Peach Panzanella Salad

Peach Panzanella Salad—A simple, exquisite summer salad filled with crusty bread, sweet peaches and juicy tomatoes. Colorful, fresh and easy, this make-ahead dish works as a starter, a side or a summery light supper.

This Peach Tomato Panzanella Is Late-Summer Bliss

One bite of this salad and you’ll never want to eat another salad again in your life. During summer, that is. The main protagonists are bread and peaches and it is so fresh and so good. I love a classic panzanella, but I had no idea I would fall so hard for this version. In-season peaches that are sweeter than wine truly steal the show here and I could honestly eat this every day.

Traditionally, a very simple, understated dressing of vinegar and olive oil is all that is used in a panzanella. But I figured the assertive sweetness of the peaches could handle my favorite champagne vinaigrette. Topped with extra pepper and flaky salt, I was right, this crunchy, sweet, salty, vinegary, bread salad is about as glorious as it gets.

Best of all, panzanella is an ideal make-ahead dish; the longer it sits, the better it tastes. I love to serve this just as is, but for a heartier meal, serve it with any slightly charred grilled meat or fish. Divine.

What Is Panzanella?

A classic panzanella, once referred to as a poor man’s dish, tosses crusty bread with juicy tomatoes, red onions, and an olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. So fresh and cooling, it’s my favourite salad to make when summer tomatoes are at their peak.

Panzanella is often referred to as a salad from Tuscany but variations are found all throughout Italy. It is a dish that can be adapted to your mood, or to what is in season. But the one constant ingredient in every panzanella should always be good country bread. Aside from that, this salad is all about good quality, preferably in season, ingredients.

A peculiar thing about a classic panzanella recipe, is that it calls for soaking stale bread in water. The water is then squeezed out, and the bread is added semi-wet to the salad.

With guidance from the fabulous folks at Serious Eats, I instead go the route of toasting (fresh) bread in the oven or grill. Apologies to Italians, but this is a much better way to go, in my opinion. This also eliminates the need to use stale bread since a fresh loaf will become perfectly crunchy when toasted.

Recipe Ingredients And Notes

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this easy Peach Panzanella Salad:

• Peaches: Since peaches are the star of this salad, if possible, try and buy the freshest, ripest peaches you can find. The ones that are rock hard and need days to soften on the counter will work, but are not ideal for this salad.
• Tomatoes: Raw tomatoes are at their best when they have been left to ripen on their vine while being kissed by the sun all day. These juicy, sweet-salty tomatoes, in any shape, colour, or size, are the ones you will want to seek out for this salad.
• Bread: Any good crusty loaf of bread will work for this tomato panzanella. I like ciabatta, or a rustic sourdough.
• Red onion: Not all panzanella recipes include onion but those that do, call for a mandatory soak in cold water so the onion loses its strong pungency. Here, we do the same.
• Basil: The fresh spicy flavour of basil leaves is wonderful in this salad. I can’t imagine leaving it out.
• Kosher salt and flaky salt: Tomatoes love, and can take, a lot of salt. Flaky salt is optional, but a delicious finishing touch.
• Dressing: You almost don’t need to make a separate dressing for this salad as the tomato juices, olive oil, and vinegar will make a sort of vinaigrette. But I couldn’t resist trying this peach panzanella with my favorite champagne vinaigrette and it is divine. You will need champagne vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard, honey, salt, pepper and of course a good extra-virgin olive oil. If you don’t have champagne vinegar around, swap in the vinegar you have and love.

Delicious Variation

Add fresh mozzarella! For this recipe, I opted to leave out the mozzarella because the salad is just as wonderful without it. But needless to say, the addition of morsels of creamy fresh mozzarella will take the salad to caprese territory which is never, ever a bad thing.

If adding mozzarella, be sure to remove it from the fridge at least one hour before using. A room-temperature mozzarella will taste so much better than when it is fridge-cold. For this salad, I also recommend tearing your mozzarella ball, rather than slicing it. The milky juices will then ooze more freely throughout the salad.

How To Make Peach Panzanella Salad

This simple, exquisite summer salad is a reminder that seasonal ingredients don’t need much fussing to deliver outstanding flavours. Colourful, fresh and easy, this peach panzanella salad works as a starter, a side or a summery light supper.

Soak the onions. Place the sliced red onions in a little bowl; cover with cold water and leave to soak while preparing the rest.

To grill the bread. Cut the bread into 1/2-inch slices. Heat an outdoor grill or griddle pan until it’s really hot. Brush the bread with olive oil and grill over high heat until toasted and lightly charred in spots, 1-2 minutes per side. Let cool slightly, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Make the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl. Set aside.

Combine the salad. In a large serving bowl, combine the toasted bread, peaches, tomatoes and basil. Drain the onions and add them to the bowl. Drizzle with half of the dressing; toss very gently to combine and leave it to soak for 10 minutes before serving. You can serve the salad in the bowl but I like to transfer it to a large serving platter so each ingredient is more visible.

To finish. Drizzle with a little more dressing to taste then sprinkle your panzanella with flaky salt, freshly cracked pepper, and another scatter of fresh basil.

Can I Make This Peach Panzanella Ahead Of Time?

Yes, like most panzanella’s, this peach panzanella salad benefits from being made ahead so the bread cubes get a chance to soak up the sweet juices from the tomatoes and peaches. That said, peaches are a little more delicate than tomatoes so I wouldn’t let a peach panzanella sit out for as long as an all-tomato panzanella.

If you need to make the salad more than 2 hours ahead, consider adding the peaches only 1 hour prior to serving.

What to Serve With Panzanella Salad

The bread and the peaches make this panzanella salad quite hefty and filling to serve on its own. But for a make-ahead summer party, serve it as an appetizer (huge crowd pleaser!) or as a side dish to grilled burger patties (no bread), grilled steak or chicken, or alongside a simple pasta dish.

How To Store Leftovers

Panzanella is best served the day it is made. But if you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 day. The salad will still be delicious but keep in mind the bread, tomatoes and peaches will become quite mushy if stored any longer than that.

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