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Are you making bruschetta? If you are and you have just run out of basil, then you must be looking for a good substitute for basil in bruschetta. This post shares 5 of the best substitutes you can use!
Bruschetta is a starter dish from Italy that is made with common ingredients like grilled bread, chopped tomatoes, cheese, basil, olive oil, minced garlic, black pepper and salt.
Basil is usually added to bruschetta as an aromatic herb to impart its minty freshness to the tomato, garlic, salt and pepper and basil mixture. It is also sometimes used as a garnish for bruschetta.
However, if you are out of basil, you may be wondering what to substitute for it and you can learn this right here.
What can I use instead of basil in bruschetta?
The best replacements for basil in bruschetta include fresh herbs like parsley, oregano, mint, tarragon, and cilantro. Each of these will be explained below.
Best substitutes for basil in bruschetta
Parsley
Parsley can be used as a sub for basil in bruschetta. Simply give a rough chop to the parsley leaves and add it to your bruschetta. While parsley does have a bit of a different flavor, it really does work.
Oregano
If you happen to have some fresh oregano leaves, these can also be used to replace basil in bruschetta. Oregano will give a nice pungent, peppery, slightly sweet flavor to your dish.
This flavor is not too much unlike the fresh peppery, spicy, sweet flavor of basil, although you will miss the notes of cloves, anise, and mint that basil imparts. The flavors of oregano always complement fresh tomatoes well!
Mint
Mint is also great as an alternative to basil in bruschetta. Mint has a sweet flavor and leaves a cooling effect on the tongue, but, regardless of this difference in flavor, fresh mint leaves work quite well in bruschetta recipes as it is a fresh aromatic herb not too much unlike basil.
Tarragon
For a twist on bruschetta with basil, you can also make bruschetta with tarragon. Tarragon has a slightly sweet, slightly bitter taste with hints of fennel and anise that complement fresh tomatoes really well.
Simply chop up the tarragon like you would chop up fresh basil and add equal quantities to any bruschetta recipe as a replacement for basil.
Cilantro
Cilantro is another easy-to-find herb that pairs well with tomatoes. Therefore, if you are out of basil or don’t like the stuff, using fresh cilantro leaves as an alternative is a natural choice as it will brighten up the bruschetta naturally, especially if you like Mexican flavors!
Recipes with each basil substitute for bruschetta
Below, you will find links to recipes that match each of the substitutes for basil used to make bruschetta listed above. These recipes will help you understand how to make your favorite bruschetta recipe even when you have no basil available!
- Bruschetta with parsley
- Bruschetta with oregano
- Bruschetta with mint
- Bruschetta with tarragon
- Bruschetta with cilantro
