You'll love Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad) with tomatoes! Make toasted bread cubes with ciabatta or one of these Italian Bread Recipes and stir them into a tomato salad with olive oil, vinegar, onions, basil and seasonings. It'll be one of the best summer salads of your life!
Don't be fooled by the simple appearance of this Tuscan bread salad. This panzanella will be one of the best dishes you've ever tasted!
You'll need all of your willpower to stop eating it. Let me use words to paint a picture for you.
Toasted bread cubes, (essentially homemade croutons) are stirred into a refreshing Italian Tomato Salad with chopped red onion and fresh basil. The most delicious olive oil-and-white-balsamic-vinegar dressing coats all of it in savory goodness with a hint of sweetness.
It is crunchy, juicy, garlicky and peppery. It will take you by surprise and outshine anything else on the menu.
Panzanella ingredients
Bread: The best bread for panzanella has a crispy crust and a tender interior. Ciabatta, Artisan Italian Bread, or Homemade Italian Bread work well. Don't use mushy sandwich bread.
Since you'll be making toasted bread cubes (see the next section), you can start with fresh bread (ideally), leftover bread, or even stale bread, if needed.
Tomatoes: Start with ripe, slightly firm tomatoes that "give" a little when you squeeze them. You can use vine tomatoes, cocktail tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, beefsteak ones or any variety from your garden.
Onion: Chopped red onions work best in this panzanella recipe. They bring delicious, savory flavor with a hint of sweetness. Try not to omit them unless absolutely necessary!
White Balsamic Vinegar - This is the star ingredient of the panzanella dressing! We use this white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) for its refreshing, slightly sweet taste. You could substitute white wine vinegar or dark balsamic vinegar, but it won't be quite the same.
Olive Oil: Use your favorite kind. You'll need it to coat the bread and to make the dressing.
How to prevent soggy panzanella
While traditional panzanella uses stale bread soaked in water, there's an even better method that prevents sogginess. Dry the fresh bread cubes for several hours, then toast them in the oven.
They'll be crunchy, yet tender enough to chew easily. There's no soaking required.
But even if you're starting with stale bread, toast the cubes in the oven anyway. It will help provide a better texture.
How to make it
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
- Dry the bread cubes for several hours, if possible. Then toss them with olive oil and toast them in the oven until golden brown.
- Add tomatoes, chopped red onion, basil and seasonings to a large serving bowl. Stir in the olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.
- Add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl and stir to combine.
Variations
- Add cucumbers.
- Mix in olives and cubes of mozzarella.
- Add sautéed eggplant.
- Stir in grilled vegetables.
What to serve with it
Panzanella salad is the perfect Italian side dish to serve with grilled cod, beef Florentine pinwheels or breaded Italian chicken cutlets.
Serve it in a beautiful, Italian-style bowl (affiliate link). It screams summer, so add it to your 4th of July menu!
How to store panzanella
Try to make just enough panzanella to eat on the same day. The bread will become soggy after the first day.
If you do end up with leftover panzanella, I recommend using tongs to remove the bread cubes from the salad. Store them separately at room temperature, covered in foil.
Then refrigerate the tomato salad for up to three days. You can stir in some of the toasted bread when you eat the leftovers.
More recipes like this
- Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze
- Italian Potato Salad with Green Beans
- Easy Italian Bean Salad
- Caponata (Eggplant Salad)
- Italian Carrots with Basil
Enjoy!
If you try this Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad) recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)
Ingredients
Bread Cubes
- ½ pound ciabatta bread (half of a loaf) (Or crusty Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Tomato Salad
- 6 medium tomatoes (such as vine tomatoes; 1 ½ - 2 pounds total)
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion (from about ¼ of a red onion)
- 10 fresh basil leaves (plus a few for garnish, if needed)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or dark)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Optional Stetp to Dry Bread Cubes Overnight (or 8 hours)
- Cut 8 ounces of bread into large cubes. Spread them out on a sheet pan and leave them at room temperature overnight or for 8 hours to dry out.
Tomato Salad
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F for the bread. Remove any stems from the tomatoes. Rinse the tomatoes and pat them dry. Cut a small circle around the core to remove it. Cut each tomato in half, then slice those halves into wedges about 1-inch thick. Place the cut tomatoes in a large serving bowl.
- Peel a red onion and cut it in half. Cut one of the halves in half again. Chop that wedge of onion until you have ⅓ cup of chopped onions and add them to the bowl of tomatoes. (Rrefrigerate the remaining onion for another use.)
- Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle on the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss the tomato salad with two spoons until it's combined. Let it sit at room temperature while you toast the bread cubes in the oven.
Toast the Bread Cubes
- Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the bread cubes on the sheet pan and toss them with a spoon to coat with the oil. Spread the cubes out in a single layer and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Assemble the Panzanella
- Let the bread cubes cool for a few minutes, then stir them into the bowl of tomatoes. Serve immediately or let the panzanella marinate for about 30 minutes first. It's best to serve this the day you make it. The bread will start getting soggy after the first day. (See notes.)
Notes
- This tastes best with fresh bread that you purposely dry out and then toast in the oven. You could use stale bread, but you should still toast it in the oven for best results.
- Variations: You can add cucumbers, black olives or mozzarella cheese.
- If you end up with leftover panzanella, use tongs to remove the bread cubes from the salad. Store them separately at room temperature, covered in foil. Then refrigerate the tomato salad for up to three days. You can stir in some of the toasted bread when you eat the leftovers.
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C)
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