Panzanella Salad is a classic Mediterranean dish with tomatoes, croutons, white beans, arugula, Parmesan & herbs in oil and vinegar dressing.
Panzanella salad is a classic dish, famous throughout the Mediterranean region, especially the Tuscan region of Italy where it is generally thought to have its roots.
Apparently, this dish started out as a simple way for “common people” to use up their stale homemade bread. They would combine it with oil, vinegar, herbs, and vegetables like cucumbers, etc. to make a meal.
Once tomatoes were introduced into Europe, they were added to the basic salad and soon this simple peasant salad became a favorite “bread and tomato” salad. Eventually even the royal class came to love this flavorful salad and the rest is history, as they say.
Today I want to show you how easy a panzanella salad (with cannellini beans and arugula) is to make. I can assure you it’s really delicious and hopefully this encourages you to try it! Here’s how to make it.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Prepare The Bread Croutons
TIP: I recommend baking the croutons while the salad is marinating (see further below) in order to save time.
Cut STALE Italian Bread (or sourdough) into bite-sized cubes (crust included). Using stale bread is the best way to ensure the croutons hold their shape and don’t get soggy!
You will need about 2 cups of cubed stale bread for this salad. Toss the bread cubes with a Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to cover and then lightly season with salt and black pepper.
Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350°F. oven for 15-20 minutes, being sure to stir them every 4-5 minutes until they become lightly browned and crisp.
The two photos shown below are from a previous blog post of mine showing how to make Air Fryer salad croutons (with butter and spices). I used these nicely seasoned croutons when I photographed this recipe.
Make A Simple Dressing For The Salad
The salad dressing for panzanella salad is very simple to make and uses only a few ingredients. The key is to make the dressing in the same bowl you will serve the salad in because the remaining salad ingredients will be added into the bowl.
Whisk together 1½ Tablespoons of red wine vinegar and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Slowly drizzle in 1½ Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, WHISKING CONSTANTLY while you add it!
Once the oil and vinegar mixture has emulsified (completely blended), the dressing is ready for the final ingredient additions.
Add Tomatoes, Beans, Herbs And Let Marinate
Chop the tomatoes, saving all the juice and seeds. Place the chopped tomatoes and all the seeds and juice into the bowl. The dressing will take on a slightly red color.
Next add drained cannellini beans (for protein!), thin red onion slices, fresh basil and fresh oregano (½ the total amount of basil and oregano called for).
Toss these salad ingredients together well, to ensure they are all covered fairly well with the oil and vinegar salad dressing.
Once they’re fully combined, let the salad “rest and marinate” for 20 minutes. This is a perfect time to bake the croutons!
Finish The Panzanella Salad
After the panzanella salad has marinated for 20 minutes, add 1½ cups of baby arugula to the salad. I was fortunate to be able to use our first picking of baby arugula from our backyard raised bed garden! Whoo Hoo!
Now add the toasted (cooled) croutons and toss the panzanella salad very well, to cover everything with the salad dressing. I’m always amazed at how good this salad smells, because of the fresh basil and oregano!
Take a small bite and season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired. Now the last step is to garnish the salad with Parmesan cheese and serve!
Right before serving, add the Parmesan. You can finely grate it on top of the salad (shown in the 1st photo below) or use the other way, shown in the 2nd photo below.
The other way we enjoy adding the fresh Parmesan is to very thinly slice the cheese and add the thin ribbons of cheese to the salad (shown below).
There’s no right or wrong way to add the parmesan cheese… just make sure you add it! The Parmesan adds another layer of fantastic flavor to this delicious savory salad.
Serve the panzanella salad immediately and enjoy it’s fantastic Mediterranean-inspired flavor! We enjoyed it this time served alongside a small piece of grilled halibut (and salsa). YUM!
I hope you have the opportunity to make this classic salad for yourself and those you love. My hope is that you enjoy it as much as we do!
Thank you so much for stopping by, and I invite you to come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day!
Looking For More SALAD Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have lots of delicious salad recipes (savory and sweet) you may enjoy, including:
- Traditional Greek Salad
- Bacon Lover’s Spinach Salad
- Thanksgiving Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- BLT Wedge Salad
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Recipe adapted from: “The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook”, page 91, published in 2016 by The Editors of America’s Test Kitchen
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Panzanella Salad is a classic Mediterranean dish with tomatoes, croutons, white beans, arugula, Parmesan & herbs in oil and vinegar dressing.
- 2 cups stale Italian or sourdough bread cubes
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to lightly season
- 1½ Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1½ Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ pound ripe red tomatoes* *cored/ chopped (SAVE JUICE/SEEDS)
- 1 cup cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- ½ small red onion very thinly sliced
- 1½ Tablespoons fresh basil* chopped *DIVIDED USE
- 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano minced *DIVIDED USE
- 1¾ cup baby arugula
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated or shaved
Cut STALE bread into bite-sized cubes. Toss bread cubes well with 1 Tbsp. olive oil then season lightly with salt/pepper. Place cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Remove from pan; let cool.
Make salad dressing in the same bowl you will serve the salad in. Whisk together 1½ Tbsp. red wine vinegar and ⅛ tsp. salt. Slowly drizzle in 1½ Tbsp. olive oil, WHISKING CONSTANTLY while adding!
Chop tomatoes, saving the juice and seeds. Place tomatoes, seeds and juice into bowl with salad dressing. Add cannellini beans, red onion, ¾ Tbsp. fresh basil and ½Tbsp. oregano (this is half of total amt. called for). Toss well, to cover everything with salad dressing. Set bowl aside. Let salad "rest and marinate" for 20 minutes.
Add arugula and croutons to salad; toss to combine everything. Take a bite, season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
Garnish salad with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
TIP: I recommend baking the croutons while the salad "rests" (for 20 minutes). in order to save time!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!