This easy Panzanella recipe is the perfect summertime meal to enjoy your backyard harvest of tomatoes, basil, and cucumbers surrounded by toasted bread cubes.
Context
Panzanella is an Italian bread salad typically made with day-old rustic bread, and vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s worth noting that since I am taking a few liberties with this recipe, such as toasting the bread and adding olives, it is not traditional Panzanella.
The beauty of this bread salad is its simplicity to use a few in-season ingredients. During the summer months, when it’s too hot to turn on the stove, this is the perfect meal. We’ve been eating various adaptations of this Panzanella salad for the past two months.
This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten with additional notes and tidbits listed below.
Recipe notes
- Type of bread: My first preference is ciabatta bread for this recipe since it toasts well. Alternatively, you can use a country loaf, boule, or pan de Campagne (French sourdough).
- Toasting: I prefer toasted bread cubes, not quite a crouton, for Panzanella. The moment you bite into this salad, there is that perfect balance of toasted crunch as the bread absorbs the dressing. It is what I strive for when making this salad. If toasted too lightly, I find the bread cubes can get soggy quickly. If using a few-days-old bread, I’d recommend lightly toasting the cubes to give it a nice crunch and remove some of the staleness. Worth noting that the drier the bread, the less time you need to toast. Keep an eye when toasting, as it can quickly burn.
- Olive oil: Use a good quality olive oil, if you can, to enhance all the ingredients.
- Vinegar: Use a good quality vinegar as well. Alternatively, you can substitute Champagne, apple cider, or red or white wine vinegar. I like to keep the vinegar on the milder side, so I don’t use balsamic, but if that’s what you have, you can use it.
- Cucumbers: If you’re using English, Japanese, or Persian cucumbers, peeling the skin is unnecessary. Deseeding these cucumber varieties will depend on your selection or harvest. I rarely deseed Japanese cucumbers as they tend to be slender, but if you have a larger sized one, you may need to. Use your judgment and decide when you prep your cucumbers. However, you will need to deseed and peel the skin if using hothouse cucumbers as the skin tends to be bitter and the seeds abundant.
- Dressing: I often double the dressing amount in the recipe to have on hand to eat with extra toasted bread. For added convenience, I’ll make it in a glass jar and keep the remainder in the fridge during the warm weather.
- Other ingredients I like to add to my Panzanella for variety:
- Red or yellow bell peppers
- Cubed feta (for a Greek variation)
- Avocado
- Heart of palm
And finally
What’s not to love about this Panzanella recipe that is a fantastic way to incorporate day-old bread with your backyard summer harvest? Best of all, it’s budget-friendly and adaptable! With all the variations you can make, you’ll be eating this for the rest of the summer and fall, just like me. 🙂 How do you like your Panzanella? Happy cooking, and bon appétit!
Recommended recipes: Fattoush Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes recipe, Grilled Butterflied Lemon Chicken recipe, or Greek Salad recipe.
Panzanella
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes
- 2 japanese cucumbers cut in half slices
- 1/2 medium red onion sliced in thin half strips
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup kalamata or nicoise olives, pitted and halved
- 1/2 loaf ciabatta chunky cubes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients.
- Make the dressing. In a large non-reactive container, whisk together the oil, garlic, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Toast the bread cubes. First, preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 350° F. Next, brush olive oil on bread cubes and sprinkle with salt—toast for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- In a large mixing bowl, add tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, olives, and basil. Toss with 1/2 of the dressing.
- Add toasted bread cubes and the remainder of the dressing. Toss together and serve immediately. Adjust with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Ingredients | My cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2 large tomatoes | $0.00 | from our garden |
| 2 Japanese cucumbers, cut in half slices | $0.00 | from our garden |
| 1/2 medium red onion, sliced in thin half strips | $0.25 | |
| bunch of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped | $0.00 | from our garden |
| 1/2 cup kalamata or nicoise olives, pitted and halved | $1.15 | |
| 1/2 loaf ciabatta, cubed | $1.50 | |
Dressing | ||
| 1/2 cup olive oil | $0.96 | |
| 1 tsp minced garlic | $0.18 | |
| 1/4 cup red wine vinegar | $0.75 | |
| 1/2 tsp dijon mustard | $0.02 | |
| 1/2 tsp kosher salt | $0.02 | |
| Black pepper | $0.01 | |
Total: | $4.83 | |
| Cost per serving: | $1.21 |
* Note regarding pricing: The lemon and herbs are from our garden which is why there is no cost. The price for items such as salt and pepper take into account the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire jar or container.
** All prices in US dollars and based on Bay Area prices from my local grocery and farmers market. Prices may vary in other parts of the United States.