If you’re wondering what to serve with your panzanella salad, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I list 36 of the most popular side dishes for panzanella salad.
In a rush? Here’s the short answer.
The best dishes to serve with panzanella salad are chili garlic shrimp, BBQ chicken, creamy garlic parmesan gnocchi, and zuppa toscana. You can also serve grilled peaches, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, and lamb and halloumi skewers. For a meat free option, try stuffed portobello mushrooms.
Ready? Let’s jump right in.
Chili garlic shrimp
Give your panzanella salad a protein boost with a serving of chili garlic shrimp.
It’s a tasty addition that can be ready in 15 minutes.
This recipe calls for fresh chilis, but dried chili will work too. Just remember that dried chili has more heat than fresh chili, so add slightly less.
Why we love this recipe: it’s quick, easy, and healthy.
Featured recipe
Chili garlic shrimp
Make it different
Margarita grilled shrimp
Make it fun
Stuffed shrimp
Grilled peaches
Switch up your panzanella salad by adding some grilled peaches.
You only need three ingredients and 10 minutes of time to get these cooked, and they’ll add the perfect fruity sweetness to your summer panzanella.
The best part? You can save some for dessert too.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Featured recipe
Grilled peaches
Make it savory
Grilled bacon-wrapped peaches
Make it different
Prosciutto-wrapped melon balls
BBQ chicken
Chicken breasts can be bland and boring, but not with this BBQ chicken recipe.
All you need to do is use your favorite barbecue sauce to baste the chicken as it cooks.
This method ensures the chicken infuses with lots of flavor and stays moist and juicy.
You can serve the chicken on the side, or try shredding it and mixing it in with your panzanella salad for a delicious one-bowl meal.
Why we love this recipe: it has a 4.71 rating from 228 votes.
Featured recipe
BBQ chicken
Preheat the oven
Baked lemon pepper chicken
Make it crispy
Chicken schnitzel
Jumbo lump crab cakes
Make your panzanella salad more exciting by serving a couple of these jumbo lump crab cakes on top.
This dish is chock-full of succulent crab meat, leaving little room for boring fillers.
And the jumbo in the name refers to the big lumps of crab you’ll find (not the size of the crab cakes!).
Why we love this recipe: they’re great for making ahead of time.
Featured recipe
Jump lump crab cakes
Make it different
Shrimp croquettes
Make it bite-sized
Mini salmon cakes
Brown sugar grilled salmon
Panzanella salad is the perfect side dish to anything grilled, including these salmon filets.
And what sets this recipe apart from other grilled salmon recipes is that the filets are seasoned with a herby brown sugar rub instead of being marinaded.
The seasoning caramelizes as you grill the filets, giving you charred edges and a delicious sweet and savory combo.
Why we love this recipe: even fish skeptics will be coming back for seconds!
Featured recipe
Brown sugar grilled salmon
Make it crispy
Parsley parmesan-crusted salmon
Ditch the salmon
Lemon pepper grilled cod
Creamy garlic parmesan gnocchi
Want more carbs with your panzanella? Try this tasty gnocchi dish.
You can go the extra mile with homemade gnocchi, but frozen ones are the way to go if you’re in a rush.
After all, you won’t notice the difference once the dumplings are smothered in the rich and garlicky parmesan sauce.
Why we love this recipe: it’s ideal for busy weeknights.
Featured recipe
Creamy garlic parmesan gnocchi
Make it spicy
Gnocchi with chorizo sausage sauce
Make it herby
Pesto gnocchi
Lamb and halloumi skewers
Add some tasty Greek flair to your panzanella salad with these lamb and halloumi skewers.
The meat and cheese is soaked in a simple lemon and rosemary marinade before being grilled.
This method infuses them with a bright, zesty flavor that’ll remind you of summer, no matter the season.
Psst… you can also add any veggies you want to the skewers.
Why we love this recipe: who doesn’t love halloumi?
Featured recipe
Lamb and halloumi skewers
Skip the cheese
Grilled rosemary lamb skewers
Make it meatless
Zucchini and halloumi skewers
Roasted chickpeas
Swap out some of the usual crusty bread chunks in your panzanella salad with these roasted chickpeas instead.
You can play around with the seasoning mix until it matches your taste preferences, but this recipe goes for an earthy mix of cumin and smoked paprika.
Why we love this recipe: you can snack on them for days afterwards.
Featured recipe
Roasted chickpeas
Make it spicy
Wasabi peas
Go green
Roasted edamame
Bacon-wrapped grilled filet mignon
Filet mignon is one of those expensive cuts of steak that doesn’t need many frills – it’s lean but super tender and buttery with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
And why not shake things up by wrapping it with bacon?
You can cook these jazzed-up steaks over the stovetop, but my favorite way to cook them is on the grill for that added smokiness.
Why we love this recipe: it’s restaurant-quality.
Featured recipe
Bacon-wrapped grilled filet mignon
Make it budget-friendly
Marinated flank steak
Make it vegan
Cauliflower steak
Greek-style turkey burgers
This recipe has found the secret ingredient to eliminate dry turkey burgers forever!
What’s the secret?
Adding finely chopped spinach to the meat mix… the spinach adds lots of moisture, and don’t worry, you can barely taste it.
The burgers are also studded with roasted red peppers and feta cheese… yum.
Why we love this recipe: each burger only has 136 calories.
Featured recipe
Greek-style burgers
Make a Mediterranean classic
Lamb koftas
Make it meat-free
Black bean burgers
Zuppa toscana
Like panzanella salad, zuppa toscana originated from Tuscany.
It’s cream-based soup loaded with tender potatoes, spicy sausage, bacon bits, and kale leaves.
I normally serve it during fall or winter because it’s so hearty, so why not pair it with a winter version of panzanella salad?
Psst… this is a great slow cooker soup.
Why we love this recipe: it will taste even better the next day.
Featured recipe
Zuppa toscana
Make it plant-based
Vegan zuppa toscana
Another Tuscan classic
Tuscan white bean soup
Stuffed portobello mushrooms
Ease your way into meatless Mondays with a massive mushroom.
Portobello mushrooms are filled with umami flavor and they have a chewy texture pretty similar to meat.
Pro tip: make sure you dry the mushrooms properly before cooking them, otherwise they’ll release a lot of moisture in the cooking process.
Why we love this recipe: it only takes 15 minutes to make.
Featured recipe
Caprese stuffed portobello mushrooms
Swap the stuffing
Spinach dip stuffed mushrooms
Make it fun
Zucchini boats
The best side dishes to serve with panzanella salad
- Chili garlic shrimp
- Grilled peaches
- BBQ chicken
- Jumbo lump crab cakes
- Brown sugar grilled salmon
- Creamy garlic parmesan gnocchi
- Lamb and halloumi skewers
- Roasted chickpeas
- Bacon-wrapped grilled filet mignon
- Greek-style turkey burgers
- Zuppa toscana
- Stuffed portobello mushrooms
What To Serve With Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 1 portion panzanella salad
Instructions
- Prepare your panzanella salad according to your favorite recipe.
- In the meantime, choose one of the following sides to serve alongside it.
- Side dishes include: chili garlic shrimp, grilled peaches, bbq chicken, jumbo lump crab cakes, brown sugar grilled salmon, creamy garlic parmesan gnocchi, lamb and halloumi skewers, roasted chickpeas, bacon-wrapped grilled filet mignon, greek-style turkey burgers, zuppa toscana, and stuffed portobello mushrooms.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
