Panzanella Salad with Za'atar Sourdough Croutons

This recipe is especially great in warm weather months after a farmer’s market haul. Though, with ingredients you can easily find year round, it’s always a hit. This Panzanella salad is so fresh and light yet satisfying. It’s also well balanced to stabilize blood sugar, with lots of healthy fats from olive oil, protein from the feta and lots of fiber.

 
A panzanella salad with croutons, chopped red peppers, chopped cucumbers, feta, chopped red onion on a white plate with a wood bread board underneath on a white wood plank table.
 

Panzanella salad can stand on its own as a light summer dinner, easy meal prep workweek lunch or as a make ahead side dish. It’s perfect for entertaining too. This summer vegetable recipe is so easy to throw together and tastes even better when it has time to sit to let the flavors mingle.

How To Make Panzanella Salad

Traditional Panzanella Salad ingredients

Panzanella salad is a fresh and crunchy salad that can be made with fresh vegetables, good feta and stale bread or homemade croutons. The main ingredients in a panzanella salad can be bell peppers, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, feta and bread. It’s a great way to use left over ingredients to clean out your fridge and reduce food waste!

What Salad Dressing to use for Panzanella

Classic panzanella salad dressing is a mix of olive oil, vinegar and salt. I use red wine vinegar.

Adding variation

You can change up traditional panzanella salad in so many ways. I’ve swapped for balsamic vinegar in the dressing, added other vegetables depending on the season, and added fresh herbs like parsley and basil. In this recipe, I added za’atar seasoning to the croutons.

Recipe

4-6 Servings

Ingredients

I don’t measure exactly

  • 1 medium red bell pepper

  • 1 medium green bell pepper

  • 1/4-1/2 red onion

  • 2 Persian cucumbers (or 1 cup of any chopped cucumber)

  • 1/2 cup feta, cubed or crumbled (or more)

  • Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

  • Sourdough bread, (add as much as you prefer, I used about 2 cups cubed)

  • 2 tsp Za’atar spice blend

  • 2 tbsp olive oil, extra to drizzle

  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

  • * you can also add chopped tomatoes if you prefer

Directions

  1. For the croutons, heat oven to 325F. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and add to a big bowl to mix. Drizzle some olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and the za’atar seasoning over cubed bread. Toss until well mixed, and each bread cube is coated. Bake on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

  2. Chop peppers and cucumber into about 1 inch pieces, add to a big bowl.

  3. Cube or crumble the feta, add to bowl.

  4. Chop or slice red onion, I chopped roughly, add to bowl.

  5. Add chopped herbs if you choose. Add the 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar into bowl. Add a small pinch of salt to taste (the feta is salty, so add a little at a time). Stir until well mixed. Taste test to adjust seasoning.

  6. Add croutons once cooled and mix well.

  7. This is best if made at least a few hours in advance, so the bread absorbs all the flavors. You can store in the refrigerator, and stir every hour or so if you can, to evenly distribute the flavors.

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