Dinner, Lunch, Recipes · August 5, 2023

Peach Panzanella Salad recipe with bacon and burrata

Name: Peach Panzanella Salad recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 ripe peaches; 5 large pieces of Butter or Bibb lettuce; 2 cups day-old bread, cubed; 1 cup arugula; 6-8 pieces of bacon; 2 spheres of burrata; 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme; 2 Tbsp. fresh basil; 2 Tbsp. fresh curly parsley; Sea salt and pepper to taste; Sprinkle of red pepper flakes; 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp. of white vinegar; 2 Tbsp. honey; 1 tsp. Dijon mustard (We usually use Grey Poupon.); 1 tsp. sea salt; 3/4 tsp. black pepper; 2 sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes

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This year I’ve been exploring recipe variations on some of my favorite Italian recipes. And during summer there’s perhaps no better Italian recipe than a delicious Panzanella salad recipe. However, as we are winding down this summer, I really wanted to be able to spin this recipe as we travel through stone fruit season and head into fall. Enter my Peach Panzanella Salad Recipe.

Admittedly, fresh peaches (and nectarines) are my favorite fruits. When they are at their peak of sweetness and perfectly ripe, I could eat them with every single meal a day – and then have one as a snack before bed. But this Peach Panzanella Salad with burrata and bacon really lets their sweetness shine in a beautiful and delicious way.

What is Panzanella?

If you’ve never eaten a Panzanella Salad before then the first thing you should know is this is a light salad, but it can also be filling because it includes bread. Traditionally, Panzanella is a Tuscan dish that’s made of onions, tomatoes, basil and cubes of stale bread. It is drizzled with olive oil, which rehydrates the bread.

Panzanella is a very popular dish in the summer in Italy and a great way to use up day old loaves of bread. This Peach Panzanella Salad recipe is a spin on the popular dish and extends its life through the end of summer by using the stone fruit.

How to make this Peach Panzanella Salad recipe

My Peach Panzanella salad recipe veers from the traditional Panzanella salad recipe by including not only peaches, but I also add in some Bibb or Butter lettuce and arugula as a base, some beautiful burrata cheese, tasty bacon crumbles and a lovely honey Dijon vinaigrette made with plenty of extra virgin olive oil.

For the bread, I love to use a day-old sourdough loaf or a day-old loaf of my no-knead Dutch oven bread {HERE}, which is the easiest bread you will ever make. You can also use a loaf you bought from the store, but seriously, try my no-knead Dutch oven bread.

I like to top it all off with some fresh herbs, sea salt, black pepper and a sprinkle of crusted red pepper flakes. All the fresh herbs and spices really help all the flavors to pop.

Tips for making my Peach Panzanella Salad Recipe

Make sure to plan ahead for your bread. You really will want to use a loaf that’s at least a day old. However, if you forget or want to make this right away and only have fresh bread, I would recommend toasting it to give it a little firmer texture.
Use good quality extra virgin olive oil when making this recipe. Since it is your dressing and going on top of the delectable peaches, a better quality extra virgin olive oil will yield better results.
Make sure to top it off with sea salt and fresh pepper. Don’t use just regular table salt. The sea salt completely enhances flavor in a way that table salt just does not.
Also make sure to use fresh herbs, not dried herbs.
This recipe will make about two servings. Kevin and I both ate off this one plate for lunch. I suggest making exactly the amount you need and not trying to save it. You don’t want the bread to get too soggy or the peaches to get too slimy from sitting in the dressing. It takes away from the magic of the salad.

Other peach and stone fruit recipes

If you’re looking for more peach recipes, make sure to check out all of these delicious recipes too!

Oatmeal Peach Cobbler {HERE}
Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad {HERE}
Peach Moscow Mule {HERE}

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope you will come back again to see what else is cooking here at the farmhouse. The full, printable recipe for the Peach Panzanella Salad recipe is below.