Ina Garten’s Panzanella Is Perfect for Summertime and Packed with Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients

Several years ago, I went to a friend’s house for dinner and she was in the middle of toasting bread cubes in a skillet when I arrived. She excitedly told me about a recipe she had found for panzanella by none other than the entertaining queen herself, Ina Garten (fondly known as the Barefoot Contessa).

Panzanella is a vegetable-and-bread salad. The thing that makes it so wonderful is that once the whole salad is dressed, the bread cubes soak up the dressing and soften slightly. I had enjoyed many panzanellas before and looked forward to trying Ina’s version.

I glanced at Ina’s recipe and then jumped in to help my friend cut vegetables as she whisked together the simple dressing. All the while, we chatted and absentmindedly snacked on the croutons. They were just simple cubes of French bread toasted in olive oil and salted, but they had that perfectly balanced texture of crispy exterior and slightly chewy interior. We both knew that if the whole salad was as good as those bread cubes, it would be a hit.

A little while later, we had filled a bowl with chopped tomatoes fresh from her garden; seeded, sliced cucumber; chopped bell peppers (both red and yellow); and thinly sliced red onion. Then we added lots of fragrant chopped basil and a few tablespoons of capers.

Just as the steaks were coming off the grill, she added the croutons and dressing to the bowl of vegetables and tossed it all together. Then we sat down to dinner with our husbands and took our first tastes of Ina’s panzanella. 

The crunch of the fresh vegetables paired with the still-toasty but dressing-soaked croutons gave the salad such an array of textures. And that dressing—a blend of olive oil, champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic and a little salt and pepper—added layers of flavor to such a simple combination of ingredients. The raw garlic contributed a very pleasant pungent note. And though they’re small, the capers added briny pops of flavor that are, in my opinion,  essential.

Ever since that day, I have been making Ina’s panzanella every summer, whether reducing it for two for just my husband and me or doubling it for dinner guests. (A larger quantity of bread cubes can easily be toasted on a sheet pan in the oven.) It’s perfect for entertaining and actually comes from Barefoot Contessa Parties!, one of Ina’s earlier cookbooks that focuses on planning for parties and hosting guests. You can prep all of the ingredients and toss them together up to a half-hour before serving—though I prefer to toss it just before serving so the croutons maintain a little more crunch.

Sometimes I swap out the French bread boule for a sourdough one, but a whole-wheat boule would also be delicious. I enjoy this salad most when tomatoes are at their best, even more so when I’m harvesting them from my own garden.

What I love about Ina’s panzanella beyond the taste and texture is that it’s also really good for you. It’s full of anti-inflammatory ingredients, like the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, red onion and basil. If you have inflammation, eating more colorful plant-based foods and staying well-hydrated can help. This salad offers both of these benefits.

It’s also suitable for those following a Mediterranean diet plan. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and plant-based oils, many of which are in this salad—just be sure to swap in a whole-wheat or whole-grain bread to use for the croutons. The panzanella is also super colorful, so you know there are so many vitamins and nutrients in the bowl.

Ina’s panzanella pairs well with anything you might be grilling this summer. I love to serve it with grilled chicken, but salmon or another type of fish would go well too. Or for a quick dinner, you could even serve it with a rotisserie chicken. Once you try this panzanella, I’m sure it will become your go-to summer salad too. And you might even find yourself trying other combinations of vegetables, dressing and bread, as in our Pita Panzanella Salad with Meatballs—there are so many possibilities!