Panzanella {Tomato Bread Salad}

This classic Panzanella is a must make tomato and bread salad! With crusty bread, fresh garden vegetables, and a simple light homemade vinaigrette dressing, it’s the perfect summer recipe for backyard get-togethers or a casual family dinner at home.

Easy Panzanella Salad Recipe

If you’ve got garden ripe tomatoes and some day-old bread, I can’t think of a better way to use them then in this Panzanella salad. So simple to make, but also complex in flavor. It’s fresh and light, and yet hearty enough for a filling lunch or simple dinner. This recipe also happens to be meatless and dairy free, if you’re serving vegan guests.

Ingredients Needed

While this salad really does shine in the summer with the freshest ingredients, you can make it all year round, since everything needed is always available at the grocery store.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Bread – The one thing you must have for a Panzanella salad is hearty, crusty, stale bread. If the bread is fresh and/or soft, it will disintegrate in the dressing. The best choices are crusty French bread (which is what we use), rustic sourdough, Ciabatta, or a baguette.
• Olive oil and Salt – These are used to saute and flavor the bread.
• Vegetables – Our salad includes cherry tomatoes, hothouse cucumber, yellow bell pepper, and red onion.
• Chickpeas – We love the addition of chickpeas, which are high in protein and have a wonderful nutty flavor.
• Capers – These add a subtle salty, tanginess to the dish.
• Herbs – Fresh basil and parsley.

Additions and Variations

This is a great salad to alter, depending on what you have available. Here are a few suggestions:

• Cheese. Sprinkle a little feta cheese on top, or cubed fresh mozzarella.
• Meat. Add in seasoned cooked chicken or salty prosciutto.
• Avocado. Buttery avocado is a wonderful addition.
• Olives. Swap out the capers and add chopped kalamata olives instead.
• Artichokes. Chopped up marinated artichoke hearts would give the salad extra zing.
• Tomatoes. Instead of cherry tomatoes, use a variety of heirloom tomatoes for extra color.
• Egg. The salad is amazing topped with a fried egg, poached egg, or perfect hard boiled eggs.

Recipe Tips For Tomato Bread Salad

• Use the right bread. As mentioned above, make sure you are using a hearty, crusty bread.
• Toast day-old bread. Even when we have day-old bread, we still cut it into cubes and toast it further (either on the stovetop or in the oven.) This ensures the bread stays firm and chewy, and doesn’t turn to mush in the dressing.
• Let the salad sit before serving. Panzanella is best when it sits for a while before serving. This allows the bread enough time to soak up the dressing and for all the other ingredients to meld. For us, 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time – longer than that and the bread can get soggy. But this is personal preference. You can prepare the salad a couple hours in advance and keep it at room temperature (unless you add cheese, and then it should be refrigerated. Bring to room temp before serving.)

Serving Suggestions

Serve panzanella salad as a side to round out your Italian dinner. It goes great with Grilled Chicken, Lasagna Roll Ups, Chicken Alfredo, and Italian Meatballs.

Other Salad Recipes To Try

• Pea Salad
• Cucumber Tomato Salad
• Italian Chopped Salad
• Lemon Orzo Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Chickpea Salad

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Panzanella Salad {Tomato and Bread Salad}

5 from 8 Ratings

This classic Panzanella is a must make tomato and bread salad! With crusty bread, fresh garden vegetables, and a simple light homemade vinaigrette dressing, it's the perfect summer recipe for backyard get-togethers or a casual family dinner at home.

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Rest 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 to 8 as a side salad

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the Dressing

• 1 clove garlic , finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 drops hot sauce (such as Tabasco)

For the Salad

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small loaf crusty French bread , cut into 3/4-inch cubes (6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 & 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes , halved crosswise
• 1 small hothouse cucumber (or Persian) , unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 yellow bell pepper , seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 small red onion , cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup canned chickpeas , drained and rinsed
• 10 large basil leaves , coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers , rinsed and drained

Instructions

• For the vinaigrette dressing, whisk all the ingredients together. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
• In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, yellow pepper, red onion, chickpeas, basil, parsley, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette until everything is coated. Season with salt and pepper.
• Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature for the bread to soak up the dressing and allow the flavors to meld.
• Serve, making sure each plate gets a little of everything, and enjoy!

  {Note: For variations, additions, and helpful tips, please refer to the full article.)

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 728mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Panzanella, Panzanella Salad, tomato bread salad

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