Textual Chef Textual Chef

Panzanella

A Tuscan bread salad where toasted ciabatta soaks up the juices of ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, and a tangy red wine vinaigrette. Rustic and full of summer flavor.

25 minEasyServes 4280 cal/serving

ItalianSaladOvenVegetarianMediterraneanHigh FiberNut-FreeDairy-FreeEgg-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 8 oz ciabatta or crusty bread, cubed
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 English cucumber, chopped
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic clove, minced
  • to taste salt
  • to taste black pepper

Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss 8 oz cubed ciabatta or crusty bread with 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until golden and crispy.

  2. 2

    In a large bowl, combine 2 lbs chopped ripe heirloom tomatoes, 1 chopped English cucumber, and 1/2 thinly sliced red onion. Season with salt and let sit 10 minutes.

  3. 3

    Whisk together remaining 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 1 clove minced garlic clove. Season with salt and black pepper.

  4. 4

    Add toasted bread to the tomato mixture and toss to coat.

  5. 5

    Pour dressing over and toss well. Let sit 10-15 minutes so the bread absorbs the juices.

  6. 6

    Fold in 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves and serve at room temperature.

Questions

Can I make Panzanella gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 8 oz ciabatta or crusty bread, cubed. Swap the bread or crumbs for a gluten-free loaf or gluten-free panko. Everything else proceeds as written.

Can I make Panzanella ahead?

Yes, it takes well to being made ahead. Dressed, it is best the day it is made. Keep the components separate and refrigerated and they hold about two days; dress just before serving.

Can I halve or double Panzanella?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Doubled, split it across two pans and rotate them halfway; one crowded pan bakes unevenly.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,504 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.