Panzanella is a light and fresh Tuscan bread salad made with the sweetest ripe tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, slivered onion, and capers with a simple vinaigrette and fresh basil, perfect for summertime eats.
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“Excellent salad. I love the addition of capers. I had half a loaf of stale Italian bread, so I used that. Served with spinach and ricotta stuffed manicotti. Thanks for a great recipe!” ~Vivian, FoodieCrush reader
My Go-To Recipe for Using Up Stale Bread
Panzanella (aka one of my favorite things to nosh on during the summer) is a Tuscan bread salad dating all the way back to fourteenth century, even before the arrival of tomatoes in Italy!
This simple peasant dish was a clever and resourceful way to revive old bread, by mixing it with raw veggies, spices, oil, and vinegar. It’s by far one of the most delicious and easy ways to showcase the bounty of summer produce, especially gorgeous, juicy-sweet tomatoes and fresh cucumber. (I love it with peaches too, like in this peach panzanella with burrata and bacon. I also have a Greek-style version I make often.)
But this panzanella is my recipe for the perfect, no-frills, traditional version. The key to this recipe is using slightly stale, chewy bread for the perfect vehicle to properly soak up the zippy vinaigrette dressing without resulting in soggy bread. All of the flavors mingle and marry, and it is the best salad to enjoy on a hot summer’s evening with just about anything and everything else on the table.
Heidi’s Tips for Making This Simple Bread Salad
- If you don’t have day-old bread, crisp it in a skillet. Confession: I don’t usually bother with day-old bread. Instead, I sauté it in a skillet with olive oil infused with a clove of garlic for another layer of flavor.
- Cut your bread and veggies all the same size—or as close as you can. That way the bread doesn’t take over and dominate the chunks of cucumber and tomato.
- Toss it all with a simple vinaigrette and fresh basil. This is a simple salad so keep it easy.
The All-Star Ingredients You’ll Need
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
Bread
The key ingredient that sets this salad apart is day-old bread. That does NOT mean stale, hard-as-a-rock bread. I like to use thick slices of sourdough cut into 1-inch chunks so there’s more tender bready bits than ruin-the-roof-of-your-mouth pieces of crust.
Tomatoes (& Other Veggies)
Choose any assortment of tomatoes as long as they’re at their sweetest. I like vine-ripened summer tomatoes, but if they’re not available, campari or sweet cherry tomatoes mean you can make this salad any time.
In addition to the ‘maters, I like to add cucumber, red onion, and capers so it’s not just a tomato and bread salad. Feel free to omit the capers if you don’t care for them!
Dressing
The best panzanella salad is the simplest, so I stuck to just olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, salt, and pepper when making the dressing. As the vegetables sit in the dressing, they’ll release some of their own juices to coat the bread.
How to Make Panzanella
- Optionally toast the bread. I always do this because I’m not forward-thinking enough to buy bread a day before making this salad. When a craving strikes, I want it now. My top tip is to toast the bread just until golden — the thing to remember is we want toasted bread, not hard, crunchy bread.
- Toss the panzanella ingredients with the dressing. This recipe feeds a crowd, so you’ll need a large mixing bowl.
- Let sit at room temperature. Panzanella needs 30 minutes to an hour for all the flavors and textures to get happy and juuust right. After that, dig in!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
How to Make THE BEST Panzanella
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 6 cups 1-inch cubed sourdough bread
- 1 ½ pounds tomatoes (any ripe, sweet tomato works), cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ English cucumber , seeded and cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup slivered red onion
- 2 tablespoons capers (optional)
Dressing
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves , roughly torn or thinly sliced
Instructions
- Toast the bread (if it's not stale already): Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet with 1 clove slivered garlic. Bring to medium heat, cooking the garlic until it becomes fragrant and golden, then remove the garlic slivers from the oil and discard. Add the cubed sourdough to the skillet and toss to coat. Cook the bread until golden, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.
- Combine the ingredients: In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and capers with the cooled bread.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar and use a garlic press to add the remaining garlic cloves into the bowl with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk well and pour over the tomato mixture. Add the basil and toss to combine.
- Let rest: Let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving. This salad is best served the day it's made.
Notes
Nutrition
Additions or Substitutions
- Instead of sourdough, use a baguette or ciabatta cut into chunks
- Try any type of juicy tomato, adding different cuts for a variety of sizes and textures
- Add red, green, or yellow bell pepper for more crunch
- Try zucchini or yellow squash in the salad
- Top with big slivers of Parmesan cheese
- Add more tang with sliced olives
What to Serve With Panzanella
- THE BEST Grilled Salmon
- Grilled Vegetables
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops
- Salmon Piccata
More Summery Salads to Try
- Peach Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Bacon
- BLT Panzanella
- THE BEST Caprese Salad
- Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad
- Greek-Style Panzanella Bread Salad Recipe
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Susan
It was a hit. Of the 3 salads this one was certainly most popular
Hayley
We’re so glad to hear that Susan! Thanks for giving the recipe a try. :)
Joan
I love panzanella and make it often. A trick I learned is put the sliced or diced tomatoes in a colander over the bowl you will use for your panzanella, salt tomatoes and let drain. This tomato juice is the basis for your dressing. Just add the oil, vinegar, garlic to the juice in the bowl. Mix and add salad ingredients. That tomato juice adds something extra to the final product especially if using summer vine-ripened juicy tomatoes.
Hayley
Absolutely love that idea Joan–thanks for sharing with us! We’ll definitely give that a try next time we make this!
betsyros
This is a fantastic salad. The chunks of garlic bread are wonderful. Makes a meal all by itself.
Hayley
Thank you, we’re so happy you love it!
Giulia Latini
but we always wet the stale chunks of bread and then squeeze the water out and crumble it up with our fingers then add the dressing and condiments making sure to take out the tomato seeds and water.
vivian
Excellent salad. I love the addition of capers. I had half a loaf of stale Italian bread, so I used that. Served with spinach and ricotta stuffed manicotti. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sounds great Vivian! Happy you enjoyed!
Barbara Wiercinski
I had some micro greens and arugula cucumber and tomato and red onion which I mixed with toasted bread and dressing. Very tasty. Different recipe thanks.
That sounds perfect Barbara! Micro greens, arugula or spinach would all be great additions.