Roasted Tomato Panzanella Salad
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Panzanella is a classic Italian bread salad from Tuscany with a brilliant premise: Making a meal out of stale bread, ripe tomatoes, and olive oil. My version uses toasted sourdough (fresh, not stale), roasted tomatoes and bell peppers. Add fresh mozzarella, creamy feta, cucumber, red onion, and a sharp red wine vinaigrette, and you’ve got a bowl that holds its own as a full summer meal.
Why this panzanella is worthy of your oven
Most panzanella recipes call for raw tomatoes, which is traditional and perfectly fine — when you have peak-season fruit that’s perfectly sweet and ripe. My roasting method changes the equation — you can make the aspirational Tuscan version with regular produce from the grocery store.
The contrast is the point: Soft, jammy roasted vegetables against crisp olive-oil-toasted bread is what makes each forkful interesting — and every component can be prepped up to 2 days ahead.
What goes into this panzanella, and why it works
- Bread: “Pane” means bread in Italian, which tells you everything about how central it is to this dish. As the foundation of a tomato bread salad, it needs to hold up to the job. Use sourdough, ciabatta, or any bakery-style country loaf with a sturdy crumb — something that can absorb the dressing and roasted vegetable juices without dissolving. I skip French bread and baguettes — they tend to be bland, and the texture reminds me of industrial styrofoam.
- Vegetables: I roast cherry tomatoes and sweet bell peppers together until they soften and release their juices — about 15 minutes is all it takes. For crunch and contrast, I add thinly sliced red onion and cucumber, both of which stay crisp to contrast with the jammy roasted vegetables.
- Cheese: Fresh mozzarella and feta pull in opposite directions — one is soft and milky, the other crumbly and salty — and that tension is exactly what makes them work together. Use bite-size bocconcini or tear a larger ball into uneven pieces. Either way, you want irregular edges that catch the dressing.
- Salad dressing: The vinaigrette is red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil — tangy and sharp enough to cut through the richness of two cheeses and stand up to the roasted vegetables. It soaks into the toasted bread as the salad sits, which is the whole point: Panzanella isn’t meant to be eaten the moment it’s dressed.
How to make roasted tomato panzanella
A note on the bread: Traditional panzanella was made with stale bread because Tuscan peasants weren’t in the business of wasting food — perfectly logical. But we’re not bound by that constraint, and fresh bread toasted in olive oil is just better. The edges crisp, the crumb stays tender, and you get real textural contrast instead of a bland uniform crouton.
1. Toss bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, oregano, and a pinch of salt. 2. Drizzle tomatoes and colorful bell peppers with olive oil on a second sheet. Bake the two pans at the same time for 15 minutes.
3. Shake the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar until emulsified — it should look creamy and cohesive, not separated 4. The bread should be golden at the edges with a tender crumb; the tomatoes and peppers will be collapsed and jammy.
5. Add the bread, roasted vegetables, onion, and cucumber to a large bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over and toss well. 6. Top with torn mozzarella, crumbled feta, and fresh basil. Serve immediately, or allow it to marinate for a few hours at room temperature — the bread will soak it up as it sits.
What to serve with panzanella
In the summer, this salad is often all you need — especially if you let it sit long enough for the bread to absorb the dressing. For something that feels more intentional, add a simple protein alongside. Chicken ricotta meatballs are light enough not to compete with the salad, and baked salmon with herb mayo makes it proper dinner without any extra effort.
Roasted Tomato Panzanella Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Panzanella Salad Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh garlic, or very finely chopped garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Panzanella
- 3-4 ½-inch thick slices (275 g) sourdough bread, ciabatta, or similar crusty bread
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- 3 (340 g) red bell peppers, or assorted colors (yellow, orange, red), sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 12 ounces (300 g) cherry or grape tomatoes, 1 pint
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2 (165 6) sliced baby (Persian) cucumbers
- ½ cup fresh mozzarella or feta cheese, (or a 50-50 combination)
- Handful of fresh basil or Italian parsley, roughly torn
Instructions
Mix the salad dressing
- Combine 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon grated fresh garlic, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a lidded glass jar. Shake it until the dressing is smooth and emulsified. Alternatively, you can whisk everything together in a bowl. The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead (store in the refrigerator).
Panzanella salad
- Preheat the oven to 400F (205C).
- Slice 3-4 ½-inch thick slices sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes (they don't have to be perfect). If you're feeling rustic, tear the bread into irregular bite-size pieces instead of slicing it. You should have about 5 heaping cups.
- Put the bread pieces on a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the bread and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon dried oregano and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Toss together until the bread is evenly coated with the seasonings, then spread it out in an even layer. Bake 15 minutes, stirring the pieces around once about halfway through. The bread should be crisp on the edges and lightly toasted.
- Put the sliced peppers and tomatoes on a second rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle on 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt, then gently shake the pan to coat. Bake alongside the bread for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the toasted bread to an oversized bowl. Scrape in the roasted tomatoes and peppers, along with all the tomato juices that collected in the pan. Add ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion and 2 sliced baby (Persian) cucumbers and toss a few times to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together until evenly coated.
- Tear the mozzarella into pieces. Scatter the cheeses over the salad along with the herbs.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- For a fresh, crunchy version of this panzanella, skip roasting the tomatoes and peppers. Combine them raw with the toasted bread, dressing, cheese, and other vegetables.
- Panzanella salad keeps for a couple of hours at room temperature. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a day or two. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- I prefer to leave the crust on the bread. I enjoy the texture of the crusty edges and the softer crumb.
- The toasted bread can be prepared 2-3 days ahead. After it cools, transfer to a storage bag or container and keep at room temperature. Or make a double batch to make the best homemade breadcrumbs!
- Use large heirloom tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. Cut them into quarters.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
Professionally trained cook, cookbook author, and the person behind every recipe here. I cook the way I was trained: Start with good ingredients, understand why they work, and don’t apologize for the salt. These are the recipes I actually make, for the people I love. Read more about me here.
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With a lot of garden cherry tomatoes and basil available, I had to give this a try. I only had green pepper to work with, not red. This is so easy once you cut your veggies and cube your bread. I had a loaf of Parmesan rosemary needing to be used and it worked perfectly. I detoured a bit from the recipe in that we ate the mixture on a bed of spring greens with the dressing, and had grilled chicken tenders alongside. I also needed to add a bit of sugar to the dressing to adjust for our palette. Excellent way to eat a seasonal delicious salad and really amp up the tomato flavor by roasting. I will make this regularly. Excellent.
Petra, I love your version with the Parmesan-rosemary bread and spring greens!