This recipe for Rosemary White Bean Bruschetta is the low-on-prep, high-on-taste appetizer of your holiday party dreams. The white beans are fresh, creamy, and buttery and delivered on perfectly crisp, garlickly bruschetta toasts. The resulting flavor combination is out of this world. This recipe is vegan and vegetarian, incredibly easy, requires no fancy kitchen equipment, and needs just 15 minutes of prep. Who knew beans on toast could be so damn good?
Happy Tuesday friends! I am big time struggling with adulting this week. Our tree still sits grandly naked in the living room, there are approximately 67 loads of laundry to deal with, and Asher has managed to make a bomb go off in every room of house in just under 2 hours this morning. Actually, that’s basically just another Tuesday ’round these parts. C’est la vie.
On the good news front, it’s Day 2 of holiday party appetizer week and my belly couldn’t be happier. Today’s special is this too-good-to-be-true rosemary marinated white bean bruschetta. Doing the laundry might be hard, but these babies sure aren’t.
So here’s the deal guys. This recipe is insanely easy. Start to finish it takes just 15 minutes of actual hands on time, plus it can be prepared almost entirely in advance. So much winning. But there’s a catch (there always is, right?). And it’s the ingredients. Go ahead and splurge a little and make this bruschetta really shine by purchasing the best quality ingredients that you can afford.
If you can only afford one splurge, spend it on high-quality extra virgin olive oil. And you don’t even need to splurge all that much. Trader Joe’s has several excellent options, and your local grocery store likely carries California Olive Ranch, which is my go-to mid-price preference. The rich, buttery, peppery flavor of really great EVOO is the perfect compliment to creamy white beans and garlicky bruschetta toasts. The ingredients might be humble, but this white bean bruschetta packs an incredibly delicious punch.
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Rosemary White Bean Bruschetta Recipe Notes
Aside from being deceptively tasty, the best part about this recipe for white bean bruschetta is that it can be prepared almost entirely in advance. You can make the white beans up to 24 hours ahead of time and tuck them into the fridge – the longer they marinate, the better. Win/win. Same for the toasted bruschetta slices. When party time arrives, just arrange the bruschetta toasts on a platter, spoon on some white beans, and serve.
Let’s get started. Grab a mixing bowl and add two cups of cooked white beans. Scratch-made beans will be creamier (get my method for cooking white beans here), but canned beans are totally fine thanks to the marinating time. Add some chopped rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, white wine or champagne vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir, cover, marinate.
Grab a baguette. Get the fancy kind if you can, or better yet head to your farmer’s market to get your hands on a locally baked, fresh loaf. I used a whole grain baguette, but you can use whatever suits your preference – french, sourdough, rye, gluten free, it all works. Slice the baguette into 24 equal pieces about half an inch thick. Brush each side with olive oil and then send them into the oven to get nice and toasty. Flip and rotate halfway through so they toast evenly. My toasts took about 12 minutes. Yours may take more or less time depending on the thickness and freshness of your bread. Just make sure they’re dry and crispy, but not burnt.
Lastly, you’re going to rub the warm toasts with a few cloves of smashed garlic. This is a pivotal moment in the process, and you can’t skip this step. Okay, literally speaking you are physically able to skip this step. But you if you do, your white bean bruschetta will not be as life-changing as it should be. I’m telling you from experience, because I tested it, and the un-garlicked bruschetta was…fine. Good, actually, quite good. But the garlicked stuff was simply amazeballs. So just trust, take 2 extra minutes, and rub that toast with a garlic clove. You won’t regret those minutes.
Once you’ve got your toasts all garlicked up, you can either set them aside if party time is nigh, or place them in a sealed container for later use. They’ll keep at room temperature for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 days. Any longer and they’ll lose some of their snap and flavor.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the marinated white beans from the fridge and stir in the fresh parsley. Spread the garlic bruschetta toasts onto a platter, top with a tablespoon of white beans, and serve. This recipe makes 24 bruschetta. For a cocktail party, plan on two toasts per person.
2017 Holiday Party Appetizer Week
Looking for more holiday party appetizers? You’re in luck – it’s appetizer week on OSK! Check out these easy peasy winter harvest endive cups I posted yesterday, and check back all week for more fast and easy appetizer options!
Did you make this Rosemary White Bean Bruschetta? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Recipe
Rosemary White Bean Bruschetta
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin RecipeRecommended Equipment
- Resealable gallon bag
Ingredients
Marinated Rosemary White Beans
- 2 c cooked white beans, or one 14.5-oz can, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ c unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Bruschetta Toast
- 1 baguette thinly sliced into 24 ½″ slices
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3.-4 garlic cloves, smashed
Instructions
- Place the white beans, chopped rosemary, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and cracked black pepper in a mixing bowl and stir. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate, at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375*. Slice the baguette into 24 ½” slices and spread evenly over a baking sheet. Brush one side with olive oil, flip, and brush the other side with olive oil. Bake the baguette slices until golden brown and completely dry, flipping once halfway through, about 12 minutes. Remove the slices from the oven and rub with each slice with a smashed garlic clove. Place the crostini in a sealed container (I like gallon zip lock bags) and set aside until you are ready to serve.
- When you are ready to serve, add the chopped parsley to the white beans and stir to incorporate. Spread the bruschetta toasts onto a serving platter and top each crostini with approximately 1 tablespoon of white beans. You’ll have some reserved marinade, and you can spoon a little bit of extra marinade over the top of each toast. Serve immediately. This recipe keeps well at room temperature (perfect for parties!) and makes 24 bruschetta toasts. For a cocktail party, plan on two white bean bruschetta per person.
Nutrition Information
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Jennifer
My party plans fell apart at the last minute so I ate these white beans with some spinach and arugula as a light dinner – so tasty.