Panzanella Salad

Panzanella Salad is packed full of juicy tomatoes, toasty bread cubes, crisp cucumbers, red onion, and a sweet and tangy balsamic dressing! Panzanella is perfect served with your favorite meat or by itself. Truly a summer staple.

Panzanella Salad

Panzanella salad is one of my absolute favorites. This is my personal take on the classic! This dish is traditionally from Italy and is a salad made of stale bread, onions, and tomatoes. Most of the time it’s simply dressed with olive oil and vinegar, but we had to take things up a notch for even more flavor! It only takes about 20 minutes or so to put this salad together, including the prep time to toast up your bread and chop your vegetables. This is a great, light salad, full of summer veggies that can be eaten as a side dish or as a meal itself!

Looking for more ways to use up that summer garden haul? Try a refreshing Avocado Salad, this Creamy Cucumber Salad, or another classic – this Italian Chopped Salad!

What do I serve with Panzanella salad?

Anything you want! I find grilled chicken or Air Fryer Salmon to be the best main courses for this type of salad. However it would also be delicious with a nice juicy steak or some creamy Alfredo Sauce pasta. 

How To Make Panzanella Salad:

1. Toast your breadcrumbs in the oven, you want to toast them first so they don’t become soggy in the salad.
2. Mix up your dressing! It’s a simple dressing and you can add everything to a bowl and whisk, or to a jar and shake, it comes together fast.
3. Add everything else to a large bowl. All of the veggies, the breadcrumbs, and the cheese.
4. Now, add your dressing. If the dressing has sat for a bit, give it a whisk/shake again first before tossing it all together.

Storing Panzanella Salad

This salad is best eaten fresh, I wouldn’t keep leftovers more than a single day as the bread will become too soggy and lose that crunch.

Ingredients Notes for Panzanella Salad

For the salad:

• French Bread – Toasted and cubed French or Italian bread works best here. You can also use a whole wheat baguette or even sourdough if that’s what you like!
• Olive Oil – Something light to toast the bread – avocado oil also works just fine. 
• Salt – Just a pinch for flavor. Feel free to adjust.
• Tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes, but whole tomatoes are fine as well. You will want about 4 cups of either cherry/grape tomatoes that have been cut in half, or whole tomatoes that have been cut into large chunks.
• Cucumber – You’ll want one medium cucumber or a couple of small/mini cucumbers for this salad. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise down the middle. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds out. This will actually keep the salad from becoming too wet with excess moisture. Then, slice each half into thin slices.
• Red Onion – Slice as thinly as possible. I used half an onion but you can always use more depending on your preference.
• Basil Leaves – I find that fresh basil gives a more potent flavor, but you can use dried basil if you already have that on hand. Start with about a teaspoon of dried and go from there. For fresh, I used about 5 leaves.
• Olives – Totally optional but highly recommend adding in this twist.I like to use Castelvetranos Olives the best, they are so mild and buttery! They’re easy to find with any other olives at the store. If you prefer you can use any green or even Kalamata olives here.
• Mozzarella – Also optional, but cheese is really the perfect garnish to any dish. I like to use small cubed pieces of mozzarella for this particular salad.

For the dressing: 

• Olive Oil – Any brand you like or whatever you have on hand will work.
• Balsamic Vinegar – I love the tangy flavor this gives!
• Garlic – Start with 2 cloves, finely minced.
• Honey – For just a dash of natural sweetness to balance the vinegar.
• Dijon Mustard – Do NOT swap this with regular yellow mustard. 
• Dried Oregano – Of course you could use fresh if you’ve got it. Keep in mind that dried herbs are more potent than fresh, so you may need to add more than what’s called for.

Enjoy!

~Nichole

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5 from 9 votes

Perfect Panzanella Salad

By Nichole

Perfect Panzanella Salad is packed full of tomatoes, toasty bread cubes, cucumbers, red onion, and an amazing easy dressing!  Panzanella is perfect served with your favorite meat or by itself!

 

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 10 minutes mins

Total 20 minutes mins

Servings 6

Ingredients 

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FOR THE SALAD:

• ▢ 8 Ounces French Bread
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ▢ Pinch of Salt
• ▢ 4 Cups Cubed Tomatoes**
• ▢ 1 Medium Cucumber
• ▢ 1/2 Red Onion
• ▢ 5 Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped**
• ▢ 1/4 Cup Sliced Olives Optional
• ▢ 4 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese Cut into small cubes, Optional

FOR THE DRESSING:

• ▢ 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• ▢ 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Honey
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ▢ Pinch Salt & Pepper

Instructions 

FOR THE SALAD:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut the French Bread into 1 inch cubes and place on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Toss the bread with the 2 Tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes until golden.
• Meanwhile, add 4 Cups total of halved cherry tomatoes or cubed whole tomatoes to a large bowl.
• Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds, then cut each half into slices.
• Cut the red onion in half and slice as thinly as possible. Add the sliced cucumber, onion, basil, olives, and mozzarella to the bowl with the tomatoes and toss to combine.

FOR THE DRESSING:

• In a small bowl with a tight fitting lid, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Shake well for about 1 minute until completely combined.
• Add the toasted bread cubes and dressing to the bowl with the vegetables and toss until everything is well coated.
• Serve immediately, or allow to sit for 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Video

Notes

NOTE ON TOMATOES:  You can use cherry tomatoes, cut in half or whole tomatoes cut into large cubes for this recipe.  This will be around 2 pounds or 4 cups of tomatoes total.

NOTE ON BASIL:  If you don’t have fresh basil, substitute with 1 teaspoon of dried basil, then, taste and add more to the salad if desired.

NOTE ON OLIVES AND CHEESE:  I use Castelvetranos olives in this recipe.  They are easy to find with any other green or black olives at the grocery store!  If you can’t find them, you can use any green or even kalamata olives.  Note that the cheese and olives are optional if you don’t want to add them.

NOTE ON SERVING:  This salad is best when it sits for about 20 minutes to let flavors blend.  Leftovers can be refrigerated but should be eaten within 24 hours.  Keep in mind this salad is best eaten the same day it’s made.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cup, Calories: 283kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Italian

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