Panzanella (Bread Salad)

This adaptable Panzanella salad recipe lets you combine crusty, artisan bread with your favorite dressings and toppings for a bread salad that can’t be beaten! Choose seasonal flavors and enjoy a delicious meal that’s perfect any time of year.

There’s nothing like a bowl full of veggies fresh from the garden in the summertime, but I eat salads year-round.

Delicata squash salad with apples and cranberries REQUIRES cool weather.

A Wedge Salad is one of my favorites in the winter.

But my current any-time-of-year salad BFF? Panzanella salad.

After all, the main ingredient in panzanella bread salad is BREAD. What kind of person doesn’t like bread?!

I used to time bread baking around lunch. Partly so the kids could have sandwiches, but more so that I could have bread and butter for lunch without feeling guilty.

Nowadays though, I just put panzanella salad on my meal plan and call it dinner.

WHAT IS PANZANELLA SALAD?

Panzanella is traditionally a salad consisting of dried-out bread and tomatoes tossed with a tangy dressing. Hence why it is also called tomato bread salad, tomato salad, or Tuscan salad.

If I had my own tomato plants, I would no doubt limit the ingredients to just ripe tomatoes and bread and dress the salad with only balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and top with freshly ground salt and pepper. MAYBE a sprinkle of basil or oregano if I’m in the mood.

But seeing as A) I don’t have my own tomato plants right now, B) summer tomatoes aren’t even in season, and C) I don’t have access to heirloom tomatoes straight from Italy, I’m breaking the rules and taking extreme leeway with the ingredient list. Here’s what I usually put in my Panzanella:

• No-Knead Artisan Bread (or other rustic, crusty bread)
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• Italian seasoning
• Typical salad ingredients (whatever you have in the fridge), like:
  • Tomatoes
  • Lettuce
  • Red onion
  • Bell pepper
  • Spinach
  • Cucumbers
  • Fresh herbs like basil or parsley
  • Cheese like mozzarella or Parmesan
• Dressing of choice (Italian, Greek, Caesar, Ranch, etc.) or a simple mix of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

THE BEST BREAD FOR PANZANELLA SALAD RECIPE

In a classic panzanella salad recipe, you want day-old bread. It’s rustic, crusty, and tastes just a bit aged. You can probably find a loaf of almost stale bread fitting this description at a local bakery, or possibly even the farmer’s market.

However, you can also make something similar yourself and not only save money but also know 100% what is in your bread.

No-Knead Artisan Bread is a great substitute for the rustic sort of bread, especially when you make it with whey instead of water and let it sit for almost a full 24 hours before baking. If you’re the forgetful type though, you can follow the recipe as-is and it’ll still be delicious.

You might think that putting bread into a salad and adding dressing would yield a bowl of soggy bread, but there’s a secret for just the right texture.

By cubing the bread into bite-size pieces (½-inch or 1-inch cubes), tossing it with some olive oil and seasonings, and toasting it in the oven, we’re not only making croutons (yay!) but we’re also making the bread cubes resilient to sogginess.

If you’re the type of cook who likes to taste as they go along, you might want to go ahead and double the croutons. They’re SO crunchy and SO good and SO irresistible that you might accidentally eat more than you intended to and might be left short when it’s time to assemble the salad.

Not that I have any experience or anything…

DRESSING A PANZANELLA SALAD

Since we’re breaking the rules with the salad ingredients and we’re breaking the rules with the type of bread to use too, let’s just keep the trend going and discuss dressings.

As I mentioned earlier, a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar would be absolutely delicious. Feel free to stop there if you like to play it safe.

For the adventurous folks, no dressing is off-limits for this panzanella salad, and you can add extra toppings to suit the flavor you pick.

• Homemade Italian dressing? Yes please, along with some fresh basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, olives, and pepperoncini mixed into the salad.
• Homemade Greek dressing? Ooh, with kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese? And if you add artichokes, I’m coming over for dinner.
• Homemade ranch dressing? Sure thing. Maybe some chopped bacon, diced avocado, and sweet corn too.
• Homemade Caesar salad dressing? Our current obsession and dressing of choice. We add chopped chicken and bell peppers to this version of panzanella salad to make it a meal. With freshly shaved Parmesan too, of course.

With all these drool-worthy flavor combinations, you’ll be making a different version of panzanella every day of the week!

HOW TO MAKE PANZANELLA SALAD

Panzanella, aka tomato and bread salad, is a great meal to prep ahead of time for those days you’re busy right up until dinner time.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 275F. Meanwhile, cut the bread into ½″ cubes and place in a large bowl.

Step 2: Toss the bread with the olive oil so as much of the bread as possible is coated. Season generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and toss again.

Step 3: Spread the cubed bread onto a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 25-35 minutes, stirring and flipping once or twice. You want the bread to be at least medium golden brown, and definitely crispy. It is better to be too crispy than too soft, just avoid burning.

Step 4: When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Step 5: Meanwhile, assemble the rest of your salad ingredients (minus the dressing).

Step 6: About an hour before mealtime, combine your salad with your bread in a very large bowl. Add ½ cup of dressing and toss thoroughly. Add additional dressing if desired, taking care not to over-saturate the salad.

Step 7: Place the salad in the refrigerator until mealtime.

ITALIAN BREAD SALAD TIPS

You can get all the Italian bread salad ingredients prepped ahead of time so that all that is left is assembly for a quick meal.

• Ideally, you assemble this salad about an hour before mealtime so that the dressing just soaks into the bread slightly and the flavors can meld.
• If you need to make this salad a few hours ahead of time, the bread may be slightly softer from the dressing soaking in. I wouldn’t assemble this more than 4 hours ahead of time though.
• Alternatively, you can assemble your bread salad just before eating for extra crunch.

PANZANELLA RECIPE FAQS

PANZANELLA SALAD

The best part about panzanella salad is the fact that you are SUPPOSED to make it ahead of time. This gives your homemade croutons the ability to absorb some of the dressing rather than just be coated in it.

That way, when you have a big bite of bread and veggies on your fork, you’re getting some of that dressing too instead of all the dressing collecting at the bottom of your bowl.

Should we make this a new trend? Filling a bowl with bread (and perhaps some veggies), covering it with dressing, and calling it dinner?

I think so.

What’s your favorite combination for panzanella salad?

MORE YUMMY SALAD DISHES

• Sweet Kale Salad (Costco Copycat)
• Chicken Southwest Salad
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Kale Salad with Blueberries, Walnuts, and Feta
• Easy Caprese Salad