This is not your traditional Panzanella salad! This twist on an old classic is made with crisp, sweet snap peas, creamy avocado, and feta cheese, all tossed with toasted bread and basil vinaigrette!
Panzanella salad is essentially a salad that replaces lettuce with toasted bits of bread, aka my dream salad! This version is made with chunks of avocado, snap peas, feta cheese, all tossed with a lemony basil vinaigrette. Avocado Panzanella is perfect for your next BBQ or dinner party. Serve alongside grilled lamb chops, or grilled shrimp to make it a complete meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Here’s what you’ll need to make Avocado Panzanella: snap peas, feta cheese, avocado, day old bread, shallot, basil, olive oil and basil vinaigrette.
Recipe Steps:
Step One: Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the torn bread and olive oil on a parchment-lined baking sheet; season well with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes occasionally tossing the croutons to keep them from burning. Let cool completely.
Step Two: In a large bowl toss the snap peas, avocado, feta, herbs, and toasted bread with the basil vinaigrette, season with salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.
This Lemon + Basil Vinaigrette is the magic that ties everything together. It’s super easy to make and perfectly compliments the avocado, feta, peas, and toasty bread. Watch the video below to see how it’s made:
FAQs and Expert Tips
You can use almost any type of bread for panzanella salad. Ciabatta, French baguette, country loaf or sourdough are all great options.
Absolutely! You can use almost any type of bread for this panzanella salad, including gluten-free.
Traditional panzanella salad is an Italian summertime specialty made with stale bread, tomatoes, and cucumbers dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Check out more delicious recipes:
- Burrata Salad with Prosciutto and Nectarines
- Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Basil Dressing
- Corn and Arugula Salad with Tomatoes and Blue Cheese
- Roasted Snap Peas with Yogurt
- Little Gem Salad Wedge with Bacon, Blue Cheese and Warm Garlic Croutons
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Avocado Panzanella with Snap Peas + Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 c torn day-old bread ciabatta or baguette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cups sugar snap peas trimmed and cleaned
- 2 ripe avocados peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 1 handfull fresh basil or watercress
- 1 cup basil vinaigrette
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the torn bread and olive oil on a parchment-lined baking sheet; season well with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes occasionally tossing the croutons to keep them from burning. Let cool completely.
- In a large bowl toss the snap peas, avocado, shallot, feta, herbs, and toasted bread with the basil vinaigrette, season with salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately!
Notes
- What type of bread should I use? You can use almost any type of bread for panzanella salad. Ciabatta, French baguette, country loaf or sourdough are all great options.
- Feta Cheese: You can omit the feta cheese if you would like your panzanella to be dairy-free. You can also use a different cheese like: goat cheese, grated ricotta salata or even fresh mozzarella or burrata.
This salad really does taste like avocado toast! I loved it!
OMG….that salad looks amazing. What a great shot of lovely food. Love the alternate recipe title too! I’m currently crushing on snap peas….it seems to be all I see at the grocery. Perfect timing for this.