Sourdough Panzanella with Peaches & Burrata

This Sourdough Panzanella with Peaches and Burrata is the apex of summer salad recipes. Using summer produce, it’s a slight twist on the classic Italian bread salad with the addition of peaches and creamy burrata cheese. To me, it’s the best panzanella salad!

Easy, colorful, and loaded with flavor, panzanella is a bread lover’s dream. Every bite is crunchy from the sourdough croutons and contrasted with velvety tomatoes, juicy peaches, and creamy burrata cheese.

I always have leftover sourdough bread around, and with an overflowing basil plant and a brown bag of fresh peaches in hand, this panzanella recipe was born.

Ideal on a sunny day with a glass of red wine or packed for a summer picnic, I think you’ll taste the warmth in this panzanella recipe.

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What is Panzanella?

Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that uses stale bread and tomatoes as the base in its most basic form.

The word “panzanella” is a portmanteau of the Italian words “pane” (bread) and “zanella” (small basket) or “bread in a small basket.”

The humble Tuscan salad is a summer staple that pairs well with other seasonal Italian herbs and vegetables like basil and red onions.

This panzanella salad recipe varies slightly from a classic panzanella by using fresh peaches for sweetness and burrata cheese for creaminess.

The result is a summer salad full of textures and bright flavors. It’s the perfect summer salad to showcase homegrown, local, or farmer’s market produce.

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👨‍🍳 Tips to Make the Best Sourdough Panzanella

1. Use Stale, Crusty Bread

• Day-old, crusty bread like sourdough or a baguette is the best bread for panzanella. Fresh and soft breads like sandwich bread or other enriched breads like Sourdough Brioche Bread are too soft and will result in a soggy salad.

2. Tear Apart the Bread

• Torn bread makes ideal croutons. The raggedy bread will have more nooks for the olive oil to soak like a sponge, and you’ll get various textures once baked. The uneven surfaces are essential to give you the best croutons and an even better panzanella.
• Panzanella is also a rustic, Tuscan salad using day-old bread. Tearing apart the bread will produce a more cozy and rustic salad that I prefer.

3. Use Fresh Ingredients

• Use homegrown, local, or farmer’s market produce for the best panzanella! Tomatoes from a supermarket can be disappointing and tasteless. Heirloom or cherry tomatoes are good options in panzanella with their tangy, slightly sweet, and sometimes earthy explosions of flavor.
• For peaches, purchase peaches that are fragrant and medium-ripe. You still want the fruit to hold their own when sliced and mixed in the salad.

4. Season and Taste

• Always season and taste your dressing and salad before you serve it. The bread in panzanella will soak up the tangy dressing. Depending on the ripeness of your produce, you may need to brighten up the salad with a squeeze of lemon juice or season it with more salt and pepper.

5. Let the Salad Rest for about 30 minutes

• Of course, you can mix the salad and eat it straight away, but the best panzanella rests for about 30 minutes so it can soak in the vinaigrette and other flavors. The rest allows the croutons to be a little less crunchy and bathe in the juices of the tomatoes/peaches and tangy vinaigrette. Toss again just before serving.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a few basic tools to make sourdough panzanella salad.

• Half Sheet Pan
  • I use my Nordic Ware half sheet pan (13×18″) to fit all of my torn bread and it couldn’t be easier.
• Large Mixing Bowl and Serving Platter
• Tomato Knife (optional but helpful)
  • Tomatoes are notoriously hard to cut. They get squished and juices get everywhere. This Rada tomato knife is the knife I always grab when I slice tomatoes (and works for juicy peaches in this case too).
  • The knife is serrated, lightweight, and easily glides through large or small tomatoes.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for more information, recommendations, and possible substitutes.

Croutons & Salad

• Sourdough Bread
  • Use stale, crusty bread like my Sourdough Bread Recipe or Sourdough Baguette recipe. Airy, soft bread like Sourdough Focaccia would also be good.
• Olive Oil
  • I recommend high-quality extra virgin olive oil in salads, where the flavor will shine.
• Tomatoes
  • I like cherry tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes for this recipe. A mix is great for flavors and texture, just like making Sourdough Apple Crisp.
  • If you like tomatoes, you’ll love my Sun-Dried Tomato Sourdough Bread.
• Peaches
  • Use juicy, sweet fresh peaches for this recipe (not canned).
• Basil
  • Fresh basil is classic for panzanella, but use whatever fresh summery herbs you have on hand. Cilantro or parsley would both be okay.
• Burrata
  • You can find burrata balls at the grocery store, usually with specialty cheese with fresh mozzarella cheese. You any extra cheese on Sourdough Pizza al Taglio (Sheet Pan Pizza).
  • Substitute with another creamy cheese like ricotta. My Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins also use ricotta.

Vinaigrette

• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
  • Can use sherry, white wine, or another vinegar.
• Dijon or stone-ground mustard
  • Leave out if you don’t like mustard. Don’t use yellow mustard that you may serve with Sourdough Hot Dog Buns.
• Garlic clove
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Note: Want to skip the homemade vinaigrette? Use a store-bought tangy, dressing like Italian dressing.

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🥗 How to Make Sourdough Panzanella with Peaches & Burrata

Follow this visual and detailed guide to help you make this easy and delicious sourdough panzanella recipe.

1. Make Sourdough Croutons

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).

Tear apart half a loaf of stale, crusty sourdough bread (or another crusty bread like a baguette).

The pieces should be bite-size but all of different shapes and sizes. If you would prefer to cut the bread, slice it into 1-inch cubes.

Space the torn bread evenly on a half sheet pan and drizzle on extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the bread on the pan until each piece is coated in oil and well-seasoned.

Bake for a total of 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway to evenly brown the bread.

When done, the croutons should be crispy, toasty, and brown but not too dark. Set on a wire rack to cool.

2. Chop Vegetables and Peaches

As the croutons bake and cool, prepare your vegetables and peaches.

Thinly slice half a large red onion, chop a few medium tomatoes or halve cherry tomatoes, chop the basil, and pit and slice the peaches. Set aside.

3. Make the Vinaigrette

In a small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic clove, salt, and pepper until emulsified.

The vinaigrette should be tangy and seasoned well. Adjust as necessary.

4. Assemble and Rest

Scatter the cooled sourdough croutons onto a large platter or place them in a large serving bowl.

Add all of the chopped vegetables and peaches on top of the croutons.

Stream on the vinaigrette and toss the salad.

For best results, allow the salad to soak in the flavors and vinaigrette. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes and up to a few hours at room temperature.

5. Add Burrata and Serve

When ready to serve, add the burrata on top of the salad and drizzle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

You can tear apart the burrata and scatter it on the plate, but I always prefer cutting into it straight on the platter just as serving to guests for some oohs and ahhs.

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How to Store and Serve

Panzanella is best the day it’s made, but can made ahead for summer picnics!

While a few hours of resting the salad is okay, the croutons will start to soften over time. And you don’t want soggy croutons!

If you don’t mind softened croutons, you can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Panzanella is a sunny summer dinner salad on its own like this Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges. However, it’s also excellent as a side salad.

Being an acidic summer salad, panzanella pairs well with smoky, grilled foods such as grilled meats and vegetables for BBQs and cookouts.

Essentially, anything in season will pair well with it!

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❓ FAQs

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