Our fresh tomato bruschetta with crostini and garlic and herb cheese is the perfect appetizer for a cheese night or party!
Jump to RecipeAs we’ve mentioned before, we love having what we call aperitivo nights: a delicious wine and cheese night that we pretend counts as a meal. Sometimes it’s a picnic lunch, and sometimes it’s a fancy “dinner” to celebrate a holiday or special occasion. But it’s always an excuse to eat a whole baguette and a ton of cheese. Since there’s no better way to enjoy bread and cheese than perfectly paired together with fresh toppings and spreads, we’re sharing one of our favorite cheese night appetizer recipes: fresh tomato bruschetta with crostini and Alouette garlic and herb cheese.
Homemade bruschetta and garlic and herb cheese are two of my favorite appetizers, which is why they’re always a part of our aperitivo nights. While I’ve started to branch out and eat more cold cheeses than I used to, Alouette garlic and herb spreadable cheese still has my heart. One evening while I was enjoying appetizers with my family back home, my grandpa combined garlic & herb cheese with fresh bruschetta on a slice of bread – and it blew my mind! Two of my favorite things and I had never thought to combine them until he did it. It was one of the best things I’d ever tasted, so I knew I had to turn it into an appetizer recipe and share it with the world.
Fast forward a few years and I started making easy garlic crostini for my cheese nights with Alex. These crostini turned out to be the perfect pairing for our tomato bruschetta and Alouette cheese. They’re slightly crunchy with a hint of olive oil and garlic flavor, which complements the creamy garlic and herb cheese so well. And the bruschetta is so fresh, juicy, and bright that it tastes incredible with this flavorful cheese! Truly a perfect three-layer pairing for a wine and cheese night.
This appetizer is pretty straightforward to put together – all you need is about 6 ingredients for the bruschetta and crostini, plus a tub of garlic and herb spreadable cheese. Keep reading to learn how to make our tomato bruschetta with crostini for your next wine and cheese night!
How To Make Garlic Crostini
You only need 3 ingredients and about 15 minutes to make this easy garlic crostini. Here’s how:
- Slice a baguette into half-inch thick pieces.
- Fill a shallow dish with olive oil and stir in minced garlic.
- Working in batches, place the slices of bread in the olive oil and gently press down so they soak up the flavor. Flip and soak the other side, so there’s a light coating of olive oil on both sides of the bread.
- Transfer soaked bread to a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 12 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crostini are lightly toasted. They should be gently crisped to the touch but still slightly soft in the middle.
Then while the crostini are baking, you can prepare a batch of fresh tomato bruschetta to serve them with.
How To Make Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
Fresh tomato bruschetta is just about the easiest appetizer you can make! All you need is 5 ingredients: tomato, onion, olive oil, garlic, and salt. Simply dice the tomato and onion, add to a bowl with olive oil, garlic, and salt, and stir.
Serving Tomato Bruschetta With Garlic Crostini
You can serve garlic crostini topped with just a scoop of fresh bruschetta for a tasty and simple snack, or you can level up your appetizer game and add some Alouette garlic and herb cheese spread into the mix. Here’s how we like to serve bruschetta and crostini:
- Top freshly baked crostini with about 1 tsp each of garlic and herb spreadable cheese.
- Add a spoonful of fresh tomato bruschetta on top of each crostini and serve immediately!
Prepare a whole plate of these herb and garlic cream cheese appetizers and savor the incredible taste of this combination with a glass of wine in hand. Or, if you’re hosting a party and preparing appetizers ahead of time, set up a build-your-own station with crostini, a tub of garlic and herb cheese, and a serving bowl of bruschetta! No doubt your guests will love this fun and easy Alouette cheese appetizer recipe.
For more tips and inspiration on hosting a wine and cheese night or tapas party, check out these posts:
Try the recipe below and don’t forget to rate, comment, and share! We’d love to hear what you think and see your cheese night creations on Instagram. Tag your photos with #thecandidcooks for a chance to be featured!
Tomato Bruschetta with Crostini & Garlic and Herb Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
Crostini
- 1 fresh baguette sliced into 36 half-inch rounds
- ½ to ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil*
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 pinch sea salt
Bruschetta
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
- ¼ med yellow onion diced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
Other toppings
- 6.5 oz garlic & herb spreadable cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Start by preparing the crostini. Fill a shallow dish with about a quarter inch of olive oil, then stir in minced garlic and sea salt to combine. Working in batches, place the baguette slices in the olive oil and gently press down to let them soak. Flip and press down gently again, then transfer crostini to the prepared baking sheet.*
- Bake crostini for 6 minutes or until bottoms are slightly crisped. Then flip each crostini over and bake for another 6 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly toasted.
- Next, prepare the bruschetta. Combine diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine, then season with sea salt to taste. Set aside.
- To plate this appetizer, spread about 1 tsp of garlic & herb cheese onto each crostini. Top crostini with a spoonful of fresh bruschetta and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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