Copycat Trader Joe's Bruschetta Sauce Recipe

Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce is a popular topping found near the refrigerated dips and spreads section of the store. Don't confuse this fresh product made with raw tomatoes with their cooked and jarred bruschetta sauce sold on the shelf. Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce boasts a fresh-from-the-garden taste thanks to a mixture of uncooked ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, and basil. We think the secret ingredient is white balsamic vinegar, which gives the sauce both acidic and sweet nuance. Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce is quite tasty, but it's easy to make this copycat recipe to save money, enjoy the dish at its freshest, and even improve on the original.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a copycat Trader's Joe's bruschetta sauce recipe that's quick and easy to make. While the prep time is 45 minutes, most of that time calls for simply chilling the sauce in the fridge so the flavors can meld. Bottalico has copied the original product while making some subtle improvements in the choice of tomatoes (and how the tomatoes are prepared) to create a sauce with a fresher, more pronounced flavor and a less watery consistency.

To use this sauce to make classic bruschetta, grab a baguette, some crusty Italian bread, or one of the other types of bread used to make bruschetta. Slice it, toast it, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and rub a raw clove of garlic onto the slices. Then all that's left is to spoon your fresh bruschetta topping onto the slices and enjoy your delicious homemade summertime dish.

For this recipe, you will need 3 cups of small, sweet tomatoes. The quality of the tomatoes will really influence the final dish, so choose ripe, sweet tomatoes like cherry tomatoes if you can. Other kinds, like Campari, Picadilly, and some sweeter grape tomatoes will also work, as will any kind of sweeter tomato variety you can access.

The other ingredients you will need are garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, fresh basil leaves, and an optional pinch of sugar in case your tomatoes aren't very sweet. Finally, white balsamic vinegar is used to give the sauce a special flavor. If that's not accessible, you can sub white wine vinegar with a pinch of sugar. The flavor isn't exactly the same, but it will give you a substitute for the acidity and sweetness of white balsamic vinegar.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, and then slice them in half. Remove the wet pulp and seeds from ⅔ of the tomatoes and discard.

Finely chop the tomatoes and place them in a mixing bowl.

Add the garlic, oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper to the bowl.

Tear the basil by hand into small pieces and add them to the bowl.

Stir the mixture until well combined. Taste, adjust for salt and pepper and, if the tomatoes used aren't very sweet, add an optional pinch of sugar if desired.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the mixture to develop more flavor.

Serve immediately. Bruschetta is best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

• Easy French Bread Recipe
• No-Knead Olive Cheese Bread Recipe
• Easy Homemade Focaccia Recipe
• Honey Balsamic Glaze Recipe

Bottalico studied the ingredients of Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce and had a container on hand for tasting purposes. "Trader Joe's version is delicious and I made a very similar version, but compared side by side, this copycat version has a brighter red color and a bolder taste because of the tomatoes selected," Bottalico says. The specific kind of tomatoes Trader Joes uses is not known, but Bottalico recommends using small, sweet varieties like cherry, Picadilly, Campari, and some kinds of grape tomatoes. Beware bland tomatoes like the Roma tomatoes some supermarkets may carry that lack color and flavor. A benefit of choosing sweet tomatoes is you can omit the sugar Trader Joe's includes.

Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce contains a lot of liquid. To make this homemade version more substantial, Bottalico removed the pulp and seeds from ⅔ of the tomatoes to cut back on liquid, since the pure liquid can't be used on bread anyway. You can treat all of the tomatoes this way or omit this step if desired.

This recipe only uses extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor (the original also includes canola oil). Although vinegar is an unusual addition to bruschetta, Trader Joe's version contains white balsamic vinegar. While it's more expensive, white balsamic vinegar adds a special flavor that's both acidic and sweet, and it's present in the copycat version as well.

When tomatoes are mixed with salt, their juices are released, and some versions of bruschetta topping can be quite liquidy because of this (Trader Joe's included). The excess liquid is left in the bowl when the topping is spooned onto crusty bread to make bruschetta. Otherwise, it could make the bread too soggy. While you could discard the liquid, we don't recommend it, both to prevent waste and because it's simply delicious. It's good enough to simply eat with a spoon, but there are plenty of other creative ways to use the tomato juices leftover from making bruschetta.

An easy way to use the excess liquid is as a dressing. Dressing is one of the important components of a balanced grain bowl, so using the tomato liquid in bowls with grains, protein sources, and veggies is an easy, tasty, and light option that doesn't require you to purchase a separate dressing. It's also great on bean salads like those made with chickpeas and lentils, and, of course, on salad made with lettuce.

You can use the liquid to saute onions, garlic, or vegetables as an alternative to oil or butter. It also makes a good marinade, giving ingredients like vegetables, tofu, seafood, and meat extra flavor. Like vinegar (which the liquid does contain), the tomato juice acts like a meat tenderizer, which is one of the benefits of marinating.

• Roasted Balsamic Bruschetta Recipe
• Classic Bruschetta Recipe
• Cast Iron Skillet Bruschetta Recipe
• Elegant Pomegranate Bruschetta Recipe