Give me any excuse to make a panzanella and I'm in. I mean, hello!!! Adding bread to a salad - game over! This Grilled Chicken Panzanella is absolute perfection.
4 key components to this beauty.
1: we've got the homemade croutons - they'll rock your world. Probably best to make a double batch so you can snack on some before assembly.
2: The grilled chicken is perfectly seasoned and marinated so it's going to be delish. You could also do the same marinade for steak or salmon and grill to cook. Easy peasy.
3: The vinaigrette - really easy and let's all the flavors shine.
4: It's still peak tomato season so grab the best looking tomatoes you can find from the market and then get into it! You'll need some cucumbers to give everything a burst of freshness and olives because we all love a castelvetrano moment!! And that's all there is too it! The ingredient list looks long... but I promise it's all easy and totally worth it!
Grilled Chicken Panzanella
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 pounds colorful heirloom tomatoes sliced into wedges
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 English cucumber halved, cut into ½-inch half moons
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup pitted castelvetrano olives halved
- fresh basil to garnish
For the Chicken
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 lemons zest freshly grated and juiced
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 4 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
For the Croutons:
- 1 9- ounce baguette sliced
- 8 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon Gaby’s Go To seasoning
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1 shallot roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 lemon juiced
- 4 teaspoons champagne vinegar
- â…“ cup olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients and marinate for 2 hours. Once marinated, remove from the marinade, and grill both sides until just cooked through. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Slice against the grain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives and red onion. Add croutons and dressing
For the Croutons
- Drizzle the bread with olive oil, garlic and seasoning mixture. Transfer sliced bread to grill. Grill for 5-7 minutes until each side is golden brown. Remove from grill and let cool before ripping apart and serving. Add to salad ingredients
For the Vinaigrette:
- Combine all the ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Drizzle over salad. Add basil as needed.
To Assemble
- Combine all components on a large platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Toss and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What's Gaby Cooking
This is one of my favorite recipes. My mom says it may be the best chicken she's ever had. I've made it many many times and it's always perfect.
I appreciate any excuse to have homemade croutons!
Delicious, beautiful and perfect for summer!
I make a huge amount of panzanella each week for us. Mine includes a can of anchovies cut up in the vinaigrette, sugar snap peas, hearts of palm, capers and artichoke hearts beside all the regular ingredients. If we have kalamata olives, I might add some of them. I put warm butter, garlic and olive oil on my bread before baking it.. We don’t mind the bread getting soft after soaking up the wonderful juices. We just don’t get tired of this salad.
The bead and the salad are two of my favorite things about dining out. This is the perfect combination!!
I made this the other night! It was so good! The chicken was fantastic! Thanks!