Tomatoes can be roasted, baked, or served fresh to create alluring appetizers for your guests.
You can make puff pastry pesto caprese bites, salsa, crostini’s, dips, focaccia bread, and more!
Tomato Salsa
Tomato salsa is a juicy, chunky salsa that has a little bite to it.
Salsa adds a ton of flavor and compliments tacos well as a topping.
Salsa can be paired with guacamole well for serving on top of steak tacos.
Tomato salsa is made by adding whole canned tomatoes, and a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel tomatoes work well) as the base of the salsa.
Finely chopped jalapeno with the seeds removed are added to the salsa, as well as some diced onions.
A few herbs like garlic and cumin are added, and then the salsa can be “pulsed” only in a food processor. Don’t overmix the salsa until it becomes a mush.
Pulse the salsa 7-10 times to get it just perfectly chunky.
Marinara Dip
Marinara dip has a vibrant, rich, tomato flavor to it, with hints of garlic and herbs.
Marinara is made by adding oregano, basil, minced garlic, salt, and olive oil to tomato sauce. The flavors come together by heating them on the stove for a couple of minutes.
Marinara dip is served with focaccia bread, garlic Italian bread sticks or French bread for dipping.
Bruschetta Baked Brie
Bruschetta baked brie is made by first creating a tomato bruschetta.
Tomato bruschetta is made by combining diced tomatoes, freshly chopped basil leaves, olive oil, minced garlic, and a bit of balsamic vinegar.
Bake your brie until it’s creamy and soft, then top your baked brie with your freshly made bruschetta.
You can serve your bruschetta baked brie with French bread, artisan crackers, celery, or carrots to dip into the baked brie.
Pesto Caprese Puff Pastry
Pesto caprese puff pastry bites are made with fresh pesto and fresh mozzarella for a savory mini appetizer.
Puff pastry is cut into squares, and then fresh pesto is placed in the center.
A thin cut tomato is placed on top, along with a piece of fresh mozzarella cheese.
Pesto caprese appetizer is baked in the oven until the puff pastry edges turn golden brown.
Garnish with balsamic, basil leaves, freshly grated parmesan cheese, or a spoonful of more pesto.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta
Roasted cherry tomato bruschetta is served warm, made on crispy garlic crostini’s.
The roasted tomatoes are tossed with fresh basil leaves, and then placed on top of the crostini’s that have been rubbed with garlic.
The bruschetta topped with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese, and a drizzle balsamic vinegar.
BLT Egg Sliders
BLT egg sliders are adorable finger food appetizers that look like miniature burgers.
BLT egg sliders are made by cooking hard boiled eggs and then cutting them in half to create the “buns”.
The bottom half of the “buns” need to have a little bit of the bottom of the egg cut off so it can sit flat on a serving plate.
Add a little salt, pepper, and your favorite sauce (ketchup, mustard, mayo, hot sauce, horseradish) to the bottom half of the egg.
Assemble the egg sliders by placing a strip of freshly cooked bacon, a slice of tomato to fit right inside the slider, and a piece of lettuce.
Top the slider with the other half of the egg to make the sliders complete.
Garnish the egg sliders by adding a little more pepper and sesame seeds.
Place a toothpick through the egg slider to make sure it stays together.
You can make these ahead of time, and place them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.
Pepperoni Caprese Bites
Pepperoni caprese bites are an eye catching appetizer assembled on a toothpick, with a basil vinaigrette dressing.
To assemble the pepperoni appetizer, place a fresh piece of mozzarella, then a folded piece of pepperoni, a fresh basil leaf, and a cherry tomato on a toothpick.
Drizzle basil vinaigrette dressing on top and serve immediately.
Fresh Pesto Bruschetta
Make a fresh batch of pesto, the flavor is much more powerful and fragrant than store bought.
Dice a tomato with a little bit of onion. Mix the pesto together with the tomatoes and onions.
Spoon the tomato pesto mixture on top of fresh baguette rounds and grate parmesan cheese on top.
Toast for a couple of minutes for the cheese to warm up.
Focaccia Bread
Focaccia bread is a warm appetizer that can be served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Focaccia bread with pesto in the dough adds a ton of earthy sharp flavor to the bread.
Focaccia bread is topping with halved cherry tomatoes and a few pieces of goat cheese prior to baking it in the oven.
Tomatoes give the focaccia bread a light, fresh taste to it, whereas goat cheese adds a sharp, cheesy flavoring to the bread.
Caprese Pesto Crostini
Caprese pesto crostini’s are made by marinating cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with dried basil leaves and olive oil.
Once you’ve made your crostini’s and they have cooled, fresh pesto is spread on the crostini.
Mozzarella slices and cherry tomatoes are placed on top of the layer of pesto.
Finally, the pesto appetizer is topped with freshly chopped basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar.
Spicy Italian Sausage Dip
Spicy Italian sausage dip is a hot, creamy sausage dip served with crackers or crostini’s.
Spicy Italian sausage is cooked and broken up into smaller pieces.
The sausage is mixed with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese to create the base of the dip.
Sausage dip is spiced with red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
Diced tomatoes and banana peppers are added to the dip, and then it can be placed in a heat proof dish.
The sausage dip is topped with more mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven until the cheese has started to brown.
Garnish with strips of fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.
Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry
Spinach and feta pastry bites is a creamy and savory appetizer.
Cooked spinach, crumbled feta cheese, and grated parmesan cheese are mixed together in a bowl to make the base of the appetizer.
Puff pastry is cut into squares, and then scored 1 cm from the edge of the puff pastry square.
Spinach and cheese mixture is spooned onto the puff pastry, and a thin slice of tomato is placed on top. Sprinkle a bit of pepper on top, and egg wash the pastry prior to putting it in the oven.
Spinach puff pastry appetizer is baked in the oven until the pastry turns golden brown.
