At its core, Panzanella is a bread salad consisting of tomatoes, bread and basil but I have added some protein in the form of cannellini beans to make it more filling.
Tuscan Bread Salad
Is it even summertime without a salad? This one is bursting with fresh sunny flavours thanks to the flavoursome ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs and abundance of good olive oil. Strictly speaking, Panzanella is a bread salad with vegetables rather than a tomato salad with bread. Tomatoes did not even arrive into Europe until the 16th century so this salad would originally be made with different ingredients. This White Bean Panzanella is less classic and a more modern take on the salad. The addition of white beans adds a creaminess, more texture and more nutrition. I have also made a dressing using tomato, garlic, white bean and extra virgin olive oil which distributes the flavouring evenly through the salad.
Why you should make this recipe:
Vegan – this recipe is naturally plant based making it suitable for those following a vegan or vegetarian diet. Unlike other Panzanella, this one does not contain anchovies.
Includes plant-based protein – thanks to the addition of white beans, this Panzanella becomes higher in protein and actually fills you up
Counts towards your 5 a day – 80g of baby plum tomatoes count as 1 of your 5 a day which is around the weight of the tomatoes in one serving of this salad
Celebrates seasonal produce – I like to use tomatoes that are in season
Fights food waste as it uses up stale bread.
No lettuce salad – this salad does not contain leafy-green salads making it a welcome change from the norm!
Ingredients for white bean panzanella
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Tomatoes
For the best Panzanella, use tomatoes that are perfectly ripe as they will be extra juicy. All this aromatic tomato juice will be soaked up by the bread adding extra bursts of flavour in every bite. I have used halved baby plum tomatoes in this recipe but you can also use full grown plum tomatoes. They are rich in flavour and tend to have few seeds. You can use many other alternatives: Beef tomatoes are large with a meaty texture and taste sweet yet mellow and would work well Heirloom tomatoes are an eye-catching substitute when in season. Salad tomatoes tend to remain quite firm and are usually not as juicy so (even though it seems counterproductive given their name) I would avoid using these. Whichever you use, make sure you cut into them to release the juice which is all part of the dressing.
Bread
The best bread for this salad is either focaccia, ciabatta or sourdough. You can either use stale bread or toast the bread lightly which is what I have done. Soft breads will disintegrate in the dressing so do not use those.
White beans
White beans is actually an umbrella term for different beans. The most common are cannellini beans, also known as white kidney beans. You can find them dried, which then require cooking, or tinned. Haricot beans, butter beans, navy beans, great northern beans and lima beans are other alternatives. They all differ slightly in size and taste however all will go great in this salad.
Red onion – either cut lengthways or diced
Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil – use good quality extra virgin olive oil and lots of it! Ordinary olive oil will not work for this salad.
Red wine vinegar – alternatively use balsamic vinegar or white vinegar for a similar tang.
Garlic – fresh garlic works best
Tomato
White bean
Basil – freshly torn basil leaves adds wonderful flavour and colour to the finished salad
Alternatively – make a simple dressing with minced fresh garlic, vinegar, and olive oil.
Instant Pot Cannellini Beans
I had a packet of dried cannellini beans so chose to cook them in the Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot is a handy way to prepare dried beans for forward meal prep. I like to cook up a batch of beans and then store them away for later.
I often use white beans in salads or as toppings for this White Bean Bruschetta. In the winter, I often add it to soups such as Butternut Squash and Cannellini Bean Soup.
Whenever I cook chickpeas in my Instant pot, we love to make this super easy and delicious Indian Chickpea salad too.
I prefer to soak the beans ahead of time simply to reduce the time needed to cook in the pressure cooker. You can however, cook your beans from dried directly.
Try to use dried beans that are not too old. Old beans tend to remain tough even after rigorous pressure cooking.
I do not add bicarbonate of soda when cooking beans.
For 1 cup of raw beans use approximately 3 cups of water. You will be draining this water after cooking.
I soaked the beans the night before. For 1 cup soaked beans I added 1 cup of water, then pressure cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes with Natural Pressure Release.
If not soaking, I would pressure cook on High for 25 minutes.
You may have to adjust this time to suit the beans that you use.
How to make White Bean Panzanella
Full printable recipe in recipe card below. We firstly need to prepare the main salad ingredients, then prepare the dressing, then assemble everything together. Grill your bread so it lightly toasts without becoming very hard. Then, slice into large crouton pieces. Slice tomatoes and the onions. Sprinkle on some sea salt to help draw out some of the liquid and intensify the flavour. Let this sit for about 10-15 minutes. Add the tomato and onion to the toasted bread and cooked white beans. Next, prepare the dressing. Blend tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, basil and white beans with plenty of olive oil. You will end up with a dressing that has similar consistency to a runny pesto. Stir this through the salad and top with plenty of basil. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil. The salad can be served straight away but is equally good after 30 minutes as the bread has soaked in more of the flavours.
Serving
This sunny Tuscan bread salad is a perfect side dish to serve during the warmer months when tomatoes are best in season. White bean Panzanella can also be the perfect summer salad for your next BBQ with mains like Barbecued Halloumi and Mushroom Skewers, Grilled Sweetcorn, tofu, Creamy Paneer Tikka, vegetables, burgers or any meat or sea food dishes. It’s also a great starter to a fun Italian menu with anything including Air fryer Sheet Pan Focaccia Pizza Air fryer Toasted Ravioli (no egg) Vegetarian Aubergine Parmigiana
Storage
Ideally this Tuscan tomato and bread salad should be consumed within a few hours after making it. It doesn’t stay well in the refrigerator. If you have any leftovers, store it in a airtight container and keep it on your kitchen worktop for a few hours and consume the same day.
Other summer salad recipes
2. Best Pesto Potato Salad
3. Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing
4. Greek Style Potato Salad (Instant Pot)
5. Fresh Watermelon Mojito Salad
6. Instant Pot Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
7. Watermelon and Dill Salad
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