Strawberry Panzanella Salad with Balsamic Glaze
This strawberry panzanella salad is made with only 6 main ingredients and is SO delicious! It’s perfect for any get togethers or parties, or even a delicious lunch or dinner!
Can’t get enough when it comes to panzanella salads? Then you’ll want to try Greek Panzanella Salad and Chickpea Panzanella Salad, too!
This post is sponsored by Walmart! All opinions and text are 100% mine. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Jessica in the Kitchen!
Happy almost summer! The sun is warmer, the sky is bluer, and it’s outdoors weather. Gav and I have some fun memories, even before we were married, of co-hosting summer parties either at my parents house or now at our apartment. They’ve always been small, but filled with lots of love and of course, amazing food, which equals to love. As we get constantly busier each summer, we’ve been implementing a strategy of making easy and delicious dishes, that taste like hours of labour went into them. Whether that’s a 10 minute summer drink, or a 20 minute Strawberry Panzanella Salad, the goal is always to please our guests, which keeping things nice and simple for us. Win win for everyone!
I just noticed a trend I’ve been unintentionally doing. I’ve made a panzanella salad aka a Tuscan Tomato & Bread Salad every summer for the last two years. First, it was a Greek Panzanella Salad. Then there was Chickpea Panzanella Salad, and now this gorgeous Strawberry Panzanella Salad with a Balsamic Glaze. They’re all delicious in their own ways, and I love the fruity element to this one!
A very fun fact about this entire post? Everything I used – the ingredients, the salad spoons, the platter, even the measuring cups – were ALL bought at Walmart! I’m so excited to be collaborating with Walmart on this post to bring you this bright and fresh Strawberry Panzanella Salad since I was so excited to get everything there! This will definitely be my one stop shop for summer.
Let’s talk about how Walmart has been going hard on the locally-grown fresh produce game. Most people might not be aware of Walmart’s commitment to selling locally grown produce. But, they are using their scale to support local communities by working with farmers across the U.S. to provide an abundance of locally grown produce to customers. The produce section is huge across their stores. I’m talking endless options. And, since I was there for a few hours (yup, I’m that girl wandering the aisles of the supermarket for hours in her happy place), I got to actually see the restocking process!
Not only does Walmart restock their produce at least once a day, they now have an organic produce section stocked with veggies! Even though I love slowly getting produce in store when I have the time, it’s amazing to know if you’re short on time, you could also use their Online Grocery Pickup for convenience!
I was really impressed by the selection there and in the entire store. It was so great to get everything I needed in just one stop. I checked out a few of their collections, like the Pioneer Woman collection, which I loved. Ree’s blog was one of the first that I followed, so I grabbed some mixing bowls and measuring cups. I even grabbed one of her knives from her Pioneer Woman collection. In fact, Walmart’s Brand Promise Mission is “to provide the utmost quality fresh locally grown produce at a price that saves customers money.” They are definitely fulfilling this. I found the prices affordable, and loved that everything I needed for this vegan salad was all there.
The strawberries, as you can see, where bright and gorgeous, along all the other veggies I used for this post. I followed Walmart’s Quick Tips for Selecting the Best Fruit which came in pretty handy, so the ones I ended up with were nice and sweet. Like, I literally had to stop myself from eating them before they went into the salad. I really wanted this since the strawberry flavour stands out, yet beautifully complements everything else at the same time, especially that balsamic glaze.
How to Make Strawberry Panzanella Salad
Putting together this salad was very easy. You toast the bread, chop the ingredients, and toss them together. Ridiculously easy, right? For the balsamic glaze, you could either buy a pre-made balsamic glaze in Walmart, or make your own like I did from Walmart ingredients. I prefer the second option because I love everything from scratch and love that you can control the sweetness. You can also control the viscosity and any other factors involved in the glaze.
The balsamic glaze adds a sweet, umami flavour to the whole dish that has me wanting to eat this all over again for lunch today. The textural and flavour elements of sweet, crunchy, brine-y and fruity make this a definite crowd-pleaser. Your guests are bound to find something in this salad that they love! Other ideas? You can just make this for a bright summer salad for a weeknight dinner for one or two with all that fresh produce that you picked up!
The final point before I give you the recipe for this Strawberry Panzanella Salad? You definitely HAVE to toast the bread. You should purchase a fresh bread, then let a day or two pass so it gets a bit crusty and stale. That’s the perfect texture for this recipe. It’ll crisp up beautifully in the oven, and remain that way even after the balsamic drizzle is added. Enjoy, friends!
Watch This Strawberry Panzanella Salad Come Together
Want to see the step-by-step guide to making strawberry panzanella salad? Here it is:
Strawberry Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
Panzanella Salad
- 3 cups gluten free crusty bread, chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- ⅓ cup red onion slices
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
- 2 cups spinach, washed and dried
- 1 cup cubed English cucumber
Balsamic Glaze
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons raw cane or coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Panzanella Salad
- Preheat oven to 450°F/ 230°C.
- Add the bread cubes to a silicone mat on a baking sheet or a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or foil. Drizzle with oil, then rub into the cubes to combine.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the spinach, toasted bread cubes, strawberry slices, the cherry tomatoes, red onions and cucumber cubes. Toss until combined.
Balsamic Glaze
- In a pot over medium high heat, heat all the ingredients and stir. Watch carefully – the glaze should begin to thicken after 5 minutes and you want it thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon, but not to thicken into a glob. It becomes very thick very quickly so watch carefully.
- Once glaze has thickened, remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly – it will thicken while it cools too.
- Top with herbs.
- The glaze can be stored in the refrigerator once it has cooled down for at least a month.
Putting it all Together
- Plate the salad and drizzle the balsamic glaze over it. Only drizzle glaze right before you’re about to serve it.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I thought strawberries in a salad sounded weird at first, especially in the amount that you’ve used them in this salad, but once I tried it I definitely changed my mind. This is amazing! I’ll definitely be making this a lot when strawberries are in season 🙂
Hi Amanda,
So happy that you enjoyed the salad!!
There’s something magical about how these simple ingredients come together. The toasty bread, the balsamic, the strawberry and the onion – delicious. And incredibly easy! I think this was one of my fastest meal preps yet, and I’m excited for this taste of summer this week.
As a note, the cherry tomatoes are missing from the recipe ingredients, and I forgot to grab some. Next time!
Wow, what a nice comment Lauren. We really appreciate that you took the time to tell us how you feel. We hope you have a great day and thank you so much.
Love the spinach and strawberries with the balsamic reduction. Croutons add such a great crunch.
Wow this is such a nice review. Thank you Celine.
Wondering if the 933 calories is for 1 serving or the entire salad?
Hi Trudy,
That’s definitely wrong – sorry about that! It’s closer to 297 calories per serving (about 3 servings in total) I just updated it! Hope you enjoy so much!
Hi Trudy thanks so much for reading its for the entire salad. I hope this helps.