Bruschetta Pasta

This pasta is the twist on bruschetta you never knew you needed. It’s quick, easy, bright, vibrant and bursting with flavour!

This bruschetta pasta is an absolute joy to make and more importantly, a joy to eat. In contrast to most pasta recipes I’ve got on this blog, this is nice and light. Which in fact is quite dangerous because before you know it you’ve scoffed down the entire skillet 😋

Bruschetta Topping

The star of the show in this pasta is the bruschetta topping/filling. Traditional bruschetta really only involves toasted bread topped with tomatoes and basil. Alongside the obvious tomato and basil, here I also add red onion and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The red onion not only adds a nice pop of colour, but also adds a nice bit of texture and a good punch of flavour too. The extra virgin olive oil adds a nice silky touch.

What tomatoes to use?

Here I use a combination of mixed cherry tomatoes (yellow, red, orange etc) and baby plum tomatoes. You can however use any tomatoes you fancy, just make sure they’re good quality and as fresh as possible. They are the star of the show after all.

Can I use dried basil?

Fresh basil is essential here! Dried basil won’t have enough time to infuse it’s flavours and actually has quite a different taste to fresh basil. Don’t skip or sub this.

Can I make this part in advance?

You can, I just recommend holding off on the salt otherwise it’ll turn soupy. Tightly cover in the fridge overnight then add salt just before needed.

Bruschetta Pasta

Okay, bruschetta topping done, let’s talk bruschetta ‘base’. In regular bruschetta this is usually toasted bread which has been rubbed with fresh garlic. In this pasta version we simply infuse extra virgin olive oil with garlic and toss through the pasta.

Starchy Pasta Water

Once you toss the pasta through the oil, as you’d expected it will indeed turn oily. In order to turn it into a very light/glossy sauce you’ll want to add in some starchy pasta water. This will help emulsify the oil and stop it from going greasy.

Serving Bruschetta Pasta

From there I like to keep the pasta in the pan and top with the bruschetta mix. Finish with a heavy helping of shaved parmesan and a good drizzle of balsamic glaze. Oh, and a train of garlic bread for good measure!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this bruschetta pasta shall we?!

How to make Bruschetta Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 5 votes

Bruschetta Pasta

By: Chris Collins

This pasta is the twist on bruschetta you never knew you needed. It's quick, easy, bright, vibrant and bursting with flavour!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Equipment

• Large Deep Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
• Large Pot & Pasta Tongs
• Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients 

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Pasta

• ▢ 14oz / 400g Linguine (or other long cut pasta)
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 4-6 cloves of Garlic, minced/finely diced

Bruschetta

• ▢ 1lb / 500g Fresh Tomatoes, finely diced (see notes)
• ▢ 1 medium Red Onion, finely diced
• ▢ 1 small bunch of Fresh Basil, finely diced
• ▢ 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Topping

• ▢ 1/2 cup Parmesan Shavings, or more to preference
• ▢ 1-2 tbsp Balsamic Glaze, or more to preference

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Instructions 

• In a medium sized mixing bowl combine tomatoes, red onion, basil, extra virgin olive oil and black pepper. Leave the salt for now otherwise it'll extract moisture from the tomatoes and make the bowl soupy. Place to one side.
• In a large pot of heavily salted water add linguine and cook until al dente, scooping out a cup of starchy pasta water just before the end of the cooking time.
• Meanwhile in a large pan add extra virgin olive oil with your garlic. Bring to a low-medium heat and gently fry your garlic until it just begins to brown. Careful not to burn it or it'll go bitter.
• Using pasta tongs add your cooked pasta and toss in the oil. Add a splash of starchy pasta water to emulsify the oil into a light and glossy sauce. Keep tossing until the water thickens up and turns slightly creamy/glossy.
• Mix in salt (to taste) with your bruschetta topping, then spoon over the pasta. Sprinkle over parmesan then drizzle over balsamic glaze. Divide into 4 portions and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Tomatoes - I usually go for a combination of mixed cherry tomatoes (orange, red, yellow etc) and baby plum tomatoes. You can in reality use any tomatoes you like. Just make sure they're nice and fresh to allow them to shine as the star ingredient.

b) Starchy Water - This is crucial to turn the pasta from oily to very slightly saucy. Important the pasta water is heavily salted so you don't dilute the flavour and important to scoop it right at the end so it's nice and starchy.

c) Garlic - Garlic is notorious for burning very quickly. As such I recommend putting it straight in with the oil, don't wait for the oil to heat up. This way it cooks with the oil instead of burning too quickly.

d) Calories - based on using 5 cloves garlic and shared between 4 people. No toppings calculated.

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Nutrition

Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 87.02g | Protein: 9.13g | Fat: 19.25g | Saturated Fat: 2.667g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.824g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12.895g | Trans Fat: 0.008g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 12.9g | Sugar: 4.2g | Vitamin A: 1431IU | Vitamin C: 19.8mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1.64mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you’re looking for another delicious bruschetta recipe be sure to check out my Bruschetta Chicken and Feta Bruschetta!

For more similar recipes check out these beauties too:

• Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
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• Pizza Pasta Salad
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