Panzanella Salad
A fresh summer salad filled with garden vegetables, fresh parmesan cheese, drizzled with a herb-infused dressing!
Hello, friends!
Don’t mind me. I’m just over here doing the HAPPY dance!
Why? Because my daily tending and patience FINALLY paid off and we’ve been blessed this year with a PLETHORA of tomatoes from our garden!
We planted several varieties as always, but my absolute FAVORITE is these gorgeous Amish Paste tomatoes!!! They are similar in size and shape to a Roma. But have even fewer seeds. And in my opinion, they make the absolute BEST sauces, salsa, and salads!
Ever since the first peek of red showed up on the vine, I’ve been busy picking daily! The photo above was this morning’s haul! By this evening I’ll have even more!
With all those tomatoes I’m definitely going to be canning up some yummy spaghetti and marina sauce, as well as, salsa, and bloody mary mix these next few weekends!
Of course, we can’t forget about topping our favorite salads with a few of these plump & juicy red orbs either!
Today I’m sharing one that has quickly become my go-to lunch this summer! But it is also perfect as a side salad with whatever you’re grilling for dinner!
Panzanella salad usually has a variety of colorful tomatoes, so I’m adding in some orange cherry tomatoes that I picked up at our local farmers market. (P.S. I’m adding them to my tomato list next year because they are DELICIOUS too).
Cucumbers are also added to this salad, and since we don’t have many of our own yet, I’m using an English cucumber! I also add-in black olives, and I dress it with a fresh-SUPER delicious dressing filled with PLENTY of herbs from our garden too!
Oh, and did I mention it has garlic-infused homemade croutons? It does! They are the perfect crispy on the outside, soft on the inside too. So they will soak up all of that yummy good dressing with every bite!
Last, but certainly not least- I top off the salad with a few basil leaves and fresh parmesan!
And it’s ready to eat! Speaking of eating…I could seriously EAT the whole bowl of salad! But since my mom taught me to share, I’ll leave some for Michael!
Did I mention he LOVES this salad too? Oh yes. Everything but the croutons! He hates croutons? HAVE YOU EVER!! Who hates croutons? (rolling eyes).
Anyhoo…here’s the full recipe!
Panzanella Salad
A fresh summer salad filled with garden vegetables, crispy homemade croutons, and olives, topped with a herb-infused dressing.
Ingredients
For Salad
- 1 English Cucumber sliced and halved
- 2 1/2 lbs mixed variety of tomatoes cut in half or quarters
- 1/2 cup black olives sliced in half
- 1/2 loaf French or Italian bread cubed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
For Dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme)
To Top Salad
- Fresh Parmesan **use a vegetable peeler
- Fresh Basil Chopped
Instructions
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Add tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives to a large bowl.
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Preheat oven to 350. Place bread cubes onto a large baking. Sprinkle with garlic powder.
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Bake bread cubes for 15 minutes, (flipping once) or until golden brown.
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Remove the croutons from the oven and allow to cool.
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Meanwhile, combine ingredients for the dressing. Mix well.
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Add half of the croutons to the salad bowl.
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Pour half of the dressing over the salad.
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Toss until well coated.
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Add-in remaining croutons, parmesan cheese, and basil.
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Add more dressing as needed.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site
Like many salads, this Panzanella is very versatile. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you could definitely use cherry or grape tomatoes.
You could also add red onion and mozzarella instead of parmesan.
The choices are endless, but three things never change about this salad!
It’s delicious! It’s easy to make. AND best of all…it’s HEALTHY too!
I hope you enjoy today’s recipe!
Thank you for stopping by!
This is one of my favorite salads, Christine! I’m so excited about your garden haul. It’s always fun to go out and find a bounty of goodness in the garden. I can’t wait to add this to our meal this week. Hope your day has been a blessed one, CoCo
Thank you, CoCo! This salad has truly become one of my summer favorites! Gardening has been a lifesaver for me this year and I feel so blessed to have such a bounty! I hope your day brings much joy and happiness!
I have never fixed this salad before but with the fresh tomatoes we are getting hubby will love this.
I hope you enjoy the salad, Terrie! It’s definitely become one of our summer favorites!
So Colorful Bowl and refreshing salad, Always yes for salad. Great choice of garden vegetables , and I love the homemade salad dressing. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Have a great day.
Thank you so much, Aarthi! I hope you enjoy the recipe! It’s definitely become one of our favorite salads this time of year!