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Summer panzanella is the classic version, but why wait until mid-summer to enjoy a tomato bread salad? Instead make a lemony and fresh spring panzanella salad full of garden peas, arugula, and mint! You’ll love this inviting, green recipe along with grilled or roasted meats or as part of a tasty vegetarian dinner.

Hello, all!

I hope spring is treating you well!

I’ve been having All The Company lately. Or at least it feels like all the company since we don’t have people staying over too often and we’ve had first my in-laws and then my parents staying over in the past week.

It’s been good. A little tiring (though my house is particularly clean right now!), but a lot of fun. And I made SO MANY recipes from my blog here to feed everybody.

Now that everyone is gone again, I’m back to my usual schedule of recipe testing, photos, and posting awesome perfected recipes here. Like this one! It’s the perfect spring salad and one you should totally make right now. 🙂

Tomato Bread Salad

This is one of my favorites to make at mid-summer with local, juicy tomatoes and plenty of crusty bread and fruity olive oil. Add a glass of wine and some cheese and we have the perfect, easy summer meal!

I wanted to have all that amazing flavor but in a spring version. What do I love in the spring?

Garden peas!
Fresh arugula!
The first cherry tomatoes!
The first shoots of mint!

Put all of those together along with toasted bread (to add another layer of flavor!) and you have a recipe full of fresh and bright spring flavors.

How to make this

To make spring panzanella salad toast some thickly sliced crusty bread, then toss the bread with peas, arugula, mint and red onion in a lemon and olive oil dressing.

Panzanella is fairly simple dish to make, in the spring or any other time of the year, but I do have a few tips for you.

Top tips

Toast (or grill or broil) the bread. This adds flavor AND helps it stand up to the dressing without turning completely into a mush.
Use plenty of fresh herbs. Bright, strong flavors are going to give you a panzanella with punch!
Soak the onions in the dressing. This will mellow them just a little and help them harmonize with the rest of the ingredients.
Hold off on adding the arugula. Adding it early means it’s likely to go limp!
Make the salad shortly before dinner. This recipe is best eaten fresh.

How long will it keep?

A few hours!

While allowing it to rest for a little while (15-30 minutes) is a great idea since it lets the bread soak up the dressing, panzanella is best eaten shortly after being made.

That said, you can prep the ingredients several hours before mixing. Just don’t combine them together until dinner.

What goes along side?

This recipe is a substantial side which brings both starch and veggies to the table. I find it’s best paired with a simple protein. Some ideas include:

Roast chicken
Grilled meats/fish:
Cheese – such as mozzarella, brie, or fontina
Seafood:
- Slow Roasted Salmon
- Shrimp Scampi
- Seafood Salad

If you try my recipe for Spring Panzanella Salad, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails or liking my Facebook or Pinterest (see the form and icons in the sidebar or below the recipe card)

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

For a fresh take on Italian bread salad, make a spring panzanella salad with peas, arugula, mint, and cherry tomatoes all tossed in a bright, lemony dressing. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #saladrecipes #italianrecipes #panzanella #tomatobreadsalad #springrecipes

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spring Panzanella Salad with Peas, Arugula, and Mint

For a fresh take on Italian bread salad, make a spring panzanella salad with peas, arugula, mint, and cherry tomatoes all tossed in a bright, lemony dressing.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Total Time25

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: panzanella, spring salad, tomato bread salad

Servings:

Calories: 250kcal

Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

Lemon Dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Bread

8-10 oz crusty dinner bread, cut into ~1 inch slices
olive oil and kosher salt, for the bread

Salad

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup peas, either fresh garden peas or thawed frozen peas
2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 cups arugula

Instructions

Make the Dressing

Mix together the dressing in a bowl.
Add the red onion to the dressing and let it sit until you are ready to mix the salad.

Prepare the Bread

Brush the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Toast it under a broiler or in a toaster oven until golden brown on both sides. (You can also grill it.) Cool briefly and cut into cubes.

Make the Salad

Add the bread cubes, tomatoes, peas, mint, and thyme to a large bowl.
Pour over the dressing and and toss ingredients together, making sure to coat the bread with the dressing.
Just before serving mix in the arugula.

Notes

Make ahead: Panzanella is best eaten within 1-2 hours of preparation. You can make the dressing, prepare the salad ingredients, and toast the bread earlier in the day and then toss it together at dinner time.
Trimming the bread: If your bread has gotten a bit hard or is particularly crusty, you may want to trim off those bits.
Herbs: Since this is a spring panzanella I used common spring herbs which I see in my garden early in the season. Feel free to use parsley and/or basil in the salad if you have those on hand. Also, chives or spring onions are nice in addition to or in place of the red onion.