Tuscan Panzanella salad makes a fantastic, easy-to-make meal or flavorful side. Make it all summer long, when tomatoes are at their best!
The classic Tuscan bread salad called Panzanella is the perfect way to make the most of juicy and flavorful tomatoes when they're are their peak.
Add in a few extra simple ingredients, and you basically have summer on a plate!
You can easily serve it as a starter or as an accompanying salad. The addition of thin luxurious slices of Parma Ham makes it a wonderful meal option too.
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*This post is sponsored by Prosciutto di Parma. All opinions are my own.*
What is Panzanella?
Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad, super popular during summertime, when tomato season is at its peak.
It's made with stale bread mixed with sweet red onion, cucumber, fresh basil and seasonal tomatoes and dressed up vinegar and plenty of extra-virgin olive oil.
This traditional Italian bread salad is easily one of the best ways to use leftover, bread together with homemade breadcrumbs.
This is also one of those fantastic make-ahead dishes, that the longer they sit the better they taste (just like Tiramisu').
Italian bread salad ingredients
To make Italian bread salad panzanella, you’ll need just a bunch of simple ingredients:
- tomatoes
- artisanal bread
- onion
- cucumber
- Parma Ham
- extra-virgin olive oil
- white vinegar
Stale Bread or Fresh Bread
Traditional panzanella features unsalted Tuscan bread, however, it's pretty hard to find it outside of Tuscany, so use a hearty, open-structured bread, like artisanal ciabatta or sourdough bread instead.
This salad was originally created to use up stale bread.
Traditionally the bread is not toasted, but I like to cut it into cubes and grill or roast them to give some extra crunch.
If you want to follow the traditional route simply cut day-old bread into slices, and soak them in cold water for 1 minute.
Then wring the bread out like a sponge and break it apart into small bits. Otherwise, keep scrolling down for my crunchy crispy toasted bread version.
Tomatoes & Cucumber
Farmers market fresh ripe tomatoes are the key to the best panzanella.
I like to mix and match fleshy heirloom tomatoes with tiny juicy black and red cherry tomatoes, but classic salad tomatoes also work great.
Try to avoid supermarket tomatoes, as they usually taste pretty bland.
The cucumber is totally optional, most of the Panzanella salads I've had in Italy include cucumber too, so I usually add it.
If it's super fresh, organic and straight from the farmers market, I like to leave the skin on, but you can totally peel it away.
Parma Ham
Parma Ham (or Prosciutto di Parma PDO, to give it its full name) is, without doubt, the most famous Italian cured meat in the world.
This famous Italian prosciutto crudo is made with just 4 ingredients: Italian pork, salt, air and time.
It's 100% natural, and unlike other hams, there are no nasty additives, nitrates, or nitrites.
Add extra ingredients
This classic Italian salad is highly versatile and there's no need to keep it strictly traditional, so feel free to add extra ingredients.
Below are some great options:
- cannellini beans
- chickpeas
- black olives
- grilled corn
- fresh peas
- fresh broad beans
How to make panzanella salad
Italian panzanella is not like any other salad, where you just chop mix and serve.
It takes a little bit of extra love that brings it to the next level.
Scroll until the end of the post for the full printable recipe.
STEP 1: Chop the tomatoes, season with salt and let sit for 5 minutes.
STEP 2: Cut the stale bread in chunks and grill until crispy and golden.
STEP 3: Chop the cucumber, slice the onion, then add them to the salad, followed by the bread.
STEP 4: Season the panzanella with extra-virgin olive oil, white vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Panzanella is best served after about 30 minutes of resting time.
This allows the crunchy bread chunks to soften up a little and absorb the salad dressing.
Right before serving the salad, top with thin slices of Parma Ham, then serve.
Storage tips
You can totally make this Italian summer salad ahead, I actually highly encourage it. Make it several hours before, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Store leftovers in an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
More traditional Italian recipes to try:
- Italian Homemade Pizza Dough
- Water Cake: A Dairy-free, Egg-free, Magic Cake
- Traditional Bolognese Sauce (Ragu’ alla Bolognese)
- Veal Saltimbocca
- Polpette, Italian meatballs
- Chicken Milanese
Did You Try This Recipe?
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Recipe
Tuscan Panzanella Salad with Parma Ham
Ingredients
- 300 g mixed tomatoes (heirloom, cherry tomatoes etc)
- 1 medium red onion
- 4 tablespoon Italian extra-virgin olive oil (ideally PDO)
- 250 g stale ciabatta or sourdough bread
- ½ cucumber, finely cubed
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 tablespoon Italian white vinegar
- sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- 80 g Parma Ham, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Chop the larger tomatoes into chunks and the small cherry tomatoes in half.
- Then place them in a large bowl and season well with sea salt. Cover and set aside in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion, place in a bowl and soak in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and transfer the slices into the bowl with the tomatoes.
- Cut the stale bread into 2.5cm chunks, place them in a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Arrange the bread cubes on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Place the tray in a preheated oven to 180°C/360°F with the grill function on, and bake for 10 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Check the bread frequently, to make sure it doesn't brown too much. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Add the cucumber and bread chunks into the bowl with the tomatoes and onion. Tear a few leaves of basil by hand and throw them into the salad.
- Season with the remaining extra-virgin olive oil, white vinegar and sea salt and black pepper to taste, and mix to combine all the ingredients.
- Right before serving the panzanella salad, top with thin slices of Parma Ham.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Matt Dalkin says
Adding ham to this salad was pure genius! I made it twice this week already.
Naomi M says
I've never seen panzanella with parma ham, it's a wonderful idea!
Madison says
Just made this for lunch and my family demolished it within seconds, so delicious, thank you!!