A quick and easy bread salad that gets an upgrade with fresh in-season peaches, salty bites of prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella!
Summer is in season and peaches are HERE; I’m ready for it. I love a juicy ripe peach that’s in-season, that I can slice as a treat, but when I can use seasonal fruit in everyday recipes, I’m going for it. You can too!
What is a Panzanella Salad?
Panzanella Salad is a Tuscan chopped salad using soaked stale bread, onions and tomatoes. In its truest form, a Panzanella Salad comes together with a good olive oil and sometimes vinegar (the “soaked stale bread” part). Fresh summer tomatoes are what make this salad, and I personally love using a mix of heirloom tomatoes with grape or cherry tomatoes. Truly, any tomato will work for a summer Panzanella Salad.
As-is, a Panzanella Salad is perfect on its own and is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover bread. But I also love adding other fresh ingredients from time to time and today, this Panzanella Salad gets an upgrade at Casa de Crews with fresh peaches, salty prosciutto and creamy mozzarella; tossed together with a tangy Dijon Vinaigrette.
Fresh herbs like basil to go with the tomatoes and mozzarella, and mint to highlight those fresh summer peach slices, help to up the flavors in this hearty Peach Panzanella Salad. Seriously, a game changer when it comes to the flavor of this salad!
To me, this Peach Panzanella Salad is like a Panzanella Salad meets Caprese Salad making it perfect for summer picnics, backyard bbqs, and even meal prep for summer lunches. Find caprese salad recipes for summer, here – I’ve got a ton you can use!
What kind of bread to use in a Panzanella Salad recipe
Panzanella Salad needs a sturdy bread to hold up to sweet tomato juices + olive oil or vinaigrette. I suggest using Sourdough bread or Ciabatta bread.
Day old, stale bread is best. You want your bread to be firm instead of soft, to stand up to the juice from the tomatoes and peaches, with a Honey Dijon vinaigrette.
If you make this salad the same day that you buy your bread, you can easily toast up in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F for the same sturdy texture.
A Panzanella Salad is one of the easiest salads to make and it’s perfect for summer shindigs! Even though it’s HOT in Florida, Jason and I love packing little picnics with a hearty salad, or sometimes a sandwich, a little snack and wine. We’ll take it to the park, or sometimes the beach if we feel like making the drive. And because it’s summer, obvi white wine is a must on the side!
What kind of wine to pair with this Peach Panzanella Salad:
This summer CK Mondavi and Family sent me three white wines that would all pair well with this Peach Panzanella Salad; Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay pair perfectly with fresh summer peaches! Pinot Grigio pairs well with fresh mozzarella anytime.
You know I’m also going to tell you to sip any white wine varietal you want this summer. Pairing wines with food really does make everything taste better, but there’s really no need to overthink it. Since any of CK Mondavi and Family’s whites will pair beautifully with this Peach Panzanella Salad, you’re set no matter what! You’ll impress your friends this summer without even trying. Here’s an easy wine pairing guide to help you entertain anytime of the year.
If you want to make this Peach Panzanella in advance, I would wait to combine all of the salad ingredients together or to toss in the Honey Dijon Vinaigrette until it’s time to eat. If you mix the fresh peaches and tomatoes with the bread, the bread will not stay firm, causing soggy bread salad, and no one wants that. But if you want to prep the tomatoes and peaches, tear your mozz, or chop your basil, that’s fine too. You can absolutely toast your bread if you need to make in advance (several hours ahead of time, no more than that).
If you’re prepping for a picnic or weekday lunch, you can easily store in advance using mason jars! You would just layer in the following order:
- Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- peaches, sliced
- tomatoes, sliced
- mozzarella cheese
- prosciutto
- basil
- mint
- bread
Want to win a trip to Napa Valley? Um, yes please: click here for a chance to WIN A TRIP TO NAPA VALLEY courtesy of the CK Mondavi and Family. You’ll even get to play bocce with them. If you win and need a plus one, I’m your girl.
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peach panzanella salad
Ingredients
Peach Panzanella Salad
- 3 cups sourdough or ciabatta bread, cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, to toast bread - if using stale bread, no need for olive oil
- 2 peaches, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, sliced - I like heirloom or beefsteak for this recipe
- 1/4 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 slices prosciutto, halved
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella ball, torn
- basil leaves, for garnish - about 1/4 cup
- mint leaves, for garnish - about 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup Honey Dijon Vinaigrette, plus more to taste - recipe to follow
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Using a bread knife, cube loaf of sourdough or ciabatta bread. If toasting, preheat oven to 350F and toss cubed bread with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- To assemble the salad, combine the sliced peaches and tomatoes to a bowl or serving plate. Add prosciutto and mozzarella, mint and basil. Toss in 1/2 cup vinaigrette. Add in bread cubes and combine again, before serving.
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until emulsified, about 2 minutes. Can be made in advance.
items used to make this recipe:
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you to CK Mondavi and Family for sponsoring today’s post! All opinions are my own. Please see the disclaimer here.
Betsy Cohen says
I am so ready to dive right into this delicious salad AND I happen to have a couple of bottles of CK Mondavi Pinot Grigio. WINNING!!