This Panzanella Salad Recipe is crunchy, crisp and super refreshing. It’s a great salad option whenever you feel like mixing things up. The addition of Focaccia bread, homemade or from your favorite bakery, makes this salad very delicious and approachable. Plus, it is an absolutely beautiful family-style option that’s sure to add a big splash of color on the table.
About the Panzanella Salad
Panzanella most likely originated somewhere in Tuscany, Italy and was first mentioned by an artist named Bronzino in the 1600’s. The original salad, as documented by Bronzino, consisted of onions, greens and cucumbers with toast. The recipe has since been modernized. It’s usually highlighted by ripe tomatoes, onions, fresh herbs and toasted bread tossed in olive and vinegar.
This Panzanella salad uses our own red wine vinaigrette, toasted Foccacia bread and beautiful heirloom tomatoes. We’ve also added Cucumbers, Sport Peppers, Red Onions, Capers and Fresh Herbs. It would pair great with Pinot Grigio, an Aperol Spritz or an ice-cold Peroni!
Other Notes
If you have time to make your own foccacia, try our Homemade Focaccia Bread. I always like to make this salad with foccacia bread leftover from the day before.
You don’t have to use focaccia bread for this recipe. You can use a French Loaf, Baguette, Italian White Bread, Ciabatta, etc. Because focaccia already has soaked up lots of olive oil, you don’t need to add additional oil when toasting off the cubes of bread. But, you can totally use different bread options like a French Loaf, Baguette, Italian White Bread, Ciabatta, etc. If you’re using one of these breads, you’ll probably want to toss the cubed bread in a little olive oil prior to toasting.
We love eating this salad the day after a big Italian feast. We’re usually still stuffed from the day before, we want to eat light, but also want to eat the left over focaccia bread. This salad uses ingredients that are usually laying around our kitchen already, and it’s super easy to put together. Feel free to get creative with the ingredients however you see fit. If you have good tomatoes, bread, onion and a little basil, you can improvise the rest of the way.
Recipe
Panzanella Salad + Red Wine Vinaigrette
This Panzanella Salad Recipe is crunchy, crisp and super refreshing. It’s a great salad option whenever you feel like mixing things up, and the addition of Focaccia bread, homemade or from your favorite bakery, makes this salad delicious and very approachable. Plus, it is an absolutely beautiful family-style option that’s sure to add a big splash of color on the table.
Ingredients
- ***FOR THE DRESSING***
- 1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Oil (I like to use 1/4 Cup Olive Oil and 1/4 Cup Grape-seed Oil blended together)
- 1 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper, as needed
- ***FOR THE SALAD***
- 4 Cups Medium Diced Focaccia Bread (1 inch Cubes)
- 1/2 English Cucumber, thinly sliced (1 1/2 Cups)
- 1/2 Red Onion, Julienned (thin strips)
- 3 Heirloom Tomatoes (Mix Up the Colors)
- 1/2 Cup Sliced Mini Peppers or diced Bell Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Capers
- 1/4 Cup Italian Flat Parsley, Roughly Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil, Roughly Chopped
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350F
- Step 2 To make the dressing, simply whisk or blend all ingredients together. Season to taste.
- Step 3 For the croutons, place the bread on a sheet pan, lined with parchment paper. If you’re not using Focaccia, you may want to lightly drizzle olive oil and a pinch of salt over the bread before toasting it.
- Step 4 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and edges are crispy. Let the bread cool before tossing with salad.
- Step 5 To assemble the salad, combine all ingredients, except the bread, in a large bowl. Toss everything with 1/4 Cup of Vinaigrette. Add more vinaigrette if needed and season the whole salad with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Step 6 Toss the bread with the salad immediately before serving.
- Step 7 Garnish with fresh herbs.
About the Author
Lauren is a classically trained, professional chef. A culinary school graduate, she has spent time working organic farms in the Italian countryside and was the pastry/sous chef at a high profile restaurant in Dallas prior to becoming a full-time personal chef. Her cooking style is often referred to as “rustic.” Being a personal chef, she is not bound by a single type of cuisine and has had the opportunity to experiment with hundreds of regional recipes from all over the world.
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