Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad built from stale bread soaked back to life with tomato juice and vinaigrette, then tossed with ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and basil. You make it by cubing and toasting or drying the bread, letting it soak briefly in the dressing and tomato juices, then tossing everything together right before serving.
The dish began as a way to use up bread that had gone stale, a habit rooted in the frugal cooking of Tuscan farmhouses where nothing, especially bread, went to waste. Recipes for it date back centuries, long before tomatoes were even part of the mix, since the vegetable arrived in Italy after other versions of the salad already existed.
Today it is a summer dish through and through, built around tomatoes at their ripest, since underripe or out of season tomatoes will not release enough juice to soften the bread properly.
What Actually Matters
The bread needs to be genuinely stale or dried out, not fresh. Fresh bread turns to mush the moment it hits the tomato juice and dressing, while dried out bread absorbs the liquid slowly and keeps some structure, which is the entire point of the dish.
Panzanella Recipe (Serves 4)
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 20 minutes to sit. Cook time: 10 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes.
- 6 cups stale or dried Italian bread, torn or cubed
- 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks, juices reserved
- 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- If the bread is not already stale, toast the cubes in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 minutes, until dried out but not browned.
- Soak the sliced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften its bite, then drain.
- In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes and their juices with the bread cubes, and let sit for 10 minutes so the bread starts to soften.
- Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper together to make the dressing.
- Add the cucumber, drained onion, and basil to the bread and tomatoes.
- Pour the dressing over everything and toss well.
- Let the salad rest for 10 more minutes at room temperature before serving, so the flavors settle.
| Nutrition (per serving, estimated) | |
|---|---|
| Calories | 310 |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
These figures are a calculated estimate for one serving, not a lab-verified figure.
Tips and Storage
Panzanella is best eaten the day it is made. If it sits too long, even dried bread eventually turns fully soggy. If you have extra dressed salad, drain off excess liquid before refrigerating to slow that down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use fresh bread? Not recommended. Dry it out in the oven first, or the salad turns to mush.
What tomatoes work best? The ripest, juiciest tomatoes you can find; underripe tomatoes will not soften the bread properly.
Can I add other vegetables? Bell peppers and celery are common additions in some regional versions.
Why soak the onion in water? It softens the onion's sharp bite without cooking it.
How long does it keep? Best eaten the same day; it does not hold well past a few hours.
More From Wine Drop Cookery
This recipe is part of the Italian Recipes hub. For the gear used here, see Kitchen Essentials, Pots, Pans, and Cookware, and All Products.
I'm Chef Alan. I have spent 35 years in professional kitchens, I have formal culinary education in New Hampshire, and I have been honored as a 6-Time 4-Diamond Chef. More about me here.
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