If you’ve never tried panzanella, you’re in for a treat!
Greens are tossed with a medley of fall vegetables, jumbo sourdough croutons (yes, we said jumbo), and tangy-sweet, grainy mustard dressing. Just 30 minutes required for this deceptively wholesome comfort meal.
Origins of Panzanella
Panzanella is a bread salad that’s believed to have originated in Tuscany, Italy. And it may have been invented by peasants as a way to use up stale bread.
The earliest written recipes date back to the 14th and 16th centuries. And while these early versions were heavier on the onions, tomatoes became a more central ingredient by the 1900s.
Our version is not traditional but is inspired by the concept of revitalizing stale bread with dressing and seasonal vegetables. You can find a more traditional recipe for panzanella here.
Fall-Inspired Panzanella
Though typically more of a summer dish, this recipe is inspired by fall flavors!
We roasted root vegetables to bring out their sweetness and infused them with fresh rosemary for an herby aroma. And for greens, we went with kale for its hearty texture and availability during the colder months.
To add more texture, carbs, fiber, and protein, we opted for chickpeas and a hearty sourdough bread.
A vinaigrette dressing is most common with panzanella. But we opted for a tahini-based dressing for added nutrients and creaminess. Plus, kale + tahini = magic!
We hope you love this panzanella! It’s:
Satisfying
Colorful
Savory-sweet
Garlicky
Customizable
& Delicious!
It’s perfect on its own as a comforting plant-based entrée. Or serve as a side to nearly any main! We think it would pair especially well with other Italian-inspired dishes including the following.
What to Serve with Panzanella
- Tomato and Vegetable White Bean Soup
- Easy Vegan Lasagna
- 1-Pot Vegan Minestrone (Gluten-Free)
- 1-Pot Tuscan-Style Beef & Lentil Soup
- Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale, Rosemary & Lemon (from The First Mess)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Rosemary Roasted Root Vegetable Panzanella
Ingredients
VEGGIES
- 3 cups peeled, chopped root vegetables (such as beets, carrots, or sweet potato)
- 1 medium leek, halved, rinsed clean, and chopped into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 Tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 healthy pinch each salt and black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped (or sub dried)
CHICKPEAS
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained and patted dry with a towel (or sub ~1 ½ cups homemade)
- 1 Tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 healthy pinch each salt and black pepper
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped (or sub dried)
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed or roughly chopped (optional)
CROUTONS
- 2 cups day old sturdy bread, cubed (such as sourdough // if gluten-free, use gluten-free bread or omit)
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- 1 healthy pinch each salt and pepper
DRESSING
- 1/4 cup tahini (cashew butter could also work here, or sub olive oil to make it more of a vinaigrette)
- 1 ½ tsp whole grain mustard
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice (~1 large lemon)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 tsp maple syrup
- 1 healthy pinch each salt and pepper
- 2-4 Tbsp water to thin
GREENS
- 1 large bundle kale, torn into bite-size pieces, large stems removed (1 large bundle is ~8 cups or 200 g)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
- 1 pinch each salt and pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C // use convection if you have it to speed cook time!) and position one rack near the top of the oven and another rack in the top/center of the oven. Also line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Chop root vegetables and thinly slice leek (be sure to rinse away any residual dirt) and add to one of the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and toss to coat (see photo).
- Spread in an even layer and place on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, slightly caramelized, and golden brown. Flip/toss near the 15-minute mark to ensure even cooking.
- Add your rinsed, dried chickpeas to a medium mixing bowl and top with oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and crushed garlic (garlic optional). Toss to combine, then add to one half of the other prepared baking sheet (the croutons will go on the other side later). Place in the oven on the top/center rack, and bake for ~20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- In the meantime, prepare dressing by adding tahini, grainy mustard, lemon juice (starting with lesser amount), apple cider vinegar, maple syrup (starting with lesser amount), and salt and pepper, and whisk to combine. Add water until pourable.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more lemon for brightness/acidity, apple cider vinegar for tanginess, maple syrup for sweetness, salt or pepper to taste, or mustard for zestiness. Set aside.
