Grilled Peach Panzanella Salad with feta, drizzled with a tangy dressing made from salting the tomatoes and releasing their juice. It's savory and sweet and perfect for ripe peaches.
This grilled peach panzanella salad is a summer staple of mine, and I love how searing peaches in a griddle pan gives them a slightly caramelized finish. I make a Panzanella recipe every time I have some leftover bread as it's a great way to use it up if it is getting slightly stale. Waste not, want not! This Grilled Peach Panzanella Salad recipe has been added to my collection of fancy salads for dinner party ideas because it is very colorful and inviting!
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A traditional Panzanella salad doesn't have peaches or cheese in it, but I love peaches and cheese so....here we are. It is best to make this grilled peach panzanella salad with ripe, fresh tomatoes that are in season, and whatever you do, do not sleep on making the dressing out of them as it is the best bit, no word of a lie. Once you make salad dressing using tomatoes, you'll never go back!
We release the tomato juice first through a sieve over a bowl and then whisk in the other ingredients, but the juice makes for the most incredible base. You'll need to leave them for a minimum of 30 minutes. I am currently using feta in everything after my trip to Cyprus a few weeks ago, but you could also make a mozzarella Panzanella or even a burrata Panzanella.
This grilled peach panzanella salad works best in the summer when the fruit is fresh and ripe, but I've often thought of trying to make an autumn Panzanella. Watch this space.
Check out some of my other summer recipes here
Why you will love this grilled peach panzanella salad
- It's a great salad for entertaining: a combination of flavors, grilled peaches with cubed bread and feta cheese, all dancing together in the mouth. This grilled peach panzanella salad will surely impress your guests.
- Easy summer produce salad: most of the ingredients in this salad are at their peak in summer, including tomatoes, peaches, and cucumbers. This makes it a great summer salad option.
- Quick and delicious: once the peaches are grilled and bread toasted then the rest is just putting the ingredients together in a bowl and ready to serve in under an hour and it's ridiculously delicious with all sorts of textures and flavors.
Ingredients Notes
- Peaches: Fresh peaches with stone removed. Go for ripe peaches but still firm enough to hold their shape when heated on the grill.
- Tomatoes: Juicy tomatoes are ideal for this grilled peach panzanella salad. The tomato juices are used as part of the dressing. I love cherry tomatoes because of their size, but heirloom tomatoes are juicier.
- Cucumber: crunchy cucumbers bring that refreshing taste to this peach and bread salad.
- Bread: I used Ciabatta bread, but you can use any other leftover bread. This grilled peach panzanella salad recipe is a great idea to use up old bread that you don't want to waste.
- Basil: Fresh basil leaves for garnishing. You can also try arugula leaves in place of basil leaves.
- Shallot: Although I used shallot due to its sweet and mild taste, you can use red onion. The traditional Panzanella salad recipe calls for onions anyway.
- Olive Oil: I used extra virgin olive oil in both the salad dressing and wiped over the griddle pan to prevent peaches from sticking. The non-sticky spray will work too.
- White wine vinegar: a good substitute for white wine vinegar in salad dressing is rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar for a richer taste.
- Feta cheese: I have fallen in love with feta cheese all over again since my trip to Cyprus, so I'm not backing down in this salad either. You can use your new love cheese too.
- Dijon mustard: mustard helps to emulsify a vinaigrette and gives it a depth of distinct tangy and slightly spicy flavor.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions. Serve this delicious salad recipe and Limoncello Crème Brûlée afterward for dessert for an Italian al fresco lunch.
How to make a grilled peach panzanella salad
- Place the diced shallot into a bowl with the vinegar.
- Slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a sieve over the bowl, and sprinkle over the salt. Leave them for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The salt will draw out the water from the tomatoes, which will drip into the bowl below. Meanwhile, the shallots will be pickling slightly in the vinegar.
3. Heat the oven and cut the bread into small, bite-sized pieces. Lay the bread out on a baking tray over a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, just long enough to dry it out completely and make it crunchy.
4. Cut the peaches into 4 segments.
5. Heat a griddle pan and wipe some olive oil over it to prevent the sugar in the peaches from sticking. When it is really hot, sear the peaches on all sides. Watch that they do not burn.
6. Peel and cut up the cucumber and crumble the feta.
7. Make the Panzanella dressing by whisking a generous amount of olive oil and mustard into the tomato vinegar mixture and seasoning. You will not need to add much salt to this grilled peach Panzanella Salad as the tomatoes have been salted already.
