Make this Sourdough Panzanella Salad recipe for a delicious summer side dish. Serve this twist on a classic Tuscan bread salad with your grilling favorites.
Make-ahead
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to compose a balanced salad with texture and crunch
Worth It: Simple method, great results without fussy steps
Bonus: Great for meal prep and make-ahead
Why You’ll love this recipe
- Delicious Summer Salad – Any summer salad made with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil is good for me! Add cubed sourdough bread to that salad and I am definitely excited.
- Great for BBQs – If you are tired of the same dishes at every BBQ, mix it up with this panzanella! It has that fresh summer flavor, but it is something different than any classic BBQ recipe
- Best vehicle for bread – What’s better than a bread salad? I absolutely love sourdough, so if I have some I haven’t eaten yet, this is my favorite way to use it. It is also a great way to use up slightly stale bread so you don’t need to waste it!
What is panzanella?
A classic Panzanella salad recipe is a salad made by soaking stale bread in an olive oil and vinegar dressing and tossing with tomatoes and vinegar, similar to homemade croutons. The dish originated in Tuscany, but has been changed as it has spread all over the world.
This version of panzanella salad is made with sourdough bread that is toasted to mimic stale bread. The sourdough chunks of bread are then tossed with a seasoned vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, and fresh basil.
If you’re looking to try another bread based salad, make this Chopped BLT Salad.
Serving Suggestions
This is a great summer side dish to serve with any of your summer favorites! I love grilling up some turkey burgers, grilled steak, balsamic grilled chicken, or surf and turf. For another fish option, you could make some blackened salmon.
For some more veggies, I love grilling up some asparagus, zucchini or peppers. You could even make this grilled caesar salad to fill out the meal.
Ingredients
- Sourdough bread – sourdough is my favorite fresh bread for this recipe. It’s chewy and so tasty with the veggies
- Extra virgin olive oil – I like extra virgin olive oil best for this recipe, but you can also use avocado
- Salt – I use kosher salt for this recipe. If you use table salt, you won’t need as much
- Red onion – the bite of red onion is so delicious in this
- Cherry tomatoes – cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are often the easiest to find, but if it’s tomato season, use whatever looks best
- Fresh basil – the basil is one of my favorite elements of this recipe. It complements the sourdough and vegetables so well
- Red wine vinegar – the vinegar adds brightness to the dressing
- Dried oregano – I love the taste of oregano in this recipe, and you can add additional spices if you would like
- Crushed red pepper – you can add more crushed red pepper if you like spice, or remove it if it’s not your favorite
Ingredient Substitutions
I think the sourdough bread is the best, but you can use any bread. Italian bread or ciabatta works as well. You just want to be sure it is a heartier bread.
You can add any extra veggies you would like to this recipe! Cucumbers, olives, or bell peppers would be great. If it’s tomato season, use any ripe tomatoes you love. Heirloom tomatoes are so delicious when in season.
Cheese would also be a fantastic addition to your salad. Fresh mozzarella would be perfect to add, or some parmesan shavings.
I love the simple dressing for this panzanella salad recipe, but you can add anything you would like. Garlic powder, onion powder, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, or a bit of lemon juice would all be great ways to enhance the dressing.
How to make
Step 1: Toast sourdough bread in oven
To begin, preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes and lay on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Then, pour 2 tbsp of olive oil over the bite-size pieces bread and use your hands to toss and make sure the bread is evenly coated. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over the bread.
Next, place in the oven to bake for 16-20 minutes. Remove when the bread is golden brown.
Step 2: Prepare other ingredients and vinaigrette
While the bread cubes toast, cut the red onion into thin slices. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the basil into ribbons.
Then, whisk together red wine vinegar, the other 2 tbsp olive oil, dried oregano and crushed red pepper in a small bowl and set to the side.
Step 3: Toss ingredients together
Finally, add the toasted bread cubes to a large bowl along with the red onion, tomatoes and basil. Pour the vinaigrette over top and toss until all of the bread and veggies are evenly coated.
I prefer to make this panzanella salad a day in advance so that it has time to sit in the refrigerator and all of the flavors come together. The bread will soak up the tomato juice and the dressing for the best results.
Make Ahead and Store
Yes! As this panzanella recipe sits in the fridge, the flavors will intensify and blend together.
I like to prepare it 24 hours prior to serving for the best taste and texture. You can add fresh basil just before serving.
You can store leftovers in the fridge for an additional day. Beyond that, you may find that the salad starts to break down.
Check out these other summer salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Sourdough Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz sourdough bread about 1/2 a large loaf
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – separated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 a red onion
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dreid oregano
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Flakey sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sourdough bread into cubes and lay on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil over the bread and use your hands to toss and make sure the bread is evenly coated. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over the bread. Place in the oven to bake for 16-20 minutes. Remove when the bread is golden brown.
- While the bread cubes toast, cut the red onion into thin slices. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the basil into ribbons. Whisk together red wine vinegar, the other 2 tbsp olive oil, dried oregano and crushed red pepper in a small bowl and set to the side.
- Add the toasted bread cubes to a large mixing bowl along with the red onion, tomatoes and basil. Pour the vinaigrette over top and toss until all of the bread and veggies are evenly coated.
- *** I prefer to make this panzanella salad a day in advance so that it has time to sit in the fridge and all of the flavors come together.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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