- To the same mixing bowl used for the chickpeas, add your cubed bread and toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper. Add to the other half of the baking sheet with the chickpeas and bake for ~8-10 minutes, or until toasty and golden brown.
- Add chopped kale (or other greens) to a large mixing bowl (option to dress with a bit of lemon juice, salt, and pepper and massage for 1-2 minutes for more tender texture / improved digestibility). Then top with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and croutons. Add half of the dressing, toss, and reserve the other half for serving.
- Best when fresh, but if saving for later, store all parts separately — especially the dressing and croutons — to keep from getting soggy. Dressing will keep for 5-7 days. Croutons will keep loosely covered at room temperature for ~2 days. Salad will keep for 2-3 days. Not freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with beets, the lesser amount of ranges where provided, and without optional ingredients.
Kaelyn says
Loved this. Replaced the beets with parsnips and it worked super well. Will definitely make again!
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Kaelyn!
Luci says
I hesitated to try this recipe as it seemed complicated and time consuming. I was wrong. This was so easy to make and incredibly delicious & filling!
We’re so glad you gave it a try and enjoyed the result, Luci! Thank you for sharing! xo
Nicki says
Did you start with cooked beets and then roasted them?
The picture of them on the pan (pre roasting) look already cooked…
please advise, I’ve never used beets!
Hi Nicki, they’re raw beets! Just shiny from being freshly cut.
Jacki says
Will definitely be trying this. Sounds great. Thx for all your fabulous and delicious recipes.
Thank you for your kind words and support, Jacki! Let us know how it goes!
Kathy Jackson says
I have made this delicious salad several times. It’s a process, but my goodness is it worth every minute! So far, I’ve only made this for myself, but it’s a big wonderful salad perfect for a gathering. Dressing is unreal – make some extra!!!
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Kathy! Thanks so much for leaving a review! xo
Renata Hyblova says
I made it today for supper for my family.
Very good! Everybody lake it. Thank you for tasty and healthy recipes.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Renata! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Taylor says
I do not like kale and I LOVE this dish!!! it is so perfect! the garlic, the lemon, the rosemary and the root veggies! made the dressing more of a vinaigrette. made it for the first time tonight and I can see this becoming a staple. so good.
AMAZING! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Taylor! xoxo
Kait says
Honestly cannot get enough of this. Every time my husband and I make it, we make a big batch and I wolf it down for dinner, breakfast, and lunch the next day. While I love all the ingredients in this dish, it’s so much greater than the sum of its parts and a PERFECT healthy dish for the colder months, especially. Thanks so much for sharing! (She says through huge bites of kale and croutons)
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Kait! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Cait says
It may not be fall, but this dish was super lovely this evening (and looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!). We doubled the recipe and made it pretty much as written (only had one leek, so added a shallot). But other than that, made the dressing to taste and pulled it all together nicely! It was a hit! Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Cait! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Lani says
I’ve made this recipe twice and our family loved it! I didn’t have lemon juice so I substituted lime juice this time and it tasted great. I saw that cashew butter was a tahini substitute so I ground up some cashews with a little olive oil in my food processor. My daughter who doesn’t care for cashews said she adored the dressing.
Whoop! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the lovely review, Lani!
Kelci says
This is SO good! We always have stale sourdough around and this was a great way to use it! I prefer to sauté the kale just a bit but otherwise the sauce and flavor combos are incredible! Your recipes are amazing, Dana! We’re not vegan or vegetarian but we use your recipes all of the time because they are so flavorful. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Kelci! Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review! xo
Grace says
This was incredible! The creaminess of the dressing was a perfect topping for the kale base. I used parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets. Would recommend making!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Grace! xo
Nia says
I’m not a salad person at all and this was delicious! I used sweet potato, beets and carrots.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Nia! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Kelly says
This was delicious. I think my favorite part was the sourdough croutons. I’m glad I still have half a loaf left. I see more croutons in the near future.
