This grilled peach and ricotta panzanella salad is quick, easy, and a great way to use leftover stale bread! It's the perfect summer side dish!
It's a great side dish to go with my favorite roasted chicken and peaches!
What is Panzanella Salad?
Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that originated in Tuscany. It's a great way to use leftover stale bread and is traditionally made with tomatoes, basil, and good olive oil. There are a ton of delicious variations but this peach and ricotta panzanella is my absolute favorite!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this grilled peach and ricotta panzanella salad!
- Stale bread - Since I always have my Homemade Sourdough Bread on hand, that's what I use for this panzanella, but any stale rustic style bread works great! If you only have fresh bread, just cut it up and toast it in the oven for about 10 minutes to dry it out first. Otherwise it will get soggy and no one wants that.
- Fresh peaches - The fresh peaches are the star of this dish! I love lightly grilling them to bring out their sweetness. But this panzanella is also delicious with raw peaches.
- Walnuts - Nuts are optional but add a nice crunch to the salad!
- Shallot - The mild flavor of shallot is great in this salad, but you can also substitute sliced red onion.
- Ricotta cheese - I use ricotta cheese in this panzanella because I love the creamy texture it adds! However, I've also used burrata and mozzarella which are also delicious!
- White balsamic vinegar - Hear me out, white balsamic is even more delicious than regular balsamic! But it's also nice because it doesn't turn everything purple. However, you can definitely swap out regular balsamic or even lemon juice!
How to Make Panzanella
Optional: If desired, preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the cubed bread and drizzle lightly with olive oil. for 5-7 or until lightly toasted.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush lightly with olive oil. Add the peach slices and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly charred. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Toss together the bread, peaches, tomatoes, walnuts, and shallot in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients then pour over the salad.
Toss everything together and make sure all the bread is evenly coated in the vinaigrette. Cover and let rest for about 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Top with fresh basil and ricotta and serve immediately.
Recipe FAQ's
Panzanella is best eaten the same day or else the bread will start to get soggy.
This peach panzanella pairs great with grilled meats like chicken or salmon.
You can use fresh bread if that's all you have, but just know that it will start to get soggy even faster. You can toast it in the oven first to dry it out if using fresh bread.
More Peach Recipes
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Grilled Peach and Ricotta Panzanella Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Panzanella
- 3 large peaches, sliced
- 4 cups stale rustic style bread, cut in 1 inch cubes
- 2 large tomatoes, cubed
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- fresh basil
- ricotta cheese, burrata or mozzarella are also delicious
Simple Vinaigrette
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Optional: If desired, preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the cubed bread and drizzle lightly with olive oil. for 5-7 or until lightly toasted.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush lightly with olive oil. Add the peach slices and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly charred. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Toss together the bread, peaches, tomatoes, walnuts, and shallot in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients then pour over the salad.
- Toss everything together and make sure all the bread is evenly coated in the vinaigrette.
- Cover and let rest for about 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Top with fresh basil and ricotta and serve immediately.
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