Easy Grilled Chicken Panzanella Salad

Herb-smothered grilled chicken, fresh vegetables, and crunchy croutons all come together in an epic Grilled Chicken Panzanella Salad. It's a feel-good recipe perfect for picnics, BBQs, and summer dinners.

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• Key Ingredients
• Substitutions And Variations
• Chicken Seasoning
• How To Make Grilled Chicken Panzanella:
• Success Tips
• Making Ahead And Storage Instructions
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe

Why This Recipe Works

I love a good panzanella salad. Originally, it is a very simple recipe that combines stale bread, onions, and tomatoes, all dressed in olive oil and vinegar. Let's make it into an entrée by adding grilled chicken and a few other aromatic ingredients.

• Quick and easy: The salad is a breeze to make. Chop the ingredients, grill some chicken, and you'll have a hearty and filling salad for dinner in no time.
• Loaded with Flavor: We marinate chicken breast in a few bright spices that will make it juicy and aromatic. It's a great addition to any salad, not just Panzanella.
• Veggie-forward: Traditional Panzanella salad only has tomatoes and onions for vegetables; I like to serve mine as a complete meal, so I added lettuce, olives, basil, and feta cheese as well.
• Weeknight-Approved: This salad is great for weeknights. In fact, you can marinate the chicken the night before. When you're ready to eat, quickly grill the chicken, chop the veggies, and you're done. Your family will love it.

Key Ingredients

• Chicken Breast - No more dry chicken. Thanks to a blend of spices that I used in a marinade, chicken comes out juicy and perfectly done. If you're not a fan of chicken breast, feel free to use chicken thighs. They have more fat in them and will be juicy as well.
• Bread - I recommend using slightly stale bread like ciabatta, sourdough, or even a French baguette. These types of bread are an excellent choice for soaking up the juices from the chicken and veggies.
• Tomatoes - Fresh, in-season tomatoes are best, because they're the most juicy and aromatic. I recommend grape or cherry tomatoes because they release just enough juice to moisten the rest of the ingredients without turning into mush.
• Cucumbers - For crunch.
• Lettuce - For color and more crunch.
• Cheese - I used Feta cheese in brine; it has a firm texture that won't crumble too much when mixing the salad.
• Olives - I always use Kalamata olives. They're savory, juicy, not too salty, and perfect for salads.

Substitutions And Variations

Here are some of my favorite substitutions and variations:

• Chicken alternative: You can also use steak or even tofu for a lighter version without sacrificing the flavor.
• Cheese choices: Mozzarella ovolini is milder than Feta and a less salty cheese you can use. Another alternative is other Italian favorites like cubed Provolone, Fontina, or Grana Padano. They're semi-hard and hard cheese varieties that have a moderate flavor profile and won't overpower the chicken.
• Vegetables: You can even do a "clean out the fridge" salad and use whichever veggies you have available. Some great choices are colorful bell peppers, zucchini (that I recommend sautéing first), green onions, and even asparagus.
• Fruit Add-ons: Summer salads love fruits. So I won't blame you if you add peaches or apricots. You can also grill them for an added smoky flavor.

Chicken Seasoning

My secret to juicy and delicious chicken is to properly season it.

I rely on a simple combination of garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, chili powder, olive oil, salt, and pepper to produce flavorful chicken you won't get enough of.

How To Make Grilled Chicken Panzanella:

Step 1: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates.

Step 2: In a small bowl, combine spices for grilled chicken. Brush chicken with olive oil and generously rub it with the seasoning mix.

Step 3: Place the chicken on the grill and cook untouched for 4–5 minutes until you have visible grill marks on the bottom.

Step 4: Flip the chicken and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes or until the instant meat thermometer reads 165 F. Remove the chicken from the grill, let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes, and then slice it into ½ inch pieces.

Step 5: Toast the bread in an oiled skillet until slightly browned on sides, about 4–5 minutes.

Step 6: Combine chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, lettuce, basil, Feta cheese, and croutons in a large bowl. Add grilled chicken.

Step 7: In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for your vinaigrette. Drizzle it over the grilled chicken panzanella. Enjoy.

Success Tips

1. If your chicken breasts are thick, they will likely require longer cooking time. I always recommend using an instant meat thermometer to ensure properly cooked meat.
2. In addition, if the chicken is browning too quickly before the inside is cooked, move it to the indirect heat zone, just closer to the edges of the grill, to finish cooking.
3. In this recipe, I cook chicken immediately, which makes it a good choice for a quick dinner. However, if you have an extra 30 minutes, you can season the chicken with spices and olive oil and let it marinate in the fridge. This will maximize flavor and tenderness.

Making Ahead And Storage Instructions

This salad is easy to make ahead and then assemble right before serving.

To keep everything fresh and crunchy, I recommend preparing and storing the components of the salad separately rather than storing the finished salad, which will likely make the bread soggy.

Chicken can be grilled 3–4 days in advance and then refrigerated in an airtight container.

Croutons should be stored at room temperature for 4–5 days.

If you have leftovers of the salad, store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.

Serving Suggestions

• Potatoes are a versatile side dish that will complement any salad, especially this grilled chicken panzanella. Consider serving it with smashed potatoes or Greek lemon potatoes.
• If you want to enjoy this salad as part of a Greek-inspired feast, serve it with Greek Avgolemono Soup. Its lemony flavor profile makes it a delicious light soup for summer.

Recipe