Spring Vegetable Bruschetta Recipe

This recipe for a spring green vegetable bruschetta is one of my favorites. Every time I bring it to a party, I get compliments. Some links in this post are affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

So last week I talked about a whole bunch of yummies I made for a party I had at my house. It was hard to decide on my favorite, so I won’t.

This, however, was the favorite of at least a few people there, I think. It’s somewhat non-traditional, but oh so yummy, easy, and healthy, too. Plus, it was a non-messy appetizer, which is always a win!

This spring green vegetable bruschetta is incredibly light and so flavorful. The last time I made it, I got “Wow – who made this?” pretty much all night long.

To me, that’s the pinnacle of success.

Need more appetizer ideas? Check out some of my favorites at the end of this article

The fact that the bruschetta topping is primarily vegetables just makes it that much better. Why? You feel good about eating it, not guilty like so many appetizers.

This is perfect with all the vegetables that pop up in markets in spring, but you can get fresh asparagus, broccoli, green beans, and more all year long. In fact, I almost always use frozen peas for this because they’re easy and I don’t have to shell fresh ones.

The key to making this pureed vegetable bruschetta is blanching the vegetables just enough to brighten their flavors and soften them just a touch. You don’t want to boil out their flavor or make them mushy at all. Fortunately, it’s easy – and the step by step directions make it clear.

How to blanch vegetables

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Make sure you have a large enough pot to provide veggies enough space. I generally use a 3.5 quart pot for this.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Place ice cubes in the bowl and top with water. You want it deep enough to submerge the veggies.

Add vegetables to the boiling water and let them cook for just about a minute. You want them to brighten in color, but that’s it.

Use a spider or other tool to remove the veggies from the water and immediately plunge into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Let them sit there for two to three minutes.

Drain the vegetables in a colander, being sure to remove the ice.

Follow the same process any time you need to blanch vegetables for any dish. It’s simple once you know how!

How to Make Green Vegetable Bruschetta

Preheat the oven to 400.

Blanch the peas, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, and onions as described above. Let them drain while the crostini toasts.

Use a loaf of fresh crusty bread as the base of your bruschetta. It makes the best crostini, I think.

Cut the loaf into thin slices diagonally with a bread knife to maximize space for the topping. Lay them on a cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Bake in the oven until a beautiful golden color – about 10 minutes. You want them toasted and firm enough to hold the topping.

Remove from the oven and immediately rub with the garlic cloves 2-3 good strokes for each slice. (Or if you’re me and like garlic, go to town and use six cloves of garlic.)

Make sure the bread is still warm when you do this. That helps to ensure you get the garlic into the bread effectively and helps soften the sharpness of the garlic flavor at the same time.

Add the ricotta to your food processor with the veggies and parsley on top. This order seems to work best to puree the vegetables.

Puree the newly cooked veggies with the parsley and ricotta until lightly blended. Pulse it a bit to ensure everything gets blended together versus just turning it on and letting it run.

Drizzle in olive oil until you get a consistency you like. Add salt and pepper, still pulsing in the food processor.

Scrape down the sides with a spatula and do a quick check to make sure you pureed everything. You don’t want any chunks of vegetables remaining.

Spoon the puree onto the slices. Top each slice with a bit of prosciutto, and serve immediately.

Where would you serve this green vegetable bruschetta?

Spring Vegetable Bruschetta

This delicious appetizer is light and full of flavor. It's easy to make, and you can prep much of it ahead of time for parties, too.

4.93 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Diet: Low Fat

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 pieces

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Michelle

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces English or petite peas
• 1/2 bunch asparagus
• 4 ounces green beans
• 2 green onions rough chopped
• 4 ounces broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 loaf crusty bread
• 3 cloves garlic
• 12 slices prosciutto

Instructions

•  Preheat oven to 400.
• Blanch peas, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, and onions, then drain.
  8 ounces English or petite peas, 1/2 bunch asparagus, 4 ounces green beans, 4 ounces broccoli florets, 2 green onions
• Cut bread into thin slices diagonally. Lay them on a cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
  1 loaf crusty bread, 1/4 cup olive oil
• Bake 10 minutes until toasted and golden brown.
• Remove from oven and immediately rub with garlic cloves.
  3 cloves garlic
• Puree veggies with parsley and ricotta until lightly blended, then drizzle in olive oil while continuing to pulse. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  1/4 cup fresh parsley, 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, salt and pepper
• Spoon puree onto crostini. Top each slice with a half slice of prosciutto, and serve immediately.
  12 slices prosciutto

Video

Equipment

6 Quart Dutch Oven

Asian Kitchen Spider Strainer

Food Processor

Notes

• You can make the pureed vegetable topping up to a day in advance. You can prep the crostini earlier in the day, as well. Just assemble the bruschetta just before serving to ensure the bread doesn't get soggy.
• You can also keep this vegetarian by swapping out the prosciutto for thin shavings of Parmesan or Asiago cheese if you prefer. You want something to give a salty bite to the appetizer, whichever route you go.
• For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1crostini | Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 559mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g

This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

More Appetizer Ideas:

• BBQ bourbon little smokies
• Smoky cheesy enchilada dip
• Mini lasagna pizzas
• Boozy bacon cheddar bites
• Bacon wrapped dates
• Bacon deviled eggs (yes, I love bacon – why?)
• Puff pastry empanadas
• Queso blanco dip
• Cheddar and smoked sausage pinwheels

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