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A delicious and easy appetizer recipe, this goat cheese bruschetta is topped with mushrooms flavored with fresh herbs and lemon.
Mushrooms seem to be one of those divisive foods that inspire passionate debate. The haters usually have a laundry list of complaints (slimy, scary, etc). But the lovers. Well, mushroom lovers generally don’t have words to describe their deep affection! What side of the fence are you on? After having spent my formative years as a hater, I’ve somehow crossed over. And this easy goat cheese bruschetta with mushrooms is one of my favorite ways to enjoy my favorite foods, together.
How to make this goat cheese bruschetta
Bruschetta is an easy appetizer for a party that tastes like you spent hours on it! This goat cheese bruschetta stars my favorite foods: tangy goat cheese and savory mushrooms. Imagine: tender mushrooms flavored with fresh herbs and lemon juice, salty, savory, and herby all at once. They’re piled on a crusty bread, spread with creamy goat cheese. Alex and I were so impressed by how much flavor came out of this simple preparation! Here’s how to make this goat cheese bruschetta:
- Step 1) Toast the bread: Instead of simply toasting the bread in a toaster, brush olive oil on each side, then cook it on a griddle on the stovetop.
- Step 2) Saute the mushrooms: Saute the cremini mushrooms in olive oil with fresh thyme and oregano, then add a squeeze of lemon juice to finish it off!
- Step 3) Rub garlic on the bread: Here’s what brings big flavor! Take a raw garlic clove and rub it onto the toasted bread. The essence of the garlic is transferred without being too garlicky!
- Step 4) Spread with goat cheese and top with mushrooms: Spread the bruschetta with soft goat cheese, top with mushrooms and you’re ready to go!
Alex and I were inspired to combine these flavors by a sandwich at Xoco, the Rick Bayless restaurant in Chicago, which combined mushrooms and goat cheese in the most delicious way! The herbs were from our ever abundant garden. And thanks to the Italians for inventing this fancy way to serve toast!
How to pronounce bruschetta?
What’s the right way to pronounce bruschetta? If you’re serving this goat cheese bruschetta, resist the urge to call it “broo-shetta”. In Italian, the letter combination of SCH is simply S+K. So “bruschetta” is pronounced “broo-sketta”.
Is goat cheese better for you than cow’s cheese?
Wondering whether this goat cheese bruschetta is better for you than most? There are many benefits of goat cheese over a standard cow’s cheese like cheddar or mozzarella. Here are some of the benefits of goat cheese (Source: Prevention):
- Goat cheese has more vitamins and minerals than cow’s cheese. Goat’s milk is richer in essential nutrients than cow’s milk (like vitamin A & B, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium).
- Goat cheese has slightly less calories than cow’s cheese. Goat cheese has just 75 calories per ounce—less than cow cheeses like mozzarella (85), Swiss (108), and cheddar (115).
- Goat cheese is easier to digest. Goat cheese has less lactose than cow’s milk and a slightly different protein structure. That means even people who are lactose intolerant many times can digest goat cheese!
Want more recipes with this tasty cheese? Go to Best Goat Cheese Recipes.
Looking for more easy appetizer recipes?
This goat cheese bruschetta is a great simple way to enjoy the perfect combination of this creamy spread and mushrooms. Goat cheese is an excellent compliment to the savory taste of the mushroom, and paired with some fresh herbs and a few squeezes of lemon juice. Words can’t really describe the taste sensation. Outside of this easy goat cheese bruschetta, here are a few of our favorite appetizer recipes for entertaining:
- Baked Goat Cheese Appetizer with Tomatoes
- Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip
- Pico de Gallo Recipe with Black Beans
- Peach & Burrata Caprese Salad
- Glowing Green Hummus
- Very Verde Cilantro Dip
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
This goat cheese bruschetta recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free bread.
Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Mushrooms
A delicious and easy appetizer recipe, this goat cheese bruschetta is topped with mushrooms flavored with fresh herbs and lemon.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 slices crusty bread
- 4 ounces mushrooms (for example, baby bellas and shiitakes)
- 1 large handful fresh thyme
- 1 large handful fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Cut the bread into slices, and brush each side with olive oil. Cook on a griddle on the stovetop, about 1 minute per side.
- Wipe any dirt from the mushrooms and slice them. Coarsely chop the thyme and oregano. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the mushrooms, herbs, a few pinches kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper, and saute until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
- Peel the garlic clove and cut it in half. Rub the cut end of the garlic on the top of each bread slice. Spread some goat cheese over each slice, then top with the warm mushrooms.
Last updated: January 2020
I love everything I’ve made from your site, and this one takes the cake!! So delish!! My boyfriend and I both love mushrooms, so I served this with some home made minestrone soup= perfection! Wonder if there would be a way to incorporate some sauteed tofu for us vegetarian folks?
This sounds like a great accompaniment to minestrone! You could certainly incorporate sauteed tofu along with the mushrooms, though you may need a bit more seasoning for the entire mixture. We found it filling enough with just the cheese and mushrooms, but adding additional toppings couldn’t hurt! Let us know if you try it out.
I did a little spin-off of this and posted in on my blog, check it out! I used some butter and flavored goat cheese which definitely amplified the flavor. So delicious! Love coming back to your blog and checking out some fun, new ideas! Thanks so much
Sounds great. Thanks for sharing!
What an awesome bruschetta! Great alternative to the traditional version
Can you please talk to my mushroom-hating boyfriend about how good mushrooms are?! I need to make dishes like this and be able to share them with him!
i like this as a new kind of bruschetta :)
Goat cheese and mushrooms is one of my favourite flavour combos… I would totally eat this for lunch!
– Brittany
I recently became a mushroom lover so I’m ready to make this!! YUM.
This looks so delicious and it’s so simple! The best recipes always are! Can’t wait to try this… yum!