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Muffuletta panzanella, meaning simply ‘bread salad,’ is a simplified and lightened up version of the legendary sandwich. But the flavor is unmistakably ‘muffuletta’. Make this salad your own, swapping in your favorite combination of cheeses and cured meats.

Muffuletta-Panzanella-bread-salad-photo from-above
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We were in New Orleans ducking into a sandwich shop, out of the daily downpour. But it wasn’t just shelter we were after, it was also a muffuletta sandwich.

Of the famous dishes we tried in The Big Easy, the muffuletta sandwich stood out – piled high with salami, mortadella, spicy sopressata, provolone, mozzarella and spicy briny olive salad. Also worthy of their accolades: beignets from Café Du Monde, seafood jambalaya and coffee with chicory.

Muffuletta Panzanella Bread Salad served on white plates

Muffuletta sandwiches are picnic perfect because they are best made ahead of time, giving the flavors time to meld and soak into the bread. When you make this salad, you’ll toss the bread with dressing a few minutes ahead of time for the same reason. Be sure that the ciabatta or focaccia you use is fresh and soft, primed to soak up delicious juices from the dressing.

And if you love Southern food like I do, don’t miss the BEST crab cake recipe with Remoulade Sauce, or this Slow Cooker Jambalaya, my favorite Skillet Cornbread (make Cornbread Pudding with any leftovers), Shrimp Creole, Homemade Biscuits, Brabant Potatoes and, of course, Fried Green Tomatoes!

Muffuletta Panzanella (bread salad)

5 from 1 vote
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Course: Main Course, Salad
Calories: 753
Servings: 4 people
All of the flavors of the classic sandwich, but lightened up as a bread salad! This recipe serves two as a main dish or four as a side. Scale the recipe to as many hungry mouths as you’d like to feed!

Ingredients  

  • 8 ounces ciabatta or focaccia bread cut into bite sized pieces

For the dressing:

  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot minced
  • 2 tablespoons capers drained and minced
  • 12 pitted kalamata olives chopped
  • 12 pitted castelvetrano olives chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced spicy peppers packed in oil such as Mama Lil’s
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano plus more for garnish

For the salad

  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • 16 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 5 ounces mixed baby greens
  • 4 ounces sopressata sliced into 1/4-inch strips
  • 2 ounce prosciutto sliced into 1/4-inch strips

Instructions 

  • Place the bread in a bowl large enough to hold all salad ingredients with room to spare.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk vinegar and mustard until combined; slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Stir in minced shallot, capers, olives, peppers and oregano. Spoon all but 2 tablespoons of mixture over bread and toss to coat evenly. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes. Toss once more.
  • Add remaining ingredients and last of dressing to bread and gently toss to coat. Divide between four serving plates. Garnish with fresh Oregano leaves if you like.

Nutrition

Calories: 753kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1744mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1290IU | Vitamin C: 24.5mg | Calcium: 342mg | Iron: 2.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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19 Comments

  1. Sabrina says:

    Love love love this Panzanella! Sopressata and proscuitto- yum!

  2. Helen @ Scrummy Lane says:

    What a beautiful sounding salad. I love that there are just a few ingredients, but you have such a richly complex dressing! I always forget about panzanella. So delicious!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you, Helen! You nailed it…it’s all about the dressing in this. I was thinking it would be a good base for bruschetta too – bruschetta muffuletta kind of has a nice ring to it. 🙂

  3. Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says:

    Oh man, this is so genius! What a GREAT idea! I love everything in a typical muffuletta sandwich, and this bread salad version is freakin amazing! What a talented, fabulous friend I have! 😉 <3

    1. Marissa says:

      You’re so sweet to me, Beeta. <3 This salad isn't exactly light fare - it's still pretty rich, but far less so than the traditional sandwich yet it really really really tastes like a genuine muffuletta.

  4. Mila furman says:

    SO genius!
    I love New Orleans…so much that I did an entire post dedicated to it… The funny thing is I didn’t get to eat the mufelletta either time I was there 🙁 The first time I was preggo so no deli for me and the second time we just never made it to Central Grocery 🙁 So no mufeletta for me….but this salad Marissa…it’s everything!!!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you, Mila! Central Grocery! That’s exactly the spot we ducked into on that rainy day…

  5. Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says:

    I have yet to experience New Orleans, but it’s been on my bucket list for years and now even more so. Food is such a great way to relive our travel, isn’t it? These salads look killer – so completely packed with flavor!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you, Faith. 🙂 We’ve only been there once and it was 5 days before Hurricane Katrina hit – so crazy. It really is an amazing place and we definitely want to go back.

  6. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says:

    5 stars
    I must be going crazy because I swear I commented on this! Maybe I just saw it on your social media and drooled so hard it made me forget to actually come here and comment? 😉 I’m glad you guys had a good time in New Orleans and got your eat on! SO much good food in that city! Hard to beat a traditional muffuletta sammie, but you have most definitely done just that with this panzanella!! This is so clever and it looks beyond delicious, Marissa! Totally need this in my life! Pinned! Cheers, friend! <3

    1. Marissa says:

      haha, you always make me smile, Cheyanne. 🙂

  7. Kevin | Keviniscooking says:

    I was this close to New Orleans when I went to Avery Island and didn’t make it! Dave has been there… one day! I would love to have beignets from Café Du Monde and coffee with chicory. I did get to try Po’ Boys and seafood jambalaya though!
    As for this post, I love the name, but the salad has me hungry! Cheers!

    1. Marissa says:

      Oh yes! How could I forget the Po’ Boys!? What’s funny about the beignets is that I REALLY loved them and, as a rule, I don’t really like donuts. #weirdo But there’s something about them…

  8. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says:

    This deconstructed muffuletta sandwich is genius! I LOVE it! And so perfect for summer when I’m generally craving something on the lighter side. I was only in New Orleans once, for Mardi Gras during my freshman year of college. Yeah… let’s just leave it at that 😉 I would love to go back and actually do some real exploring – and of course visit the home of the muffuletta!

    1. Marissa says:

      Stories to tell next time I get to see you! 🙂 We did some exploring, but I’d love to do more. It was August and New Orleans, so…holy hot and humid! So we mostly ate…next time I want to spend more time walking around and seeing all of the cool old neighborhoods.

  9. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:

    Thank you for bringing back memories of our trip to NOLA. What an extraordinary time that was and this is a good way to remember the flavours of that extraordinary city!

    1. Marissa says:

      I would love to tag along with you in New Orleans, Lorraine! You are so good at scouting out the best places in your travels.

  10. Dorothy Dunton says:

    Hi Marissa! I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I have made a muffuletta sandwich at home! I love cajun/creole cooking! Jambalaya, barbecued shrimp, crawfish, red beans and rice…. In Nashville there is a hole in the wall restaurant, Bro’s Cajun and we went there with Gary’s brother last year. True, authentic cajun low country cooking and plenty of it! Napkins are rolls of paper towels on the table. I think that it is a must go to next year!!

    1. Marissa says:

      That sounds like so much fun, Dorothy! I agree – LOVE cajun/creole cooking. In fact, I have a wonderful jambalaya slow cooker recipe that we’ve made about 25 times and it’s never made it to the blog! Soon… 🙂