Potatoes Bruschetta – Oil Free

All the flavors of bruschetta without the oil and refined carbs. This Potatoes Bruschetta recipe is a healthy flavorful meal that will make your tastebuds happy!

Do you crave the bruschetta taste but don’t want the oil and refined carbs? If so, then this Potatoes Bruschetta recipe is for you! It is a meal – not a snack. The bruschetta sauce is made without oil. Instead of carby white bread, you layer the bruschetta onto seasoned roasted potatoes and chickpeas, which sit on top of a layer of baby spinach. Yum! And healthy too! Finish it off with a sprinkle of my cashew parmesan “cheese“, and you’ve got yourself a fully plant-based and oil-free dish exploding with flavor!

How to make potatoes bruschetta:

Preheat your oven to 380°. Wash four medium russet potatoes, taking a minute to get rid of any “funny” parts. You will be leaving the skins on, so make sure the skins are as free from blemish if possible. Cut the potatoes in half and then half again. Then cut each piece into three so that each potato yields 12 wedges.

Soak the cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. This will get some of the starch out and make for a less soggy potato.

Making the bruschetta sauce:

While the potatoes are soaking, you can make the bruschetta sauce. It will need to sit for about 40 minutes to an hour after cooking so that all the flavors meld nicely together. You can roast the potatoes and chickpeas while it is sitting.

First I cut the little tomatoes in half and then set aside. I like to use grape tomatoes because they are an oblong shape and easier to hold and cut. feel free to sub with cherry tomatoes is that is your preference. I know that some bruschetta recipes call for deseeding the tomatoes. That would be impossible (and silly) to do with the little grape or cherry tomatoes. I love the strong tomato flavor these tiny tomatoes lend to the recipe.

The garlic shortcut:

If you have followed Veggie Fun Kitchen for any amount of time, you know that I’m all about taking shortcuts. This usually means jarred and pre-chopped garlic. Not this time…I want all the garlic flavor to come through in this recipe! Chopping garlic can be time-consuming, messy, and leave your fingers smelling – well, garlicky. One trick I use is to lay the handle end of the knife on to the garlic clove and press down hard. The paper usually peels away fairly easily after that. (I’ve added an affiliate link below for a hand soap that I can’t live without. It does a great job washing away the strong food smells, including onion and garlic.)

Add the chopped garlic to a pan along with minced onion. I do take a short cut here and use dehydrated minced onion. It does need to be finely minced and I am never able to do that well enough by hand. Plus, we are adding vegetable broth to the pan, so the onion will easily hydrate as it is cooking.

Add enough vegetable broth to cover the bottom of the pan. We don’t need to use oil in this recipe to get the bruschetta flavor. Sauté the garlic and onions for a few minutes until the garlic has softened and the onion is fully rehydrated. Watch your pan carefully and add a little more broth if necessary to ensure the bottom doesn’t stick.

Add the cut tomatoes and stir until just softened – about 3 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and add the balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. Salt to taste.

This bruschetta sauce is powerful and seedy – and I’m not even mad at that!

Set the bruschetta sauce  aside while you are finishing the your potatoes. That will take about hour and that’s about the right amount of time.

Drain, rinse and pat dry the potato wedges and put into a bowl. You can use the same bowl they soaked in but make sure it’s rinsed and dried.

Time to open a can of chickpeas – otherwise known as garbanzo beans. Drain but reserve the liquid from the can. This is called aquafaba. You’ll be using a two Tablespoons in this recipe. You can save it in an airtight container for a couple of days and make fabulous vegan desserts out of it! (Enjoy this Article all about aquafaba  by Minimalist Baker!)

Add the chickpeas, diced red pepper, spices, balsamic vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of liquid from the can to the potatoes and gently stir to coat well. (If you neglected to save the liquid, then use water instead.) One of the seasonings you’ll be using is nutritional yeast. This is different from bakers or brewers yeast and is a staple of the vegan kitchen. You can often find it in the health food section in grocery stores. I buy mine from Amazon (affiliate link below.)

Turn the mixture onto a silicone-lined baking sheet (super important to have your pan lined with something as you are not adding oil and it will stick.)  The silicone sheets are a must-have in my kitchen. I’ve put a link at the bottom.

Place the pan in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are softened. I pull it out about half-way and turn the potatoes so that they are evenly baked.

After the potatoes are done, turn onto a serving dish lined with baby spinach and top with the bruschetta sauce. A sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese perfectly finishes this dish!

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Things I found helpful for this recipe (affiliate links):