Summer Watermelon Panzanella is a light, refreshing warm weather dinner or side dish. Made with juicy watermelon and grilled sourdough bread!

Traditionally, a panzanella salad is a Tuscan bread and tomato salad made with stale bread that softens from the juice of the tomatoes. This Summer Watermelon Panzanella is a twist on that classic made with grilled sourdough bread, fresh juicy watermelon and a honey lime vinaigrette. The salad is also loaded with grilled corn, salted pistachios, red onion, feta cheese and fresh mint! 

How to Make Summer Watermelon Panzanella

The bread is the heart of the panzanella. I went with my favorite, sourdough! Often the bread for a panzanella is either baked or pan fried before it’s added to the salad. In the case of this summer salad we make use of the grill to toast the bread and give it some extra flavor!  

Start by slicing the bread into cubes and tossing it in olive oil and salt. Place the bread on the grill and toast all sides. 

While the bread is grilling you should also grill the ear of corn for the salad. 

Once the bread and corn are grilled and cooled, add them to a large salad bowl. 

Next, add in the watermelon, it should be fresh and sliced into cubes. 

Add the red onion, pistachios, feta cheese and fresh mint and give the salad a good toss.

How to Make Honey Lime Vinaigrette 

For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, fresh lime juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and pepper. That’s it! 

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat everything evenly. 

The salad is best if it marinates in the dressing for at least 20 minutes, but not more than an hour. If you let it marinate for too long the bread and watermelon will get mushy. 

How to Serve Summer Watermelon Panzanella

This Summer Watermelon Panzanella makes a great side dish for a backyard bbq or fancy summer dinner party. It can also stand alone as a summer dinner idea. It would be easy to make it a complete meal by adding in some grilled chicken!

Summer Watermelon Panzanella

---

• Author: Sprinkles and Sea Salt

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Summer Watermelon Panzanella Salad is a light, refreshing warm weather dinner or side dish. Made with juicy watermelon and grilled sourdough bread!

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Honey Lime Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp sea salt

dash of black pepper

Salad

1, day-old sourdough baguette

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt

1 ear of corn

4 cups watermelon, cubed

2 tbsp red onions, sliced thin

1/2 cup salted pistachios

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

---

Instructions

Honey Lime Vinaigrette

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lime juice, honey and apple cider vinegar

Season with sea salt and pepper, whisk

Set aside

Salad

Slice the baguette into 1-inch cubes

In a large bowl toss the bread with 2 tbsp olive oil and generous dash of sea salt

Heat the grill to 300°F

Carefully place the bread and and corn on the grill, close grill and let temperature rise to about 350° F

Flip the bread and rotate the corn, close the grill and let temperature rise back to 350°F again

Remove grilled bread

Allow the grill to heat back up and grill the corn until desired doneness, remove and set aside to cool

Once cool, add the bread to a large salad bowl

Slice the corn off the cob and add it to the bowl

Add the watermelon, red onions, pistachios, feta and mint, toss

Pour the Honey Lime Vinaigrette over the salad, toss

Let salad rest at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour before serving

• Category: salad

Keywords: #summersalads, #watermelonpanzanella, #summerpanzanella

pin it for later: 

If you make this Summer Watermelon Panzanella let me know how you like it!  Leave a star rating and comment here! If you snap a photo, I’d love to see it – share it over on Instagram and tag me @sprinklesandseasalt!