Panzanella Salad with Focaccia Bread Recipe

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This focaccia panzanella recipe is light, refreshing, and loaded with flavor in each bite! Toasted focaccia bread is mixed with ripe tomatoes, red onion, fresh mozzarella cheese, and tossed in a 5-minute dressing.

A perfect recipe for stale focaccia bread, this tasty salad is great to enjoy all year long. This easy panzanella can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or a light lunch with your favorite protein.

Want more hearty salad recipes? Try our stuffed date and arugula salad, kale and pear salad with pecans, and our favorite burrata salad with apples and honey.

focaccia panzanella salad with tomatoes, greens, and pickled onions in a large dish

Table of Contents

If I ever have leftover bread that is going a bit stale, panzanella is my go-to way to use it! This panzanella (or bread salad) uses focaccia bread mixed with fresh vegetables and cheese and tossed with a delicious vinaigrette dressing.

This recipe is virtually no-cook (if you have stale bread) and makes a great warm-weather salad for when it’s too hot to cook. I love enjoying this as an entertaining appetizer or as a main course with some protein! It goes great with marinated blue cheese stuffed olives or a delicious sour cream cucumber salad.

Notes from the Kitchen

This salad is bright, fresh, light, and SO good!
It has a wonderfully complex flavor from the fresh vegetables and vinaigrette.
A great way to use up stale focaccia bread.
It’s versatile, and you can add in your favorite ingredients (see our suggestions below)!
It requires almost no cooking, so follow our step-by-step photos below and make this focaccia salad today.

Ingredients You’ll Need

See our recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.

The base of this recipe is focaccia bread. You can use store-bought focaccia, or if you are feeling adventurous, you can try making your own vegan sourdough focaccia at home which is always a winner!

I like adding in fresh mozzarella cheese, which gives the salad a creamy texture. I also like the fresh crunch of sliced tomatoes, fresh greens, basil, and red onion for a nice sharp bite.

And the dressing makes this salad! It’s a super quick 5-minute vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasonings, fresh garlic, Dijon mustard, and a bit of maple syrup for a nice sweetness.

Additions and Substitutions

You can add in your favorite veggies to elevate this dish – briny olives, roasted red peppers, fresh sweet peppers, celery, or cucumber would all be delicious in this salad!

You can try other vinegars in the dressing – apple cider, white balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinger would all be great substitutions.

If you are short on time and want to use a bottled vinaigrette dressing, aim for an Italian vinaigrette or Greek vinaigrette with lots of herbs.

Step-By-Step Photos and Directions

a bread knife slicing focaccia bred into cubes for salad

Step 1: Slice your focaccia bread into 1-inch slices, and cut it into cubes.

toasted focaccia cubes with olive oil and spices in a baking dish

Step 2: Toss the cubed focaccia with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and broil for 3-4 minutes until toasted and crunchy.

focaccia bread with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for caprese salad

Step 3: Add the toasted focaccia to a large mixing bowl. Toss in the diced tomatoes and sliced mozzarella cheese.

easy homemade dressing for panzanella salad with focaccia bread

Step 4: Step 4: To the focaccia, add in the sliced red onions, mozzarella cheese, and fresh chopped parsley. Pour it over the bread and toss well to combine.

panzanella salad with lettuce and fresh greens and basil

Step 5: Top the focaccia and tomatoes with fresh lettuce, chopped basil, and red onion.

a large dish of fresh basil focaccia bread salad recipe with tomatoes and cheese

Step 6: Toss well to combine and serve with extra basil if desired. Enjoy within 30 minutes.

Recipe FAQs

How long is panzanella salad good for?

This focaccia anzanella salad is best fresh or when enjoyed within 30 minutes of making. If you have leftovers, you can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day after. However, the focaccia bread may become soggy once tossed with the dressing.

Can I make panzanella salad ahead?

If you are making this recipe ahead of time, toast the focaccia bread and keep it separate from the other ingredients. You can make the vinaigrette, and add it to the tomato/red onions – but only add in the bread 30 minutes before serving so it can stay crunchy, and not get too soggy.

What to serve with this focaccia salad?

I like serving this focaccia panzanella recipe as an appetizer, a light summer lunch, or as a side dish with your favorite protein (especially anything off the grill or BBQ).

Pro Tips

If you have fresh focaccia bread, you can let it toast under a low broiler for a few extra minutes to get it nice and crisp. Crispy or stale focaccia will hold the dressing better than fresh.
When chopping the tomatoes and focaccia, make them roughly the same size. You want the pieces small enough to be bite-sized and consistent throughout the salad.
Fresh garlic in the dressing makes all the difference – use fresh whole cloves of garlic if you can.

a bowl of salad with focaccia bread crouton cubes in it and vegetarian ingredients

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