Grilled Panzanella Salad

It isn't summer until you grill up this grilled panzanella salad! Sweet charred peppers and grilled onions are tossed with toasted ciabatta, sweet cherry tomatoes and the most delicious slightly sweet and tangy vinaigrette. You'll never want to make panzanella any other way!

During the summer months, I am all about the big salads, or as I like to call it, "no more wimpy salads". Julia Child's Salad Nicoise is a perfect example of that, hearty and full of texture and color.

But this grilled panzanella salad is even easier and is on a constant summer dinner rotation. Between the sweet fresh tomatoes sand the charred peppers and onions, there is nothing better. I mean, look at those stunning colors!

Jump to:

• 🍅 About This Recipe
• ⭐️ Recipe Highlights
• 📋 Ingredients
• 🍋 Substitutions and Variations
• ⏲️ Instructions
• 📍 Recipe Tips
• 🥗 What to Serve with Grilled Panzanella
• Recipe FAQs
• More Great Salads to Try
• Grilled Panzanella Salad

🍅 About This Recipe

Classic panzanella is a rustic Italian bread salad made with cubes of stale bread that is tossed with juicy tomatoes and other vegetables and drizzled with olive oil.

The moisture from the tomatoes and vegetables gently softens the stale bread, while still keeping it's texture. Use a variety of colorful in season vegetables, such as cucumbers, heirloom or cherry tomatoes and bell peppers.

⭐️ Recipe Highlights

• Grilled panzanella salad is a "no recipe" recipe, where you don't need exact measurements. Use a variety of vegetables and grilled bread and you're golden!
• Keep it rustic! A good grilled bread salad has roughly turn pieces of bread with large chunks of vegetables. Don't worry about the perfect size, jus give it a good chop.
• Grilled panzanella makes the perfect summer dinner! While the grill is going, serve the panzanella salad alongside grilled shish tawook.

📋 Ingredients

• Bread: Use either ciabatta bread or a good crusty baguette and make sure it's dry. Day old bread works great as well.
• Grilling Vegetables: Bell peppers and onion become sweet when grilled and other suggestions are green zucchini or yellow summer squash.
• Fresh Tomatoes: This is the time to use sweet summer tomatoes and the juicier the better so it softens the bread slightly when tossed together. Some tomato suggestions are sweet cherry tomatoes, Roma and when in season, heirloom tomatoes.
• Olive Oil and Balsamic: The base of most of my vinaigrettes, I like using an aged balsamic that is slightly sweeter and thicker and emulsifies with the other dressing ingredients very well.
• Capers: Traditionally, you'll find capers in chicken piccata or puttanesca pasta, but the addition of the salty capers gives the salad a delicious layer of salty and savory flavor that works well with the sweet tomatoes and peppers.
• Fresh Herbs: Because we're using all the gorgeous summer produce, use fresh summer basil or mint for a pop of fresh brightness.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🍋 Substitutions and Variations

• Grill other vegetables, such as zucchini, corn or yellow squash.
• Add a sweet element! I love adding fruit to a summery caprese salad, so whole the grill is going, grill peaches or add fresh strawberries.
• For a vegan panzanella salad, omit the honey in the vinaigrette and substitute with maple syrup for a touch of sweetness.

⏲️ Instructions

1. Cut bell peppers in half and season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
2. Cut thick slices of red onion and season the same way.
3. Grill the vegetables with the bread until nice grill marks form.
4. For the fresh vegetables, cut the cherry tomatoes in half to release their juices. You can also use medium to large heirloom tomatoes, just be sure to cut the tomatoes into a similar size as the other ingredients.
5. Keep the cucumbers fresh and cut into similar sizes as the tomatoes. If using Persian cucumbers, you won't have to peel since the peel is so thin.
6. For the vinaigrette, whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, grated garlic and salt and pepper until emulsified.
7. Toss the vinaigrette with the salad and add capers and fresh basil. Let sit for at least 10 minutes so the flavors come together.

🥗 What to Serve with Grilled Panzanella

Italian panzanella salad is hearty enough on its own but here are a few other suggestions to make it a complete meal.

Serve the bread salad with grilled tomahawk steak or whole grilled branzino . And for a starter, try the grilled grapes with burrata and tarragon that also utilizes grilled bread.

Recipe FAQs

More Great Salads to Try

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