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Recipe: Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, and Avocado Crostini

This recipe truly reflects more of a bruschetta feel. Lazy summer days that beg for moving slowly and snacking often. Chop tomatoes, slices of avocado and mozzarella cheese. What more could a girl ask for???

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Who doesn’t love a golden, crisp crostini? A crostini is a good crusty bread (like a typical French baguette) brushed with olive oil, toasted in the oven, on a stovetop with a pan, or on the grill to perfection. I love that crunch and crackle it makes as you bite into It. How it shatters and breaks between my teeth, offering a good sturdy opposition to that the perfect topping of a creamy spread, dip, or fresh veg.

The word crostini means “little crusts” in Italian. Many people, I find, typically associate a crostini with party appetizers or cheese plates, but you don’t have to throw a party to enjoy these. Oh, no. In fact, this tomato, basil, mozzarella, and avocado crostini recipe is one I make quite often for dinner.

This recipe truly reflects more of a bruschetta feel. Lazy summer days that beg for moving slowly and snacking often. Chop tomatoes, slices of avocado, and mozzarella cheese. What more could a girl ask for???

This is one I love to make on the grill as well! Don’t worry I’ll share that in a different post, soon, I’lll update and link when I do.

Crostinis with melted mozzarella and topped with basil and left over "dressing" from tomatoes.

What Ingredients Go Into this Crostini Recipe?

  • extra virgin olive oil – I recommend extra virgin olive oil but regular olive oil will work, just not that depending on the robust flavor you choose, it be more prominent in the tomato mixture. If you enjoy that robust flavor, by all means, use it.
  • fresh garlic – you are going to rub the crostini with the garlic clove, so powdered will not work for this.
  • fresh tomatoes – Use whatever tomatoes are freshly growing around you at the time. I love cherry tomatoes for this because they are a little sweeter. but if you’re growing beef steak, use those.
  • balsamic vinegar – An essential ingredient for that bruschetta taste. Trust me when I say… “you need” it, don’t skip it.
  • kosher salt – You can use regular salt as a replacement if you don’t have or can’t find kosher salt.
  • black pepper – It helps bring out the flavors along with the salt.
  • basil ribbons – Fresh basil like the balsamic vinegar is essential for this recipe. you really can’t skip it.
  • french bread – it’s what makes a crostini a crostini.
  • fresh mozzarella – This is highly recommended, but shredded brick mozzarella is fine if you that’s what you can find. Melting is not required, but highly recommended. It gives it more of a pizza-like quality.

The tomato mixture gets better as it sits for a bit, so I encourage you to that up ahead of time. As with most bruschetta recipes, you will rub a raw garlic clove on toasted bread, then pile the tomatoes onto the toasted bread. Then top the crostini with mozzarella (melt if you choose), and enjoy bite after juicy-gooey bite.

A Few More Great Summer Recipes to Try

Here are a few of my favorite summer/picnic/BBQ go-to recipes

Did you try it, have questions?

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Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, and Avocado Crostini

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The Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, and Avocado Crostini encompasses all the great things that scream summer! Bread, cheese, avocado, tomatoes & garlic. Enjoy!

  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 people 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Toppings

  • 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 5 oz Cherry Tomatoes (sliced into thirds)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley (coarsely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh Oregano (coarsely chopped)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh Basil (fresh Basil thinly Sliced – 1/2 will go on top at the end)
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (freshly ground )
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground )
  • 1 avocado
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella

“Toast”

  • 1 Baguette (sliced in diagonals)
  • 3 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 large Garlic Clove (depending on the size of your clove you may need more)

Instructions

  1. Start by whisking the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt & Pepper together into a dressing. Add the Cherry Tomatoes, about 1/2 of the Basil, parsley (I like to use a mixture of flat-leaf and curly-leaf), and oregano. Mix together.
  2. Let that sit. While you start the rest.
  3. Begin with a cast iron pan and turn the burner to medium heat. While the pan is heating, slice the baguette on a diagonal and brush all the slices with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on both sides. Place the bread on the pan for about 3-5 minutes until the side down is crisped and lightly browned then flip over to brown the other side. While the bread is browning, take a garlic clove and cut the bottom so that you can rub the garlic on the bread when it comes off the pan. Now would also be a good time to pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
  4. When the other side is browned, take the bread off the pan and begin to rub the garlic on the side that was most recently browned (this causes the garlic to “melt” onto the bread making it garlic flavor “stick” to it). Be careful, the slices are hot.
  5. Once all the slices have been rubbed add the next batch of bread to the pan. While these are browning thinly slice the avocado and place the slices on the bread that already has the garlic on it. Continue this rotation on flipping the bread, rubbing with garlic, and placing the avocado until all are done.
  6. Once all the bread is done and has avocado on it, add 2 tomato slices per crostini. (save the dressing for the end)
  7. Then slice and place the fresh mozzarella cheese. See the plan ones at the bottom (those are basically mini cheese garlic bread and our favorite as well for my family with pasta).
  8. Once all the cheese is topped, place in the oven for about 8-10 min or when the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
  9. Take out of the oven, drizzle with the reserved dressing, and top with the other 1/2 of the basil you set aside way at the beginning.
  10. Plate and serve.

Notes

*Servings Vary
The number of people it will serve varies, depending on if this is an appetizer or a meal.

Can be a no-bake
Grill the bread instead of using a skillet and place all ingredients on and enjoy.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer, Dinner, lunch
  • Cuisine: American, Italian-American

Nutrition

  • Calories: 648
  • Sugar: 7
  • Sodium: 900
  • Fat: 46
  • Saturated Fat: 12
  • Carbohydrates: 40
  • Fiber: 5
  • Protein: 20
  • Cholesterol: 45

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