It seems like a lot at first, but really it pulls together pretty quick as soon as you get everything into the oven.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Kelly! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Rah says
Hello!!
I absolutely love your recipes and have been consistently visiting and using your blog as my cooking resource for the past two years!!
I haven’t commented yet but wanted to just provide some feedback- I LOVE your site but I have been finding it very frustrating to use when it has so many pop-ups with the free e-book but mostly with the pop-up video which plays automatically on mobile.
It has, at times, made me second guess popping on to find or share a recipe.
Hi, Rah! Sorry to hear that. To keep our content free we rely on ads, but always try to optimize for user experience. And on mobile (as the screen is smaller) it can feel a little cramped. But we will revisit our current # and placement to see if we can make any improvements! We so appreciate the feedback. Glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes.
Kelly says
I have the same unfortunate experience. On desktop its not so bad, but with mobile (and that’s what I’m using when I’m in the kitchen), the ads are really intrusive. Oftentimes they’ll still be loading on me while I’m trying to scroll through to read components and then find they get pushed up or down the screen because of ads loading in.
Just a thought, Angela from Oh She Glows developed a recipe app. It contains pretty much all the recipes that are on her web site, but you pay a small one-time fee for the app and then you get to view all her recipes ad-free (and in a mobile-friendly format for while you’re in the kitchen). You should check it out for ideas.
Thanks for your input, Kelly! We have considered doing a mobile app but they’re quite an investment and it’s not as easy as just copying and pasting your content from blog to app. But we appreciate the feedback and we’ll see if there’s any way we can improve user experience!
Amanda says
This was so good! Very easy to put together and delicious! I used sweet potato and carrots and subbed in shallot for the leek.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Amanda! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Brooke Thompson says
Perfect! I used the last of my garden root vegetables. This recipe was easy, beautiful and delicious!
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Brooke! xo
Lola says
Delicious! I used sweet potato, carrots, beets, and radishes. Love the versatility and simplicity of this recipe. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lola. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Hannah says
I never thought I would LOVE a salad but this is AMAZING. I will definitely be making this many more times!
So great! Thanks for sharing, Hannah!
Becky says
This was excellent! I used sweet potato, carrot, and fennel. Gonna make this for Christmas!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Becky. Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Nicole says
This was delicious! I didn’t have leek and so used a regular white onion, and otherwise about a third carrot and two thirds yam. Thanks for another lovely recipe. I really appreciate that the weekly recipes tend to use in season produce, and match well with what I get in local food boxes.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Nicole!
Liz F says
This was amazing! I used rutabaga, beets, and butternut squash as my veggies since that is what I had and they worked perfectly. This is definitely going into the rotation! Thanks for another winning recipe :)
Lovely! Thanks for sharing your modifications, Liz!
Maggie says
Tip for leftovers: Eat all the bread (it will get mushy), then store leftovers in the fridge. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes (the kale will get a bit crispy), and put between two slices of bread with butter and more mustard. Yum!
Like whoa – incredible idea! Thanks for sharing, Maggie!
Maggie says
Made this recipe exactly as written, it was amazing! The hearty sourdough bread I used went so well with the dressing and the roasted vegetables, a perfect chilly evening meal.
Incredible! Thanks for sharing, Maggie!!
Kate Mooneyham says
In the instructions it says to put oven racks at top, and top center, but then it says to put veggie sheet pan on bottom rack, and chickpeas on top center. Please clarify. Thanks!
Hi Kate, sorry for the confusion! When it says bottom rack in step 3, it means the lower of the two racks, so the one that’s in the top/center. Hope that helps!
Alexa Marsh says
This recipe looks so delicious, and the dressing sounds wonderful!