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A summer bread salad recipe reminds me why I put up with hot, miserable weather.
One of my favorite things about summer salads is that they don’t have to be complicated. Because if you get good produce, you don’t need a complicated dressing or tons of extras.
A bread salad is a great way to use up day-old bread, and when you toast it up just a little, it soaks up the juices from the tomatoes but doesn’t turn to mush.
I make some variations of a bread salad recipe every summer, and this year decided to add peaches. If you think of tomatoes as a vegetable that might seem weird, but it’s actually the perfect combo of sweet and savory and everything in between. I’ve made this salad three times now, and only on the last version added the pesto because I had some in the fridge. It’s truly just as good if you want to skip that step though, I promise.
When you’re picking ingredients for this salad, get the best you can. Tomatoes and peaches from the farmer’s market. Perfectly ripe. For bread, you want something crusty and flavorful. A good sourdough or Italian loaf is good. Skip the squishy sweet sandwich bread you find in bags in the bread aisle. Instead, pick up a loaf from a good bakery or farmer’s market. Take it home, slice it up and let it sit out overnight if you can, but if you have to make this salad now (hello, me!) you certainly can. Slice your onions with a mandolin for the best distribution.
The dressing is a simple blend of oil and red wine vinegar because you don’t need a lot of fancies for this, especially with the pesto. Because we’re aiming for simplicity here, folks. And letting the tomatoes and peaches do their thing because they’ve only got so much time to shine each year.
Tomato and Peach Panzanella with Burrata and Pesto
Summer fruit shines in this bread salad recipe made with tomatoes, peaches, and a quick homemade pesto.
Ingredients
Bread:
- 4 thick slices crusty bread torn into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
Salad:
- 2 ripe heirloom tomatoes chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 peaches pitted and sliced
- 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 ounces burrata
Pesto:
- 2 bunches fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup pine nuts pumpkin seeds, or walnuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Toss the bread with the olive oil and salt and spread on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, until bread is lightly browned and toasty.
- Remove and let cool.
- Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Add the cooled bread and toss.
- To make the pesto, put the basil, garlic, lemon, and nuts in a food processor. Pulse and then slowly stream in the oil. Taste, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Add more oil if desired.
- Divide the salad between plates or bowls and add a generous scoop of pesto before serving.
Notes
- You can make this salad ahead if you’d like, but it is best served at room temperature.
- If you can’t find burrata, fresh mozzarella will do just fine.
- This is my favorite mandolin slicer. And I’ve tried a lot of them.
Nutrition
Calories: 585kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 11gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 168mgPotassium: 592mgFiber: 5gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1246IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 177mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is only an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. View full nutrition disclousre.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
