Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella

Enjoy the best of summer vegetables in a light yet satisfying Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella with a homemade vinaigrette!

Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella

 We’re celebrating the Recipe ReDux’s 5th birthday this month! To commemorate the occasion, we were challenged to pick a fellow ReDuxer, go to their blog, and either make one of their recipes or create one of your own inspired by theirs. Such a fun way to celebrate the Recipe Redux and the members who participate each month!

While perusing other Recipe Redux members’ sites, I didn’t have a particular recipe idea in mind. I was just waiting for the right recipe to jump out at me. When I came across this Roasted Summer Panzanella on the blog Chard in Charge, I knew it was exactly what I had been searching for all along!

Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella

I’ve tossed around the idea of a Panzanella salad for a while but just never got around to it. I love the simple dressing that Chard in Charge created for her Panzanella salad, so I stuck with the same vinaigrette but just added a touch of black pepper. I think the idea of roasting the vegetables for the salad is fantastic. Roasted zucchini, grape tomatoes, and red onions are a winning combination, especially with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Panzanella is Italian for “bread salad” and usually includes tomatoes, onions, and basil. Check, check, and check! I kept all the classics in this Panzanella salad and just added in a couple of not-so-traditional ingredients—zucchini and mozzarella.

The most important part about a Panzanella salad is choosing a hearty bread. A whole-grain baguette was the perfect fit. You can use a stale loaf of bread in this recipe rather than buying fresh bread and drying it out in the oven, but I’m not sure I have the restraint to keep a delicious loaf of bread sitting on my counter untouched long enough to let it get stale 🙂

Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella

Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella

Recipe adapted from: Chard in Charge
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Karman Meyer, Dietitian at The Nutrition Adventure

Ingredients

  • 1 whole grain baguette cut into 1-inch cubes
  • cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons divided
  • 1 small red onion quartered and sliced
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
  • 2 medium zucchini cut into half moons
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
  • 4 cups arugula
  • ½ cup packed basil leaves chopped
  • 1 cup fresh mozzarella cut into cubes

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Arrange bread cubes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bake bread cubes for 20-25 minutes to crisp the bread. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
  • Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place prepared vegetables on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, turning half way through cooking. Remove from oven and set aside.
  • While vegetables are roasting, prepare the vinaigrette by combining 1/3 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, whole grain mustard, and black pepper to taste in a liquid measuring cup. Whisk the dressing together.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread cubes, roasted vegetables, and half of the balsamic vinaigrette. Toss to combine. You do not want to over-saturate the bread cubes but they should soften a bit. Cover the bowl and allow salad to sit in the fridge for 1 hour to "soak".
  • Add the mozzarella cubes, arugula and fresh basil prior to serving.
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Celebrate with the rest of the Recipe Redux crew by checking out all of the other recipes in this month’s round-up—just click on the recipe photos below. Enjoy the rest of your week and thanks for stopping by!

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