Panzanella Salad

Panzanella Salad is a fresh salad filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and small pieces of bread.

I had the best Mother's Day! The day was finished with the perfect dinner...I didn't have to do a thing!!!   My daughter made this fabulous salad for Mother's Day!  Rod was in charge of making dinner; pork chops, baked potatoes, and salad.  Taylor decided she wanted to make something.

Many of her ideas were vetoed simply due to a lack of ingredients on hand.  When she suggested this Panzanella Salad it sounded great and we just happened to have everything needed on hand! This  salad was a huge hit.

It was so delicious...and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother!

What is panzanella salad?

Panzanella salad is a fresh veggie salad with a light vinaigrette and crusty bread. 

Taylor used some day old French bread that she sliced, brushed with olive oil and threw on the grill just before the pork chops went on.  When she got just a hint of brown on the bread she took it off the grill and the bread had the perfectly light smoky taste achieved from a grill.

Taylor loves to cook.  You can tell she is of the "Cooking Show" generation.  I do love to watch cooking shows and often when she cooks, it's like she's being filmed.  There's just a bit of extra flair that I can only assume she has gleaned from watching the great chefs on t.v!

I love that my kids cook. There's only one thing I wish I could have them improve upon...yep...clean up!  For some reason they all believe clean-up means pilling everything in the sink!  Really???  Who is going to take care of all those dishes in the sink anyway?  Well, at least I can enjoy the food they cook and I will keep working on that clean-up part!

What fresh vegetables are used in this salad?

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Bells Peppers
• Red Onion
• Fresh Basil - Not really a vegetable, but a delicious fresh ingredient!

If you need to make this salad ahead of time,  prep all the veggies and store them all together in a large bowl.  Mix the vinaigrette and store in a separate container.  The bread can be pre-grilled but shouldn't be added to everything ahead of time.

You will want to mix everything together about 10 minutes before serving.  You want the vinaigrette to soak into the bread, but not to become too soggy.

Other Great Salads to Try:

• Oriental Chicken Salad
• Pasta and Pea Salad
• Tuna Cobb Salad
• Pear and Blue Cheese Salad
• Couscous Salad
• Thai Pasta Salad
• Tomato Salad

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Panzanella Salad

Kathy

Fresh summer salad with fresh veggies.

5 from 11 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Servings 8 people

Calories 160 kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ loaf French Bread
• ▢ 2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved)
• ▢ ½ large sliced red onion
• ▢ 2 cups chopped bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange)
• ▢ 1 cucumber chopped (unpeeled)
• ▢ ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon fresh basil leaves (thinly sliced.)
• ▢ salt and pepper

Instructions

 

• Slice bread and lightly brush with olive oil. Place slices on hot grill just until lightly browned.
• Let bread cool and rough chop into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix all veggies in large bowl.
• In separate bowl, mix vinegar, garlic, olive oil together and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour dressing over veggies and mix together.
• Stir in bread and mix.
• Sprinkle in fresh basil.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving so bread can absorb the vinaigrette.

Notes

½ loaf French bread cubed is approximately 3 cups.

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 143mgPotassium: 253mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1389IUVitamin C: 58mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg

Keyword bread salad, panzanella, Salad

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Recipe Adapted From:  Cooking Light, Big Book of Salads