This panzanella recipe is a summery riff on the classic Italian panzanella salad, made with juicy peaches, salty bacon, and gooey burrata. Everything mingles with perfectly chewy-crisp sourdough bread chunks and is tossed with a golden balsamic vinaigrette.
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“Perfect summer salad – so fresh tasting. Going to make it again this week but grill the peaches this time just for fun. There is nothing that needs to be tweaked for this recipe. Well done!” -Joe, FoodieCrush reader
This Is the Ultimate Summer Side Salad
After a winter of simmering soups and savory stews, this girl is ready for the fresh, bright colors of salads of every color. It’s just one reason why I stopped dead in my flipping-the-pages-tracks while perusing the new cookbook of one of my dear friends, then swiftly scoped my pantry stock to check that I had everything on hand to make the recipe that had caught my eye — yep, it was this peach panzanella salad with burrata.
The Pretty Dish: More Than 150 Everyday Recipes & 50 Beauty DIYs to Nourish Your Body Inside and Out is the newest cookbook from Jessica Merchant, the food blogger/prolific writer and recipe creator at the blog How Sweet Eats. True to Jessica’s style, The Pretty Dish is overflowing with 150 easy-to-cook but totally creative recipes that can all be made in 60 minutes or less.
This summer panzanella salad made with peaches, burrata, and bacon is a little salty, a little sweet, and pairs perfectly with any grilled protein or Italian-inspired dish you’re cooking up for dinner.
Enjoy!
PS. Love panzanella as much as I do? I also have a Greek version that I love, plus this BLT variation.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Bacon — Don’t let go of that bacon grease! One addition I made to this recipe from Jess’s original is toasting the sourdough in a spattering of drippings in the same cast-iron skillet I fried the bacon in, then sprinkled it all with big flakes of sea salt.
- Sourdough bread — Can be swapped with ciabatta for even more Italian flair.
- Fresh peaches — Only fresh will do! Don’t sub in frozen peaches (even ones that have been thawed), because they’re far too soft and watery to use in panzanella. You could also use nectarines or even plums instead of peaches, or a combination of all three.
- Leafy greens — This is where you could totally go all willllldd and choose whatever lettuce or leafy green you like, or none at all. Arugula, butter lettuce, a spring mix, or a 50/50 blend would all work great here.
- Burrata cheese — The glue that brings it all together! Burrata is a fresh buffalo milk cheese that’s molded on the outside with mozzarella with the inside filled with cheese cream for the ultimate creamy cheese texture. You could also substitute regular fresh mozzarella instead.
- Fresh basil — The perfect finishing touch.
- Balsamic vinaigrette — The whole shebang is dressed with a classic balsamic vinaigrette that features golden balsamic vinegar (a bit subtler and smoother in its vinegar-y-ness) and doesn’t purple-ize the whole salad.
How to Make Panzanella with Peaches
- Fry the bacon in a large skillet. The trick to rendering bacon is to add it to the skillet before heating up the pan. The fat will render more easily as it slowly warms up with the pan versus if you add it to a pan that’s already screaming hot.
- Toast the bread in the bacon drippings. This adds even more flavor to the peach burrata panzanella and means you don’t have to worry about setting the bread out ahead of time for it to go stale (I never remember to do this!).
- Assemble the salad. Add all of the panzanella ingredients to a large bowl and toss with the balsamic vinaigrette to combine.
Heidi’s Tip: Panzanella tastes even better after it’s rested for 20 to 30 minutes. This gives the bread time to soak up some of the dressing and peach juice, making it more flavorful and softer.
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.
Peach Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Bacon
Ingredients
Salad
- 3-4 slices bacon
- 3 cups sourdough bread cubes
- 2 fresh peaches , thinly sliced
- Fresh lettuce leaves ,such as red leaf, butter lettuce, or arugula
- 8 ounces fresh burrata cheese
- Basil leaves , for garnish
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup golden balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or seeded mustard
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed
- ½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Crisp up the bacon. Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool, then crumble into pieces. Keep the drippings in the pan!
- Toast the bread cubes. Add the sourdough cubes to the same pan used to cook the bacon and toast the cubes on all sides until golden. Transfer to a plate or bowl to cool and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Make the vinaigrette. Add all of the ingredients to a jar fitted with a lid and shake well until emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. Place the torn lettuce, bread, peach slices, and burrata on a serving plate or bowl. Sprinkle with the bacon pieces and basil leaves and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Season with more kosher salt and pepper if you'd like.
Notes
Nutrition
What to Serve with This Summer Panzanella
More Savory Recipes to Make with Fresh Peaches
See more of Jessica and her recipes on her blog How Sweet Eats and follow her on Instagram @howsweeteats and order The Pretty Dish here.
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Joe
Perfect summer salad – so fresh tasting. Going to make it again this week but grill the peaches this time just for fun. There is nothing that needs to be tweaked for this recipe. Well done!
Hayley
Thanks, Joe! We’re so happy you love this!
Carly
I have to tell you what a hit this recipe was! I topped it with chicken and made it for a bunch of friends and we couldn’t stop raving about how great it was!
Happy to hear it was a success Carly!
Phyllis
Since I did not have peaches, I used an apple instead. This salad was delicious; however, next time I shop, I will buy peaches.
I’m glad you enjoyed Phyllis!
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Roxanne
Made this today, a huge hit. Also my first time having burrata. I added blackberries to the salad. No leftovers!
Love Back Vashikaran Specialist
Nice Blog, Sir, considering the best from it.
Ana
This was our first time trying burrata and we love it. Thanks for the advice on how to ripen the peaches with bananas. It really worked! Also, the sourdough bites are delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
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Laura | Tutti Dolci
This is the best looking panzanella ever! You had me at peach + burrata.. pure heaven!
Jessica @ howsweeteats
thank you SO much for sharing!! you are the best and i adore you.
sabrina
thank you for sharing this, very nice range of flavors and I’m easily sold when it comes to burrata!
Kelly
Love! Love! Love! What an amazing combination!