This colorful panzanella recipe is a classic Italian bread salad made with crusty bread, ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil.
Summer always seems to pass, doesn’t it? August is almost over and we feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of our summer checklist. Trip to the beach in Michigan? Berry picking at a local farm? I think that will wait until next year. But one thing we did: make this panzanella recipe. Panzanella is an Italian bread salad, all summer long! Ripe tomatoes, basil, peppers and garlic are tossed in an amazing salad with crusty bread and garlic dressing. My oh my It’s a family favorite here.
Related: The 15 best recipes for fresh tomatoes
How to make this panzanella recipe
Fortunately, we have another month of tomato season here in Indiana, so we can continue enjoying the flavors of summer. When I came across beautiful colorful cherry tomatoes and peppers at our local farmers market, I was inspired to make a panzanella recipe.
What is Panzanella? Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that combines dry, crusty squares of bread with fresh vegetables and a dressing. It’s a brilliant idea to use up stale bread and it’s extraordinarily delicious. You can use any fresh vegetables you have on hand. Traditional vegetables used in a panzanella recipe include tomatoes, peppers, red onions, and sometimes cucumbers. Our version of a panzanella is even more vibrant than most because we used it multi-colored cherry tomatoes and tri-colored peppers.
Here are the basic steps to prepare this panzanella recipe (see full recipe below):
- Toast bread cubes: Cut the bread into cubes and mix with olive oil and black pepper. Roast the cubes for about 7 minutes at 450 degrees until golden brown.
- Cut vegetables: Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Here we used cherry tomatoes and colorful peppers along with sliced red onions.
- Prepare dressing: Make an easy dressing: ours uses olive oil, sherry vinegar, and minced garlic.
- Mix and let stand: Mix all the ingredients together and let sit for at least 15 minutes to allow all the flavors to combine. Then the salad is best served immediately. As expected, the bread gets soggy over time, so leftovers aren’t the best. Try to eat it the day it’s made! (To progress, keep all components separate before serving.
We used this recipe to break into our new kitchen with friends (a sneak peek is here, but we’ll be posting a series on the remodel in a few weeks). What is your favorite summer dish?
Get the best cherry tomatoes you can find
As with most easy recipes, the flavor of this panzanella recipe depends on the quality of the ingredients. it is better to buy ripe cherry tomatoes in season for this. When it’s not tomato season, you can sometimes find greenhouse grown (hydroponic) tomatoes at the grocery store that taste decent. You just want the best quality cherry tomatoes for this recipe to shine!
Buying local tomatoes helps support your local farmers, so if you have the opportunity, we heartily recommend it. Please don’t even think about using floury pink tomatoes out of season. The taste here depends 100% on the quality of your tomato!
The best fresh basil: homemade!
Basil is easy to grow at home: and it’s very hardy as long as it’s in full sun! Basil adds aromatic flavor to such a variety of recipes, and growing it at home is much cheaper than buying it in the store. If you’re looking to grow your own basil plant, here’s a step-by-step guide: How to grow basil.
Looking for easy potluck recipes?
This panzanella recipe would be perfect for a potluck (as long as it doesn’t sit outside for hours!). Here are some easier potluck recipes:
This panzanella recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten free.
The description
This colorful panzanella recipe is a classic Italian bread salad made with crusty bread, ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil.
- 3 cups artisanal bread, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup olive oil, shared
- 1 pint multicolored cherry tomatoes
- 3 Pepper (A each yellow, red, green)
- ½ Red onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp thinly sliced basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Cut the bread into cubes. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread in a single layer and bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes. Dice peppers. Finely chop the red onion. Chop the garlic. Thinly slice the basil (chiffonnade).
- In a medium bowl, combine sherry vinegar and garlic. Gradually stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a creamy emulsion forms. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine chopped veggies, dressing, basil, and toast. (If making ahead, add the toasted bread last so it doesn’t get soggy.) Let sit for about 15 minutes to let the flavors meld, then serve immediately. (The leftovers are delicious, but the bread gets soggy after a few hours.)
- Category: salad
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Italian
Keywords: Panzanella, Summer Panzanella, Panzanella Recipe, Peppers, Pepper Recipe, Summer Recipes, Side, Potluck, Entertaining
Looking for more BBQ ideas?
This panzanella recipe would also make a fabulous accompaniment to a grilled meal. Here are some additional BBQ ideas to create a menu:
