Trust me when I say that Goat Cheese Bruschetta is even better than traditional Bruschetta! If you like goat cheese, you'll love the creaminess and tang it adds to this summer appetizer. Serve the bruschetta with toasted sliced baguettes, crostini, grilled polenta, or on grilled avocado!
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Summer appetizer with goat cheese
I have a recipe for baked goat cheese dip with bacon (which is amazing, by the way!), and I wanted to share a lighter, more summery appetizer with goat cheese. This bruschetta doesn't require turning on the oven and has all the flavors of a classic bruschetta: bright, garlicky, cant-stop-at-just-one good. But the addition of goat cheese?? My oh my, that makes it even better.
The creamy tang of goat cheese is perfect with fresh garlicky tomatoes. My two tricks for the best bruschetta are:
- Take the time to strain out the extra tomato juices so your bruschetta is not watery.
- Stir half the goat cheese into the bruschetta, and use the rest to garnish on top. It'll look prettier and you'll have the perfect combo of a creamier flavor for the bruschetta with a pop of tang from the fresh bits on top.
More easy appetizers to try: Puff Pastry Lox Bites
Ingredients
For the bruschetta:
- 1.5-2 pounds ripe tomatoes, finely diced [typically roma (plum) tomatoes are used for bruschetta (you would need 7-8 of those), but any delicious ripe tomatoes will work great!]
- ½-1 teaspoon salt, divided (or more, to taste... I like to use sea salt for the bruschetta and finish the toasts with a light sprinkle of coarse kosher salt)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced, divided
- 10-15 leaves fresh Genovese basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 3-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
For the toasts:
- Baguette, sliced into ½-¾ inch pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, as needed
Or try serving this with grilled polenta!
More fun appetizers to try: Pizza Pinwheels
Instructions
Finely dice the tomatoes and place them in a colander. Add ½ teaspoon salt on top and stir gently (doesn't have to be fully stirred in). Let the juices drain while you work on the rest of the bruschetta, stirring gently once in a while. You can even let it sit in the fridge for several hours.
While the tomatoes are draining, finely mince the garlic. In a small bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon garlic with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and reserve that for the baguette. Let the oil infuse with garlic.
Finely slice the basil leaves by stacking them, rolling them up tightly, and slicing into thin strips.
If you're using a log of goat cheese, use a knife of your fingers to break it up into small pieces.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Arrange the baguette slices on a large baking sheet and brush them with garlic-infused oil. Bake at 400F for 7-8 minutes, or until golden on the bottom and crisp.
In a large bowl, combine the drained tomatoes, the rest of the garlic, diced basil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (to taste). Stir in salt and pepper, to taste.
Gently stir in half of the goat cheese, trying not to break it too much. Transfer the bruschetta to your serving bowl, then top with crumbles of goat cheese on top. Serve immediately with toasted baguette slices.
Kate's cooking tips
- Take the time to strain out the extra tomato juices. Don't skip this step.
- If you're using a log of goat cheese instead of crumbled goat cheese, keep it in the fridge until ready to crumble. It will be easier to work with.
- Make sure to only stir in about half or 2/3 of the goat cheese into the bruschetta. Use the rest as a topping, it's prettier that way!
- This can totally be a (mostly) make-ahead appetizer! Just keep the diced bruschetta ingredients refrigerated in separate sealed containers for up to 24 hours, then mix together right before serving. This way the tomatoes will stay fresh (won't release too much juice) and the goat cheese will keep its crumbly-ness. The toasted baguette should be made fresh.
- If you think people will eat this within ~30-40 minutes of putting the dish out, you can top the toasts with bruschetta and serve them ready to eat. If you think people will be grazing longer, leave some toasts without bruschetta and have people assemble their own appetizer, otherwise they will get soggy. The toasts, not the people.
- You can broil the toasts for 1-2 minutes (keep a careful watch over them because they could burn FAST!), or toast them in a large skillet.
- You can try substituting goat cheese with crumbled feta, but the soft creamy goat cheese is my favorite here.
- Another way to serve this goat cheese bruschetta is by spreading goat cheese on each toasted baguette and then spooning regular bruschetta on top. But that is a LOT more prep work than simply adding some goat cheese to bruschetta.
- Try adding a drizzle of balsamic glaze on top to serve. So good!
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 pounds ripe tomatoes 7-8 Roma or 4-5 large tomatoes
- ½-1 teaspoon salt divided, or more, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced, divided
- 10-15 leaves fresh Genovese basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ground black pepper to taste
- 3-4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
- baguette sliced into ½-¾ inch pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil as needed
Special equipment
Instructions
- Finely dice the tomatoes and place them in a colander. Add ½ teaspoon salt on top and stir gently (doesn't have to be fully stirred in). Let the juices drain while you work on the rest of the bruschetta, stirring gently once in a while. You can even let it sit in the fridge for several hours.
- While the tomatoes are draining, finely mince the garlic. In a small bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon garlic with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and reserve that for the baguette. Let the oil infuse with garlic.
- Finely slice the basil leaves by stacking them, rolling them up tightly, and slicing into thin strips.
- If you're using a log of goat cheese, use a knife of your fingers to break it up into small pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Arrange the baguette slices on a large baking sheet and brush them with the garlic-infused oil. Bake at 400F for 7-8 minutes, or until golden on the bottom and crisp.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained tomatoes, the rest of the garlic, diced basil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (to taste). Stir in salt and pepper, to taste.
- Gently stir in half of the goat cheese, trying not to break it too much. Transfer the bruschetta to your serving bowl, then top with crumbles of goat cheese on top. Serve immediately with toasted baguette slices.
Kate
Friday 24th of April 2026
This bruschetta gets DEVOURED every time I make it! Give it a try! I hope you like it as much as we do.