Fall Panzanella salad, my take on classic Italian bread salad with Fall vegetables over arugula and a simple vinaigrette. Great as a side dish or pair with grilled meat for an entree salad.

I love panzanella salad – its a classic Italian bread + tomato salad. I ate a variety of panzanella salad in the Summer but never got around to sharing one. It’s something about the combination of bread, seasonal produce, and cheese that makes panzanella salad simple and delicious. Fall panzanella salad is not your mealsy salad – it’s seasonally inspired delicious salad that can be enjoyed for lunch, dinner (or both). I love roasted butternut squash in my salad (case in point –> butternut squash, apple, and walnut salad)  but you can add Fall veggies like beets & Brussels sprouts. If you are not a big fan, use whatever roasted veggies you like. But really, have you tried roasted Brussels sprouts? or beets in that matter? It changed me.

You are going to first chop your veggies and roast them until cooked through. Feel free to use pre-cut veggies if you’d like. I am using a mix of butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, beets here.

Fall panzanella salad is really easy to put together and adaptable to meet dietary needs. You can easily skip the cheese, or use your favorite hearty bread of choice.

Arugula, a peppery & spicy leafy green works really well because it balances with the sweetness of vegetables and wilts slightly when combined with everything else.

I personally like to roast veggies ahead of time, make the vinaigrette and assemble the salad right before serving. The greens are slightly wilted, bread is soft but not too soft and pepita stays crunchy.

Fall Panzanella Salad is my go-to for Fall – great as a side salad or while entertaining or for dinner parties.

Fall Panzanella Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 12-14 Brussel sprouts

• 2 cups cubed butternut squash

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 medium beets, peeled and cubed

• 2 cups cubed bread (I used baguette)

• 3 large handful arugula

• 2 oz goat cheese

• 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

  for the dressing:

• 3 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 garlic clove, mined

• 1/2 teaspoon honey/maple syrup

• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange butternut squash, beets, and Brussel sprouts. Drizzle olive oil over veggies and let them roast for 30-25 minutes until evenly roasted. Stir veggies at 15 minutes mark.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper together. Taste and adjust the seasoning and set it aside.

4. Towards the last 5 minutes, add bread pieces to the baking sheet so it gets toasted too.

5. Remove from the oven add arugula to the pan. Drizzle dressing over it and massage gently.

6. Top it with goat cheese and pumpkin seeds at the end.

Notes:

You can prepare everything in advance and assemble it right before serving so the bread and arugula doesn’t get too soggy.