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!
Pin it now to save for later: 
Things I found helpful for this recipe (affiliate links):
Potatoes Bruschetta- Oil Free
Ingredients
Potato Chickpea Mixture
- 4 Russet Potatoes wedged
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas drained, but save liquid
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar Will also use the same amount in the sauce
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar can sub maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons liquid from chickpea can aquafaba
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast do NOT sub bakers yeast
Bruschetta Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth to line the pan
- 24 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 20 leaves fresh basil cut in strips
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
Plate it Up
- 2 cups baby spinach
- vegan parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions
Potatoes/Chickpeas
- Preheat oven to 380°
- Cut and wedge four washed brown russet potatoes. Each potato should yield 12 wedges. Do not peel
- Soak potato wedges in cold water for 30 minutes. You can prepare bruschetta sauce while potatoes are soaking.
- After the potatoes have soaked, rinse and pat dry. Return to a medium/large sized bowl.
- Open can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Drain but reserve some of the liquid. Add to the bowl of potatoes.
- Dice 1/2 red bell pepper and add to the bowl.
- Add all other ingredients (vinegar, agave, Italian seasoning, onion and garlic powders, salt, nutritional yeast, aquafaba - liquid from can) and stir to coat well.
- Turn onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 380° for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Open the oven and turn potatoes about half way through.
Bruschetta Sauce
- Cut grape/cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.
- Stack washed basil leaves together slice thinly. Set aside.
- Chop four cloves of garlic and add to a sauté pan along with the dehydrated diced onion.
- Line the pan with about 1/2 cup vegetable broth and sauté for about 3-5 minuets or until onion is rehydrated and garlic has softened. Watch your pan carefully and add more broth is necessary to keep garlic from sticking.
- Add cut tomatoes and continue stirring until tomatoes have softened - about three minutes.
- Remove from heat and add vinegar and fresh basil. Salt to taste. Let sit while potatoes are finishing - about 60 minutes.
Plate it Up
- Line a large serving dish with 2 cups of washed and dried baby spinach.
- Place cooked potato mixture on top.
- Spoon bruschetta sauce on top of potato mixture.
- Top with vegan parmesan cheese if desired.
It looks utterly delicious. I would happily tuck into that right now.
I hope you enjoyed!
Oh goodness, that looks delicious and the colours are amazing! Perfect January comfort food!
I hope you enjoyed it.
This is such a great twist on traditional bruschetta. All the flavours, but without the oil!
And thank you for providing all the detail on the recipe steps (and photos). This is so helpful!
I’m glad you liked it. It’s hard to eat oil free.