Chicken Panzanella Salad

It's summer, and I'm sure I'm not the only one craving easy, light dinners that come together quickly. If that's you as well, allow me to introduce you to the panzanella salad! While you can serve it as a side dish or potluck salad, it's great as a full meal on a hot summer night.

Think my family liked it? Let's find out!

What Is Panzanella?

Panzanella is a classic Italian salad made with stale bread, dressing, and chopped vegetables. It can be incredibly simple or more complex. I've had versions made with only bread, very ripe tomatoes, and basil, but you can add other pantry staples like capers to it.

This version of panzanella counts as a full meal because of the chicken and all the vegetables. It's what might happen if a tornado hit a sandwich and turned it into a salad!

Take Advantage of Rotisserie Chicken

You can definitely roast your own chicken for this if you want (if you do, be sure to reserve some drippings from the roast chicken to add them to the bread). But on a hot summer day, I don't love the idea of turning my oven on for 90 minutes, so I like to use a rotisserie chicken from the deli.

Rotisserie chicken shreds easily, and there are usually enough drippings to add to the bread. If you don't have enough drippings, drizzle the bread with a little chicken stock. I prefer a mix of white and dark chicken meat, but use what you like!

The Best Kind of Bread for Panzanella Salad

Panzanella salad is meant to be a way to use up leftover bread, so you can use pretty much anything! I like something crunchy with a nice crust on it—a good sourdough bread, French loaf, or baguette works really well here.

I'd avoid super soft bread, like your basic white sandwich bread. It will get too soggy.

And if you don’t have any stale bread, that's okay. Just tear some bread into pieces and toast in the oven until they're crispy and slightly browned (about 10 minutes at 400 ̊F).

What to Serve With Panzanella

This is a full meal in the summer, but it can also work as a side dish. If you serve it as a side dish with something grilled like steak, just leave out the chicken.

Make-Ahead Panzanella

This salad improves if you let it sit in the fridge for a bit, so feel free to make it a day or so in advance. It keeps well! After a few days, though, the herbs start to wilt, and the salad gets too soggy. So make it; eat it within a day or two, and you'll be in for a treat!

The Dad Add: Blistered Peppers

Blistered peppers! This salad has awesome, fresh summer flavors, but blistered peppers add something extra. I use shishito peppers or mini sweet peppers. Add them to a skillet with a little oil, and then char on one side. When they come out of the skillet, season them with salt, and then chop and serve them with the salad.

The Kid Report Card

My kids are not salad kids. They are generally good eaters but aren't quite at the point where they will tear into a full salad. BUT! This salad was a great summer meal for them. It has familiar flavors that are approachable for kids, and the salad lends itself to a perfect dad joke. ("Oops! Dad put the bread in the salad!")

Not only did my kids think my joke was funny, but they also loved the salad overall. My daughter focused on the chicken and tomatoes, while my son (who doesn't love tomatoes) ate the bread, chicken, and cucumbers.

All in all, a win for a quick summer salad dinner!

More Quick and Easy Summer Meals!

• Steamed Mussels in Tomato Sauce
• Sweet Corn and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
• Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
• Skillet Shrimp Fajitas
• Easy Chinese Chicken Salad with Chow Mein Noodles