Panzanella Salad with Grilled Peaches

This Panzanella Salad recipe is a fun twist on the original that is loaded with freshly grilled peaches and warm toasted bread. The perfect nutritious salad that’s still perfect for entertaining guests this summer.

This post is sponsored by Silver Hills Bakery. All thoughts are my own.

The Perfect Summer Salad

I feel there is not a lot of salad appreciation out in the world because we often think that salads mean something boring. But there’s a world outside of the classic boring salads you might have grown up with. There are ones where the base is quinoa, a lot where the base of them is pasta and many that just really showcase the bounty of vegetables of the season. But probably one of my favorites out of them all are the bread based ones like this panzanella inspired salad.

This is a twist on the classic Italian panzanella. Still focused on the bread, tomatoes and vinegary notes of the dressing meant to coat them. However, there’s the lovely addition of freshly grilled summer peaches to celebrate the warmer months and we aren’t just using any old bread for this salad. We’re amping up the nutrition by using some sprouted grains to make us feel good even after we’ve plowed through our last bite.

Key Ingredients

• Toasted Whole Grain Sprouted Bread: Panzanella salad is not panzanella salad without the bread. To make this salad more wholesome we are using Silver Hills Organic Sprouted Power Bread. The bread is hearty and toasts up perfectly in this application.
• Grilled Peaches: With all of the wonderful savory elements of the original classic recipe.
• White Wine Vinegar: Slightly milder and perfect to pair with the rich olive oil, garlic and herbs used in the dressing.
• Tomatoes: Use ripe tomatoes or if they aren’t in season yet, try cherry tomatoes as they tend to still retain good flavor.

Choose Sprouted Grains

As much as I love eating yummy food during the summer, I also want that yummy food to fuel me right. That’s why I chose to use some organic sprouted whole grain bread from Silver Hills. Now, let’s just get this out of the way if you’ve ever worried about consuming carbs: Not all carbs are created equal!

Why Choose Complex Carbs?

It’s true! The quality of those carbs can make a huge difference in terms of how you feel after you consume it. So let’s think about a high quality carbohydrate or as we like to say in the dietitian realm, a complex carbohydrate. These types of carbohydrates have more fiber and nutrients that prevent massive blood sugar spikes. But what does that mean? Actually, it’s a little bonus for you! Ever get a sugar crash before? When something doesn’t have a lot of fiber, it gets processed a lot faster by our bodies. We get that sudden spike of energy, but because it happens so fast we also drop that energy too quickly. That’s where you feel that crash or absolute drag in energy, but it doesn’t always have to happen that way.

Stable Energy and Good Flavor

If you opt for grains that have a good amount of fiber, this will help keep those sugar levels a lot more balanced. It’s also one of the reasons I highly recommend using sprouted whole grain bread. Not only will it provide a good source of fiber, but sprouted grains tend to keep our energy levels more stable to help us keep our energy up for those fun summer celebrations you are looking forward to having. Added bonus, this Organic Sprouted Power Bread has a blend of sprouted whole grains and organic wheat flour, so you still get the nutrition, but the bread is nice, light and fluffy in texture, so this salad will still keep everyone’s palate happy.

How to Make this Panzanella Salad

Start by toasting your cubed bread on a skillet with a little olive oil until it starts to get lightly golden and crispy then set aside for it to continue to crisp as it cools.

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In a grill pan or on a preheated griddle, spray the surface with oil and place your peach wedges on top to cook for 2-3 minutes or until grill marks appear, then flip and cook again for 1-2 minutes then remove from the grill.

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Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or the same bowl that you plan to mix your salad in. Add your vegetables, peaches, onions, and basil. Toss everything together with the dressing and serve immediately.

Tips for the Perfect Salad

• For best results, toast your bread! Since we are using sandwich bread, toasting it will help to keep the salad from going soggy and maintain its heartiness once it’s mixed with the dressing.
• To help keep your salad crisp, deseed your cucumber. Cut your cucumber in half length wise and with a spoon scrape out the seeds from the center. This will help remove a lot of extra moisture from the salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Panzanella Salad Recipe Add Ins and Swaps

Feel free to use this recipe as inspiration, but know that you can absolutely modify the ingredients to your preference. Try any of the following swaps for your own fun twist!

• Skip the grill for the peaches and use fresh juicy ones
• Replace the peaches with fresh cut strawberries
• Leave the fruit out and replace with more cherry tomatoes and cucumbers
• Use grilled zucchini instead of the grilled peaches
• You can add in some freshly made pesto
• For more salty/umami flavors feel free to add some diced capers or olives to this

Love this Panzanella Salad Recipe? Try Some of These Other Salads!

• Summer Orzo Salad with Grilled Vegetables
• Vegan Pasta Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
• Marinated Lentil Chickpea Salad
• Edamame Crunch Salad

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Did You Try This Recipe?
Then let me know what you thought in the comments below! Share your creations by tagging me on Instagram with the hashtag #plantbasedrdeats

★ Catherine