Summer Panzanella Salad (2024)

This Summer Panzanella Salad has all the flavors of a BLT for a super tasty, light weeknight meal.It's great for summer picnics & BBQs too!!

If you love Panzanellasalads check out this fall Panzanella I created with butternut squash - delicious!

This post may contain sales affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for details.

This is one of my very first food blog posts. It was originally published back in August 2013.I was brand new to blogging when I wrote it and the original version didn't even include photos, so I figured it was time for an update. This beautiful Summer Panzanella salad, with its BLT flavors, definitely deserves a few photos!

What is a Panzanella Salad?

Panzanella is a Tuscan salad that was created as a way to use up crusty bread that has become stale, as well as celebrate the bounty of summer tomatoes. The juice from the tomatoes and the dressing bringsnew life to the slightlystale bread.

Salads are always one of my favorite things to eat in the summer and I love to come up with new variations on things I've made before. This particular saladhappened quite by accident due to a head of lettuce that had gone bad!

I had intended to make an Italian-inspired chopped salad for a 4th of July BBQ, however, when I went to pull the ingredients out we realized the lettuce had started to turn.Without the lettuce, I had to improvise, so I cut up a nice loaf of sourdough that I happened to have on hand,toasted it up in the oven and added the toasted bread cubes to the mix. The result turned into the extremely tasty summer BLT Panzanella salad!!

This is the perfect recipe to add to your summer meals recipe collection. Read on to learn more about how to make thisSummer BLT Panzanella Salad, orjump straight to the recipeto start cooking!

Ingredients + Substitutions

• Bread:Sourdough bread is my favorite for this recipe but any crusty bread will work. It's best if it's a day or so old as it will toast better.
• Tomatoes: The directions call for grape tomatoes, however, since tomatoes are so abundant in the summer any fresh tomato works. If using larger tomatoes just chop them into bite-sized pieces.
• Chickpeas: I generally use canned beans for salads because it makes the process quick and easy. They provide a good dose of protein in this salad.
• Bacon:I love the coffee-rubbed bacon from Whole Foods. Maple bacon is another good choice. I recommend using thick-cut bacon so the pieces don't get lost among the other ingredients. If you want a vegetarian version, skip the bacon.
• Blue Cheese: If you like you can use pre-crumbled blue cheese however, for the best taste I'd recommend getting a high-quality version from the cheese counter and crumbling it yourself.

Tips for making Panzanella Salad

The process of making a Panzanella salad is really easy and only requiresa few simple steps.

1. Toast the bread:Start with this step and you can prep everything else while the bread is cooking and cooling.
2. Make the dressing:I often use a small mason jar to make salad dressing. You simply add the ingredients and shake to blend. If you are storing any of the dressing for later simply seal the jar with the lid and pop it in the refrigerator.
3. Chop the veggies:Chop up all of your veggies and add them to a large mixing bowl as you go.
4. Let the flavors meld:Once you've added the bread cubes and the dressing, toss the salad well and then you'll want to let it sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. If you are serving this later in the day wait until about 30 minutes before serving to add the bread. You want it to soften a bit and soak up the dressing and the juice from the tomatoes but you don't want it to get too soggy.

Frequently asked questions

Serving Suggestions

This salad makes a great, light meal all on its own but if you want to add a bit more protein, I'd recommend some simple grilled seafood like these Margarita Shimp or this Grilled Salmon with Mustard Sauce.

More summer salad recipes

If you are looking for great salad ideas check out these reader favorites:

This recipe post was originally published in August 2013. It was updated in May 2023 with some new images and information. No changes have been made to the original recipe.

More Recipes You Might Like: