This Panzanella Salad is a summer favorite! Crisp ciabatta bread, juicy ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, fresh mozzarella and basil all dressed in a tangy vinaigrette make for an incredibly hearty satisfying salad.
Summer is winding down folks, but fruit and veggie season in the Garden State of New Jersey is going strong!
Our Jersey tomatoes have been over the top GORGEOUS! I’ve been adding them to sandwiches, salads and all kinds of dinner recipes.
This Panzanella Salad is the latest and greatest recipe to showcase those beautiful, ripe, juicy tomatoes I just grabbed from my local farm stand. And if you’ve never tried a panzanella salad the time is now.
What is a Panzanella Salad?
It’s a popular salad in central Italy that’s comprised of stale bread, tomatoes, onions, often some cucumber and fresh basil that’s dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Any recipe that features fresh veggies from the garden or farmer’s market during the summer season and I’m all about it.
I also decided to make this panzanella a bit more satisfying by adding the two different kinds of olives, as well as the mozzarella pearls. Good choice. It’s a like a meal, not just a salad.
The dressing takes no time at all to prepare and you can use as much as like of it as you prefer.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- ciabatta bread
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- lemon
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- ciabatta bread
- salt
- tomatoes
- Persian cucumber
- red onion
- pitted olives (I used green and Kalamata olives)
- fresh mozzarella pearls
- fresh basil leaves
Step-By-Step Instructions
The first step will be to make your dressing by combining your olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper in a small bowl or jar and whisk together until well combined. Set aside until you’re ready to dress the salad.
The second step will be to add your ciabatta cubes to a large parchment-lined baking sheet and toss with your olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and bake in a 350 degee oven, shaking the sheet once or twice, until lightly toasted, about 10-15 minutes. You will remove the bread from the oven and add to a large bowl.
The third step will be to add your tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and mozzarella pearls to the bowl with your cubed bread.
You’ll drizzle as much of the dressing over the salad as you prefer and toss until everything is well coated.
The last step will be to sprinkle the julienned basil over the salad and toss gently.
The salad is best served as soon as you toss it with the dressing. It’s delicious served with a nice chilled glass of rosé or pinot grigio.
I hope you can grab some gorgeous tomatoes and make this salad folks because I think you’ll really love it, especially if you’ve never tried panzanella before. I bet it’ll become a summer favorite!
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Panzanella Salad
I used fresh mozzarella pearls. If you can’t find them at your market, you can use a ball of fresh mozzarella and just cut it into small cubes.
I love the combination of green and Kalamata olives that I can get at my local market. You can use a combination or just green or just Kalamata.
Ciabatta bread is one of my favorites, but you can use any type of rustic bread, like sourdough, Italian bread or a French baguette.
More Delicious Summer Salad Recipes to Enjoy
Panzanella Salad
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Panzanella
- 6 cups 1-inch ciabbata bread cubes
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- salt
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
- 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup pitted olives, green and Kalamata
- 8 oz. mozzarella pearls
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
Instructions
Vinagrette Dressing
- Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside until you're ready to dress the salad.
Panzanella
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the ciabatta cubes to the baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake, shaking the sheet once or twice, until lightly toasted, about 10-15 minutes. You will remove the bread from the oven and add to a large bowl.
- Add your tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and mozzarella pearls to the bowl with your cubed bread.Drizzle as much of the dressing over the salad as you prefer and toss until everything is well coated. Sprinkle the julienned basil over the salad and toss gently. Serve immediately.
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