total, depending on the size of the baguette).
- Slather some cheese on each slice.
- Top the cheese with some the strawberry bruschetta mixture.
- Garnish with additional balsamic, and threads of fresh basil.
Sue
This is probably a stupid question, but I’m confused by the “balsamic reduction”. What exactly is that?
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
There are no stupid questions. Balsamic reduction is balsamic vinegar that has been heated and reduced, just like making syrup. You can do this on your own, or buy it in the grocery store or Amazon. It is wonderful.
Patricia
Did you toast baguette in oven first?
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I did not, but feel free to toast the bread if you wish.
Jessica
Yum!!! I prepared this recipe over the weekend for a small event I hosted. I was not disappointed and neither were my guests. The combination balsamic and strawberry was just delightful. I did sub the ricotta for goat cheese because it’s my favorite and I’m glad I did because the result was perfect.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you made this sweet bruschetta recipe work for you and your guests.
Nicole
It’s the perfect season for a recipe like this. Using fresh and in-season strawberries is unbeatable. And I’m always looking for ways to use ricotta (other than eating it with a spoon). This strawberry bruschetta is great with mint, too.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I think the addition of mint is so delicious in this strawberry bruschetta recipe.
Jamie
I just made these using some local strawberries and it came out amazing! The balsamic reduction really makes this delicious!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
The balsamic is like icing on a cake in this sweet bruschetta recipe.