8. Assemble the Italian bread salad by adding all the ingredients to a large bowl, pouring over the dressing, garnishing with fresh basil leaves, and crumbling over the feta.
Hint: Using a piece of kitchen towel to wipe oil onto a griddle pan or using an oil spray keeps it lubricated enough whilst not forming oil rivers in the grooves!
Wine pairing for Panzanella salad
Serve an Italian white wine with Panzanella salad, like a Soave Classico that has stone fruit flavors and enough acidity to balance the creaminess of the feta. Alternatively, a Barbera will compliment the sweet and savory flavors of this salad and tangy feta cheese. To learn more about elevating your food with the right wine choices, read my food and wine pairing tips and what wine to serve with pasta if you're as much of a fan of Italian food as I am.
Substitutions
Here are a few ways you can change up this classic Italian salad recipe to suit you...
- Bread - Don't have any? You can use store-bought croutons.
- Cheese - Try this Panzanella salad recipe with a big hunk of creamy burrata or fresh mozzarella balls.
- Vegan - Make this recipe completely plant-based by omitting the cheese.
Equipment
A good cast iron griddle pan is a brilliant addition to your kitchen cupboard for recipes like this easy Panzanella salad or cast iron chicken breast. Then you will need a large mixing bowl and a sieve for salting the tomatoes and releasing their juice.
Storage
If you have leftover ingredients or are not consuming them straight away, it is best to keep the bread, dressing, and other ingredients all separately until you are ready to eat to stop them from going too soggy. The ingredients will last for 2-3 days in the fridge.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Top tip
If you are enjoying this grilled peach panzanella salad at a picnic, place all the ingredients except the dressing into a plastic zip-lock bag, with the dressing in a separate container. When ready to eat, simply pour the dressing into the plastic bag, reseal, and jiggle it around. It's remarkably effective and saves bringing a huge salad bowl with you, as you can serve straight from the bag!
FAQ
Panzanella is a Tuscan dish made with golden bread cubes, tomatoes, and onions, then dressed with vinaigrette. It includes extras such as cucumbers, sometimes basil, and different styles of salad dressings. It's popular during summertime in most parts of Italy and is a great recipe for stale bread.
This grilled peach panzanella salad is the best salad to bring to a party, and luckily, you can make this grilled peach panzanella salad ahead of time and assemble it quickly when needed. You will need to store each ingredient separately in zip-lock bags or airtight containers.
Any crusty bread, such as ciabatta bread, that's airier and lighter in texture with a crustier outer layer. Any stale bread will give a similar texture when toasted in the oven, so don't stress too much about the type of bread.
Pair this Grilled peach Panzanella Salad with one of these dinner-party desserts
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📖 Recipe
Grilled Peach Panzanella Salad
Equipment
- Griddle pan
- Salad bowl
Ingredients
- 4 peaches
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- 1 shallot
- 1 cucumber
- 120 grams feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 250 grams ciabatta bread
- 3 tablespoon basil
Instructions
- Dice the shallot and add it into a bowl with the vinegar, which will pickle it slightly.
- Slice the tomatoes in half, place them in a sieve over the bowl, and sprinkle over the salt. Leave them for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The salt will draw out the water from the tomatoes, which will drip into the bowl below. Meanwhile, the shallots will be pickling slightly in the vinegar.
- Heat the oven and cut the bread into small, bite-sized pieces. Lay the bread out on an oven tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, just long enough to dry it out completely and make it crunchy.
- Cut each of the peaches into 4-5 segments.
- Heat a griddle pan and wipe some olive oil over it to prevent the sugar in the peaches from sticking. When it is really hot, sear the peaches on all sides to get griddle marks and slightly caramelize the exterior. Watch that they do not burn.
- Peel and cut up the cucumber and crumble the feta into small pieces.
- Make the Panzanella dressing by whisking the olive oil and mustard into the tomato juice/shallot/vinegar mixture and season to taste. You will not need to add much salt to this Panzanella Salad as the tomatoes have been salted already.
- Assemble the Peach Panzanella Salad. Add all the ingredients to a large salad bowl, pour over the dressing, and garnish with torn fresh basil leaves and crumbled feta.
Ellie says
This worked so well for our summer picnic, thank you! I never would have thought to put peaches in a salad. They tasted great with the feta!
Hayley says
Loved this, so yummy with the dressing