Panzanella Salad (Crouton Bread Salad)

If you love oven-crisp Italian bread, fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella balls, all drizzled in a delicious vinaigrette; then this Panzanella Salad is for you! Panzanella is a summer salad icon, and for good reason.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of tending a garden, you know the feeling of peeking through the moist vines, searching for the ripest, most colorful fruits while smelling fresh basil mingling with the humid tangy zest of heirloom tomatoes.

That, to me, is the smell of summer, and eating this Panzanella Salad evokes all those same feelings of earth and sun and fresh-picked foods.

Why you will love making Italian Bread Salad.

Panzanella salad is incredibly versatile. This recipe keeps it pretty simple, but once it’s a part of your repertoire, you’ll find all sorts of ways to keep it fresh, like adding cucumber, grilled chicken, grape tomatoes, olives, and even ripe, juicy peaches.

Panzanella is filling enough for lunch or a light dinner but also makes a great appetizer salad recipe. Because it uses seasonal ingredients, you’ll want to make it as often as possible, whenever ripe tomatoes are in season!

Salad Ingredients

• day old Italian crusty bread, cut into slices and cubes
• extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, and balsamic vinegar
• diced juicy tomatoes and sliced red onion
• fresh basil leaves, chopped
• capers, drained
• small fresh mozzarella pearls, quartered

How to make Panzanella Salad.

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Mix together olive oil and minced garlic in a small bowl.
3. Pour over dry bread cubes. Using a spatula, mix well to coat evenly.
4. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cubed bread is crispy and crunchy. Set aside to cool.

5. Whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
6. Add bite-sized pieces of tomatoes, onions, basil, capers, and cheese to a bowl and mix well.
7. Stir in crunchy bread.
8. Drizzle oil and balsamic mixture and mix well to coat evenly. Let stand for 15 minutes for flavors to mingle. Season with additional salt and black pepper if desired. Stir well before serving in a large salad bowl.

Expert Appetizer Salad Tips:

• For extra flavorful tomatoes (and to avoid that extra wateriness I mentioned previously), after chopping, salt the tomatoes and let them sit for about 15 minutes, then drain any excess moisture. You can either discard the tomato juice or add some of it back into the dressing for extra tomato flavor.
• Use only fresh, ripe tomatoes. These are the most important ingredients in the salad, so make sure you use the best!
• Add a bit of dijon mustard to your vinaigrette. This gives the dressing a little extra kick and is delicious with the tomatoes and veggies.

• A heartier style of bread will hold up better in this Panzanella Salad than other types of bread.

• If you only have fresh bread instead of day-old bread, toast it in the oven for a few minutes more (around 12-15 minutes rather than 8-10). Check bread often to ensure it doesn’t burn.
• Add a bit of fresh chopped oregano and pepper to your dressing before tossing. Divine!
• You can add all sorts of other ingredients to this Panzanella Salad Recipe. A few of my favorites are cucumber, olives, sliced air fried peaches, and corn. You can also add Italian salami or grilled chicken.

FAQs:

Panzanella is a bread salad with tomatoes, basil, and onions tossed with olive oil and vinegar dressing. It originated in the Tuscany region of Italy as one way that people could use day-old or stale bread.

Picking Bread

You have several options for picking the right bread for your Panzanella. This recipe calls for Italian Bread, but French Bread, ciabatta, baguettes, and even sourdough bread will all taste amazing in this.

You want to choose a bread that has a crispy, crunchy exterior; the heartier, the better to withstand getting soggy in the dressing.

Picking Tomatoes

At the height of summer, when fresh seasonal tomatoes are literally bursting off the vine, there is no better use for all that bounty than Panzanella.

Any fresh, ripe tomato will work for this salad. I LOVE using cherry tomatoes whenever I can, and Panzanella Salad is no exception! It can be a challenge to strike the right balance of flavor and wateriness when making Panzanella.

On the one hand, tomato juices are a large part of the flavor of this salad. This means cutting all your tomatoes (even cherry tomatoes), or you’ll miss out on all that juicy goodness. On the other hand, overly watery tomatoes can interfere with your bread, causing it to become soggy.

For this reason, I like using cherry or Roma tomatoes because they are usually less watery than other varieties.

What to serve with an Italian Side Salad Recipe.

While Panzanella Salad is hearty enough to be served alone for a lunch or light dinner, it pairs perfectly with so many things!

For a vegetarian meal, try serving Panzanella Salad with Braised Artichokes or Eggplant Parmesan. Or use it as an appetizer before Mediterranean-inspired meat and fish dishes, as well as chicken dishes like Asparagus Stuffed Chicken, or Caprese Stuffed Chicken.

You could also serve this salad alongside pasta or even homemade pizza. Whatever you do, make sure you’re drinking some crisp white wine while enjoying your Panzanella. It really takes it over the top!

Related Summer Salad Recipes

If you are interested in other awesome summer salad recipes, check out these great ideas:

• This filling BBQ Chicken Salad recipe is just as good for dinner as it is for a side dish.
• If you love sweet and savory, nothing goes better than a watermelon and feta salad recipe.
• A traditional old-fashioned Greek Salad Recipe is full of traditional Greek Flavors.

• Another fruity, fresh summertime salad is this fresh papaya and strawberry salad that makes a great side. 
• Lastly, if you are gathering easy recipes for the holiday season menu, try a creamy grape salad recipe or this colorful and flavorful fiesta corn salad recipe.