Panzanella – Cooking Classy

Panzanella – An Italian bread salad made with a medley of toasted bread in bite-size pieces, plenty of fresh ripe tomatoes, flavorful sweet basil, bright red onion, and a vibrant vinaigrette. This version also includes refreshing cucumbers and chunks of rich fresh mozzarella to take it over the top!

Wondering what to do with that hearty bread that’s getting stale on the counter? One of the best options is to make this refreshing, summery, and brightly colorful panzanella salad! Homemade croutons will blow your mind.

Classic Panzanella is a rustic salad that was originally created by the farmers of the central Italian countryside who made it as a way to use up day-old bread and their abundance of fresh homegrown vegetables.

It comes together quickly and it’s the perfect side dish to various grilled meats. It’s also such a versatile salad with options to swap in other vegetables, use various cheeses, try it with a protein, or add beans.

This is a great base and guide to get you started from there you can adjust it to your heart’s content!

Panzanella Recipe Ingredients

• Stale hearty white bread: Ciabatta, baguette, sourdough, or French bread are all good choices.
• Tomatoes: Use the best quality tomatoes possible as these really define the salad. I like to use a blend of campari and grape tomatoes for their size and sweetness.
• Cucumber: English cucumber works well or mini Persian cucumbers.
• Fresh mozzarella: Mini mozzarella pearls are a great option since they are already the perfect size but you can also use a ball of fresh mozzarella and chop it into small pieces.
• Red onion: If you want to reduce the sharpness of the red onion then place the sliced onion in a sieve and rinse under cool water and drain well before using.
• Fresh basil: Use plenty of fresh basil for authentic flavor.
• Fresh parsley: I like to use this in addition to the basil. It may not be the most traditional way to make it but why not add more fresh herby goodness?
• Extra virgin olive oil: Use good quality olive oil for the best flavor.
• Vinegar: Try it with white balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar. If you don’t use white balsamic vinegar then you may want to consider adding 1 tsp honey to the dressing as well to balance the tartness of the dressing.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic will be best.
• Dijon mustard: Only a small amount of mustard is added for a little zip and to help emulsify the dressing.
• Salt and pepper: Season the dressing and salad to taste with these.

How to Toast Bread For Panzanella

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil onto one half side of an 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.

Pour bread cubes over the olive oil and rub and toss bread cubes in the oil to soak it all up and to evenly coat them.

Bake bread cubes in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, tossing once halfway through baking, for about 15 minutes total. Remove and set aside to cool.

Making Dressing For Panzanella

In a mixing bowl whisk together remaining 6 Tbsp olive oil, the vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Making Panzanella Salad

To a large salad bowl add tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and mozzarella.

Whisk dressing again and pour over, then gently toss. If desired add a little more olive oil if needed.

Add toasted bread cubes, basil and parsley and toss.

Storing the Salad

For crisp toasted bread serve shortly after preparing, if you want it softer let it rest in the fridge for a few hours.

If you’d like you can make the dressing up to 4 days in advance, let rest at room temp if it solidifies before adding to the salad (or heat gently and briefly in the microwave).

Possible Variations

Meat: You can add grilled chicken to the panzanella salad or cooked shrimp.

Cheese: Try the salad with other types of cheese such as Feta or a handful of parmesan.

Beans: Add beans to the salad such as white cannellini beans or red kidney beans.

More vegetables: Up the veggies by including a red or yellow bell pepper in the salad.

Helpful Tips

Type of bread: Stale bread is best in this salad, bread that’s a day or two old rather than using fresh. It dries out better and holds up to the dampness of the salad. You can use just about any type of bread in the salad but I usually opt for a white variety.

Tomato tip: Small varieties of tomatoes work well so they don’t fall apart when tossed into the salad.

Best quality produce: For the best panzanella use the best quality of ripe sweet produce available. Home garden grown and farmers markets produce will be your best option if possible.

Seeding cucumbers: It’s helpful to remove the seed area of the cucumber to remove those excess juices so it doesn’t make the salad watery. To do this just slice the cucumber in half through the length then run a spoon down the center of each half to scoop out that area.

What to Serve with Panzanella

More Fresh Salads to Try