Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

5 from 1 vote

You'll love this toasted bread salad with tomatoes, onions and fresh basil!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 242kcal

Author: Mamma C

½ pound ciabatta bread (half of a loaf) (Or crusty Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes)
2 Tablespoons olive oil

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.