These crispy Pesto Polenta Bites with Tomato Bruschetta are the perfect quick and easy bite-sized appetizer recipe! The fresh flavors will make it hard not to fill up on them!
Pesto Polenta Bites with Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
Do you have a go to appetizer that you make every year?
You know, that one appetizer that tastes phenomenal but is also crazy easy to make … cuz “time” is few and far between during the holidays!
Well, one of my go to’s is a simple fresh Tomato Bruschetta. It’s so easy to make with just a few ingredients and about 5 minutes of chopping. It can be made ahead of time and put on just about anything.
In fact, we had a Christmas Party to go to last weekend and my plan was to make these Polenta Bites, photograph them and then take them to the party.
But after I made them I realized that a good friend of mine who was going to the party was allergic to pine nuts, pesto has pine nuts in it … so I couldn’t bring these bites to the party. No matter how amazing they were!
What did I do? I made a little bit more Bruschetta, added some balsamic vinegar to it, brought some pita chips and called it a night. It was perfect! Plus bruschetta is so fresh and light!
Normally I will add bruschetta to some butter toasted bread. Today we are doing something a little different.
Polenta! Have you ever had it?
What is Polenta?
It’s basically corn meal that’s cooked and stirred with love for like 30 minutes until it’s the consistency of grits or a creamy oatmeal. Some people eat it just like that, or sometimes they fry or bake it. Today, I cheated a bit and purchased pre-made polenta. Take the shortcuts when you can! Then I sliced it, brushed it with some olive oil and place it under the broiler so that the polenta got all nice and crispy. 🙂
Once the polenta gets crispy it basically turns into a vehicle for any toppings you want!
This time I chose to top it with homemade Basil Pesto and my go to Bruschetta! Ya’ll this appetizer is absolutely glorious and a refreshing treat to all those “heavy” appetizers! Plus it gluten free! Woot woot! You know… if you’re into that sort of thang!
If you’re not and just like to eat good food, well your in luck too because this is down right delicious! You can say thank you later! 🙂
I hope you aren’t getting sick of appetizer recipes yet. Because I have a couple more coming your way! I just can’t help myself! After all, the holiday season is all about Jesus, Appetizers, Cookies, Cocktails, and Presents right?
Oh hey, I just realized that this is a Meatless Monday recipe too! Woohoo, I actually posted a Vegetarian recipe ON Meatless Monday and didn’t do it on purpose. High fives to me!
Ok. Sorry. Apparently it’s the little things for me!
Alright folks, Happy Christmas Week and Bon Appetit … don’t forget to add these Pesto Polento Bites to your menu!
Pesto Polenta Bites with Tomato Bruschetta
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10–15 bites 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
These crispy Pesto Polenta Bites with Tomato Bruschetta are the perfect quick, easy and healthy bite-sized appetizer recipe! The fresh flavors will make it hard not to fill up on them!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ready made polenta roll, cut into 1/2” slices
- 1/3 cup fresh basil pesto
Tomato Bruschetta:
- 1 pint champagne tomatoes (cherry or grape will work too), diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffoned
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to HIGH.
- In a medium bowl, add tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss everything together and set aside.
- Gently brush both sides of the polenta discs and place on a greased baking sheet.
- Broil for 7-10 minutes or until slightly browned.
- Remove from oven.
- Smear 1/2 teaspoon of pesto on each disc and top with fresh tomato bruschetta.
- SERVE!
26 comments on “Pesto Polenta Bites with Tomato Bruschetta”
I have an anniversary party that we’re doing appies. I was wondering, can I broil these before hand and then maybe just warm them up and top them with the goodness? I’m so looking forward to making these.
yes you absolutely can! 🙂
Question – In the write up when mentioning the tube polenta, you say to bake it till it is nice and crispy yet, in the recipe you say to broil it. Which is it?
Hey Barbara, I can see how that’s confusing. I brush the polenta bites with olive oil and then place then under the broiler to crisp up. 🙂 I also changed the text in the post itself to reflect the recipe card.
Looks great
We don’t have ready rolls here
Any chance u have recipe to make them from scratch
Ohhh… unfortunately I don’t have a scratch made polenta. But you could serve it on crostini’s.
This was a great hit. Simple and quick to prepare. I fried my polenta on a griddle. Will use this again and soon!
Woohoo! So glad to hear it was a hit! It’s such a fun unique appetizer. 🙂
Seriously…this was awesome. Everyone loved it and it looks and tastes like a top restaurant quality appetizer. Thank you!
Yippie!! I am thrilled it was a hit!
Can I broil the rounds the day before and serve it cold? Or re heat them?
You could heat them the day before. I haven’t served it cold before. I’m not sure of the texture it would be. You could try it and report back.
I just made this recipe for the first time, and I will definitely be adding it to my repertoire! The only thing I did differently was use a grill pan for the polenta rounds==and only because Santa brought me one for Christmas (since I was so good during the year). My grocery store offers a great local source of fresh basil year-round, so I’ll never have to compromise on this fabulous dish! Thanks for posting it!
In case it comes up again, not all pesto recipes have pine nuts in them, so you can make them for your friend, too! (My hubby can’t have them, either.)
thanks louise, I’ve made pestos with walnuts and pecans before. it’s delicious! 🙂
These look delicious, great idea!
Thanks lauren. Hope you give them a try!
What a great appetizer. Very refreshing and unique. Loving the combo of flavors!
Seriously though. I want them all! Every act one of them!
haha… I like the way you think!
I love polenta and those fresh, vibrant flavors are perfect!
This looks absolutely delicious! I love how pretty these are.
oh thanks so much girl!
What an interesting appetizer! I tried polenta for the first time when on holidays in Italy and I loved it. However, never tried making it at home. My question: can you make these using ordinary polenta – not ready made? I see yours is of a thick consistency which I am not sure how to achieve with just cooking it from scratch.
I know. That’s why I love it, it’s different! You can definitely make it using regular polenta, just don’t add as much liquid to the mixture when you’re making it. 🙂