Olive Bruschetta

This Mediterranean olive bruschetta with torn juicy olives, shaved parmesan, and celery served on toasted garlic Italian bread is crispy, delicious and fresh.

It’s a terrific Italian appetizer ready in less than 15 minutes!

I love making bruschetta, pronounced “brusketta”, with different scrumptious ingredients. Sometimes I use fresh mozzarella, canned artichokes or chickpeas with sun dried tomatoes, and it’s always a hit!

Bruschetta is definitely one of my go-to appetizers. It’s economical, quick, and magically turn a handful of basic ingredients into something that tastes amazing.

In this recipe, the crispy garlic bread along with the extra virgin olive oil instantly elevate simple, convenient ingredients like jarred olives.

It’s rustic, garlicky, generous and I’m sure you’ll love the combination of juicy olives, savory parmesan and crispy garlic bread.

And it’s super quick to whip up and absolutely perfect for a party because you can make a large batch of the topping ahead of time, as well as toasting bread slices.

It’s perfect for sharing and everyone loves it, but if you have any olive topping leftovers, toss it into a salad, YUM!

And isn’t it just so convenient that something as delicious as this is so fuss free to make? Now let’s make olive bruschetta!

List of the ingredients

• Pitted olives
• Rustic bread
• Parmesan cheese
• Celery
• Capers (optional)
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• White wine vinegar
• Salt & pepper

How to make olive bruschetta

(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)

• Torn the pitted olives and add them to a bowl.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.

• Toss until well combined and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
• Slice the bread (each slice should be about 1.5cm/ 3/5″ thick).
• Toast or grill the slices of bread.
• Rub each slice with a fresh garlic clove (this is how Italians make bruschetta!)

• Either serve a bowl of the olive topping for people to put on their own toasted bread, or do it for them right before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe notes

Olive bruschetta ingredients

Bread: artisanal crusty bread such as sourdough or ciabatta are great for this recipe. French baguette slices, although better for crostini, it would work too. Gluten-free bread might be another option.

Garlic: it’s absolutely a must. Rubbing a garlic clove on the hot slices of bread enhance that amazing garlic flavor. That’s what we do in Italy.

Olives: you can use jarred or canned pre-pitted olives, or pick out your favorites at the olive bar at your grocery store. Tear them by hand into a few pieces, they will look yummy and more inviting than sliced olives.

Parmesan cheese: it’s essential in this recipe, its nuttiness plays well with the olives and the celery.

Celery: crispy, fresh and great to brighten up the olive mixture.

Capers: the tangy, lemony capers pack extra flavor, but feel free to skip them if you don’t have them on hand.

Extra virgin olive oil: flavorful, fruity good-quality extra virgin olive oil pairs beautifully with the crispy garlic bread and packs so much flavor.

Vinegar: for a touch of acidity.

Salt & pepper: adjust the seasoning to your taste until the flavour pop, and make sure you use freshly ground black pepper to give an extra kick.

More appetizer recipes?

If you love this olive bruschetta, you might love similar appetizer ideas that I’ve gathered here for you:

• Pea and ricotta crostini
• Smoky beans on toast
• Bread & beans
• Sun dried tomato paste
• Caprese salad skewers
• Focaccia with tomatoes
• Italian rice balls

If you make this scrumptious bruschetta with mozzarella, or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it. I would love to hear from you!

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