Patriotic Berry Bruschetta – Grain Changer

Celebrate the 4th in style with delicious Gluten-Free Patriotic Berry Bruschetta! Serve for breakfast, an appetizer, or a sweet evening treat.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was commenting on how I can’t believe that it’s already June, and now here I am prepping for the 4th of July? MAN the time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

As you may recall from last year, the 4th is one of my all-time favorite holidays, thanks to my parent’s beautiful lake house (turned full-time place of retirement) and the epic bocce tournament that they host every year. ← not joking.

And everybody knows that no holiday weekend, especially when sustenance is needed for important tasks like winning bocce, is complete without a festive treat (or 5).

Enter Patriotic Berry Bruschetta.

Since my Gluten-Free Star Spangled Shortbread Cookies didn’t seem to have quite the right amount of magic to bring us home the gold last year (though they kept the ref very happy – mission accomplished!) I started brainstorming what other yummy treats I could whip up that could give us the added edge we needed to win.

Obviously I knew it had to be red, white, and blue (duhhh) and although I was very tempted to make mini berry cookie pizzas, I was also contemplating something a little less sugar-laden, and a little more wholesome (but just as delicious). The perfect solution: a berry bruschetta! Lightened up and not as sweet, but still bursting with berries and patriotism. Pluuuuus I would able to sneak a little protein in there with the cheese (we’ll ignore that it has a little sweetener in it, mmk? 😉 ) Because we all know that protein build muscle, and muscles win bocce. ?

Oooor something like that.

One problem (which I’m sure you’ve already thought about because you’re much smarter than me)? Gluten-free baguettes, which some would argue are quite crucial for bruschetta, are really hard to come by. Annoyingly so, actually.

But do I let such things stand in my way? NEVER. Leah is my name, improvisation is my game.

Seeing as how the 4th is the red, WHITE, and blue holiday, I thought subbing in high-quality gluten-free white bread would be the perfect nod to the holiday, and a crafty little switcheroo. At this point you all know how much I love Canyon Bakehouse, so their Mountain White bread was an obvious choice.

I chose to cut most of my bread into rectangles (crust trimmed off) so they could be decorated in flag fashion – I mean, if we’re going festive, let’s go festive – but you can slice ‘em up into triangles (with the crust on or off), squares, or even use a cookie cutter to make a star shape!

I’m partial to the flag version, but I must admit the triangles are still pretty adorable and festive, don’t you think? They’re also a sure way to keep that blueberry obsessed husband of yours happy when he requests a high blueberry-to-strawberry ratio than the adorable flag version can provide. 😉

Traditional bruschetta is toasted in the oven, but guys, I’ve got bocce to play. So, to cut down on time, I went the cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater route and popped the bread into the toaster. Honestly, no one will know the difference since you’re just going to cover them up with creamy cheese goodness and all the berries anyways! ?

Short cuts make my world go round. Seriously.

Then, all you need to do is whip some cream cheese together with a little honey for a nice touch of sweetness, slather it on to your toasted bread, add on your patriotic berries and TADA! Perfect festive treat for the 4th.

Here’s to hoping that these adorable treats bring us a little more luck this year.

But the real win here? Delicious Patriotic Berry Bruschetta, no matter the bocce outcome. 😉

This recipe was developed in partnership with Canyon Bakehouse. All opinions are 100% my own!

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