This beautiful, light, tasty focaccia dip is full of fresh bruschetta flavors and comes together in minutes for a luscious alternative to dipping your focaccia in oil.
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⭐Why you’ll love it
- It’s a light and fresh alternative to traditional oil- or cheese-heavy focaccia dips.
- It comes together very quickly, just some chopping and blending.
- It uses simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
- You can make it ahead of time.
- It’s vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
- It’s fairly low in fat.
- It’s a great way to dress up ready-made focaccia or focaccia that’s a bit hard.
If you want to try and take it up a notch, you can even serve it with this perfect 15-minute garlic bread! It’s a great appetizer; you can even dip breadsticks in it and follow up with a delicious but easy Italian main like spaghetti arrabbiata or penne in arrabbiata sauce.
🛒Ingredients and substitutions
Tomatoes: I used fresh plum tomatoes, but you can also use the regular round vine-ripened kind in a pinch. They must be ripe, or you will have to add a pinch or two of sugar.
I don’t recommend using canned tomatoes, but if you must, make sure they are high quality (e.g., San Marzano), whole (not crushed or chopped), and pour off the excess tomato juice in the tin. You can always add the extra juice later if you’d prefer a more liquid consistency.
Olive oil: Preferably use extra virgin or virgin olive oil. I’ve used cheaper oil in a pinch, but it has to have a noticeable olive taste.
Basil: Only use fresh basil.
Garlic: I used two large cloves for a strong garlic taste; if you’re unsure, blend one and taste it before you add the second clove.
Balsamic vinegar: Use high-quality balsamic vinegar, preferably. If you don’t have any, try these substitutes. Do not use balsamic reduction, which is thick and syrupy.
Pepper: Use only freshly cracked or ground black pepper, not the dried ground stuff, and not white or pink peppercorns.
Salt: Use regular fine table salt.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact quantities.
👩🍳How to make it
- Roughly deseed the tomatoes. It doesn’t matter if a few seeds get in. I do this by just slicing off the sides and bottom of the tomatoes (on the right) and throwing away the centre part with all the seeds (on the left).
- Peel your garlic and add it to a food processor or blender with the tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil stems and stalks, black pepper, and salt.
- You can either blend until smooth and creamy or pulse until chunky (but with small chunks). I find a smoother sauce clings to the focaccia better.
- Finely chop the basil leaves (not the stems) and mix them in with the pureed sauce. I don’t blend the basil leaves in with the sauce because they make it a muddy brown, and pulsing doesn’t really chop the leaves.
Done! Taste and test to see if it needs more seasoning. It’s best to chill this sauce in the fridge for at least twenty minutes to let the flavors develop. I serve it with a swirl of extra olive oil, some more black pepper, and some of the baby basil leaves on top.
💡Expert tips
- Use only one garlic clove if you don’t like a strong “spicy” garlic taste. Then taste after blending (before you add the basil) and see if you’d like to add the second one.
- If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, you can use a stick blender in a narrow, deep bowl or Tupperware container.
- This sauce is perfect for making ahead, but keep in mind the garlic flavors will become stronger the longer it sits.
- You can cut your focaccia into fingers to make dipping easier, or let guests rip off chunks (but it will get messy, depending on how oily the focaccia is).
- Don’t serve the focaccia in the dip, as it will get soggy quickly, as this is not an oil-based sauce.
❓Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Tightly cover and you can keep it for up to four days in the fridge. It also freezes very well and will keep for up to three months.
It actually makes a great refreshing sauce for leftover pasta, especially in the summer months. You can also cook it and add it to hot pasta or gnocchi. It’s also great on salads, especially mozzarella or burrata ones, or on top of cheeses on open-faced sandwiches.
Yes, you can, but you may have to adjust the seasoning and the balsamic vinegar, as the bold flavors of raw garlic really carry this dip.
🥣More delicious dip recipes…
Did you make this dish? Let me know how much you loved it with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Focaccia Dip (Fresh Tomato Bruschetta Dipping Sauce)
Ingredients
- 6 Tomatoes Ripe plum or vine-ripened regular tomatoes.
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1.5 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil Extra virgin or virgin.
- ¾ teaspoon Salt Regular finely ground table salt.
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper Freshly ground or cracked.
- 0.7 ounces Fresh basil Separate stems and leaves.
Instructions
- Roughly deseed the tomatoes by slicing off the sides and bottom of the tomatoes and throwing away the fleshy interior and seeds. It doesn't matter if a few seeds get in.
- Peel the garlic and add it to a food processor or blender along with the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and basil stems. Two cloves of garlic give a strong, spicy taste; if you're not sure, try adding one first.
- Blend until smooth or pulse until chunky (but with fine chunks, not huge ones that will fall off your focaccia). Taste and see whether you would like to add the second clove or not (be brave! Focaccia needs some strong flavors). Personally, I prefer it smooth and creamy, as the focaccia soaks it up better.
- Finely chop the basil leaves and mix them into the sauce.
- For optimal flavors, refrigerate covered for at least 20 minutes.
- Serve as is or drizzle extra oil, sprinkle extra black pepper, and add some baby basil leaves or more chopped basil on top.
Notes
- Make sure your tomatoes are ripe! If they are slightly unripe, you may need to add a pinch or two of sugar.
- I don’t recommend using canned tomatoes, but if you must, use whole, high-quality ones and discard the extra juice in the can.
- If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, you can use a stick blender in a narrow, deep bowl or Tupperware container.
- Don’t serve the focaccia in the dip, as it will get soggy quickly, since this is not an oil-based sauce.
Lori
I love the taste of this dip but it is very runny/liquid. Should it be? How would you suggest thickening?
Deirdre Gilna
Hi Lori! It is supposed to be quite runny so it soaks into the bread, and as it is a dip and not a spread. It should be a similar consistency to my dip in the images on the page. If you’d like it chunkier you can just pulse the ingredients instead of blending them, and remove the seeds from the tomatoes.
Maja
Hi! I was wondering if the dough can lay overnight so I can bake the focaccia the next morning? I need it for a friends party and don’t know if it will be as good if I bake it today… Thanks in advance!! 🙂
Deirdre Gilna
Hey Maja! You can definitely pop it in the fridge overnight – either let it rise then cover tightly with plastic wrap, pop in the fridge and then take our of the fridge half an hour before you need to put it in the oven, or mix it up, cover it, put it in the fridge overnight them take out and knock back again and let rise as usual with an extra 30 minutes rising time. I hope I made sense?
Maja
@Deirdre Gilna, Yes. Thanks so much. Can’t wait for the final effect, super stoked about having found such a delicious recipe!
Deirdre Gilna
Awww I hope you enjoy it!
news24uk.com
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but
after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog!
Amanda
Yes, yes and yes! Can’t wait to try this! This should freeze well, correct?
The Fiery Vegetarian
Hey Amanda! The bread freezes well but the dip could get a bit grainy upon defrosting – it only takes a minute to make the dip so I would say you would be better off just freezing the bread and making the dip as needed! Hope you enjoy, thanks for stopping by.
Jordan
Excellent recipe right here! My mouth is watering leaving this comment! 😀
Will
The focaccia was soft and tasty and the dip was wonderfully tangy – a great mix, delicious.