Salad

Summer Panzanella Salad

7 July 2022 By Aleksandra

This summer Panzanella salad is the best summer salad you could make. It’s made with juicy sweet summer tomatoes, ripe peaches, crunchy homemade croutons, creamy burrata, and flavorful zingy dressing. It’s so flavorful and delicious – I’m sure you’re going to love it!

Summer Panzanella Salad on a white plate.

What is Panzanella salad?

Panzanella salad is a classic Italian salad made with tomatoes, onions, and toasted pieces of bread. This recipe is a spin on the classic using peaches beside the tomatoes and creamy burrata cheese.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make Panzanella salad:

Labeled ingredients for Summer Panzanella Salad.
  • Toasted bread – I used my homemade croutons recipe and baked the bread in the oven. I tossed bread cubes with olive oil, parmesan cheese, and herbs. These croutons are so good! Stale bread is perfect for this recipe, this is actually the reason why Panzanella salad has been created in the first place – as a way to use up stale bread.
  • Burrata cheese – it’s an Italian cheese similar to mozzarella. It looks like mozzarella but it’s filled with soft and gooey creamy cheese in the middle. It’s absolutely amazing. If you cut a ball of burrata with a knife, a creamy filling oozes out.
  • If you can’t find it, you could substitute it with mini mozzarella balls (I would especially recommend mozzarella di bufala). Another good alternative is soft goat cheese. You can also omit it, the salad will be also very good without the cheese.
  • Tomatoes – must be ripe and sweet summer tomatoes.
  • Peaches – must be ripe and juicy. It may sound weird to add peaches to a salad, but trust me, they are absolutely divine here, do not omit them!!
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Salad dressing – an easy Vinaigrette (you can omit the shallot if you don’t have it).

How to make Panzanella salad step by step

Bread cubes tossed with herbs and olive oil in a white bowl. Baked bread cubes on a baking sheet.

STEP 1+2: Make the croutons

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, grated parmesan, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Cut the bread into large cubes and add to the bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Toss the bread until coated on all sides.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. At the end of the baking time, keep an eye on the bread to make sure it doesn’t get too brown. The more stale the bread is, the quicker it will be ready.

Salad dressing in a jar. Tomato and peach wedges on a white plate.

STEP 3: Make the vinaigrette: finely chop the shallot, add all the ingredients into a medium jar, season with salt and pepper, close the lid and shake intensely until all the ingredients are well-combined.

STEP 4+5+6: Assemble the salad

Cut the tomatoes and peaches into wedges and arrange them on a large plate.

Salad dressing is being poured over a Panzanella Salad.

Add baked bread, basil leaves, and torn into smaller pieces burrata.

Pour over the dressing. Season everything lightly with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

A close up photo of Summer Panzanella Salad.

More summer salad recipes you may like

A close up overhead photo of Summer Panzanella Salad.

Summer Panzanella

This summer Panzanella salad is the best summer salad you could make. It’s made with juicy sweet summer tomatoes, ripe peaches, crunchy homemade croutons, creamy burrata, and flavorful zingy dressing. It’s so flavorful and delicious – I’m really sure you’re going to love it!
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Summer panzanella salad on a white plate.
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5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 servings
Calories 754kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

for the croutons:

  • 4 ounces (115g) Italian bread
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper

for the salad:

  • 4 medium tomatoes
  • 2 ripe peaches
  • 3 ½ ounces (100g) burrata or mozzarella di bufala or mini mozzarella balls
  • basil leaves

for the vinaigrette:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 small shallot finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon honey
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Make the croutons: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large bowl, combine olive oil, grated parmesan, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Cut the bread into large cubes and add to the bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Toss the bread until coated on all sides. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. At the end of the baking time, keep an eye on the bread to make sure it doesn't get too brown. The more stale the bread is, the quicker it will be ready.
  • Make the vinaigrette: finely chop the shallot, add all the ingredients into a medium jar, season with salt and pepper, close the lid and shake intensely until all the ingredients are well-combined.
  • Assemble the salad: Cut the tomatoes and peaches into wedges and arrange them on a large plate. Add baked bread, basil leaves, and torn into smaller pieces burrata. Pour over the dressing. Season everything lightly with salt and pepper.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Calories = 1 serving (1/2 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Course Salad
Cuisine American, Italian
Diet Vegetarian
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