This vegan Greek panzanella salad is bursting with Mediterranean flavors like olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese. It’s super easy to make, gluten-free, and sure to be a hit at your dinner table!
This recipe for a vegan Greek panzanella salad is one of my all-time favorites. The flavors of this dish work together so well. Briny olives and vegan feta cheese pair perfectly with the freshness of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion. The dijon and balsamic vinegar dressing is to die for, and chunks of crusty bread make the dish filling and complex.
But this salad doesn’t just taste good. It’s filled with lots of fresh vegetables, it’s vegan and gluten-free, and it takes less than half an hour to make. If you’re anything like me, you’ll make this all the time.
Notes on Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients that you need to make vegan, gluten-free Greek panzanella salad, with a citrusy vinaigrette. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the exact amounts of each ingredient.
- Gluten-free crusty bread – Try to use fresh bread if possible.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cherry tomatoes – If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, you can use other small tomatoes.
- Red onion
- Cucumber – English cucumber is best for this recipe, but other types will work if they’re all you have.
- Olives – Kalamata olives are the traditional choice for Greek salad.
- Vegan feta cheese
For the Vinaigrette:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon juice – For best results, use fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
- Dijon mustard – Dijon will help the salad dressing emulsify.
- Salt
- Black pepper – You should use freshly-ground black pepper.
How to Make Greek Panzanella Salad
Here’s how to make this super simple, fresh salad. It only takes about 25 minutes!
- Make the vinaigrette. Put all of the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Heat the oven. Turn the oven on to 450F.
- Prep the bread. Place the cubed gluten-free bread on a baking sheet that has a silicone mat, parchment paper, or aluminum foil on it.
- Add oil. Drizzle the extra virgin olive on the bread, and toss until the pieces of bread are coated.
- Toast. Put the bread in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside until cool.
- Mix the salad. Put the bread in a salad bowl or mixing bowl and add the tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and olives. Stir until everything is combined. Add the vegan feta cheese, then lightly stir to combine.
- Add the vinaigrette. Pour the vinaigrette on top of the salad and toss to combine.
- Rest. You can eat the salad now, but for best results put a lid on the bowl, and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour so the flavors can meld together.
Tips for the Best Vegan Panzanella
Here are a few tricks for making this vegan, gluten-free dish.
- Let the bread cool fully. Make sure the bread is fully cooled before adding it to the salad. If the bread is warm, it could start to cook the onions, tomatoes, and cucumber. It will also absorb the salad dressing if it’s warm, and then it will become soft instead of staying crunchy.
- Make sure the vinaigrette is emulsified. The mustard in the balsamic and lemon vinaigrette will make the salad dressing emulsify fairly easily. However, it can sometimes separate if it sits for a while. Before adding the vinaigrette to the salad, whisk it up a final time to make sure it’s emulsified.
- Use nice-quality bread. The star of this gluten-free and vegan Greek panzanella salad is the toasted bread. It might seem like you don’t need to use good bread, since it gets toasted and mixed with a bunch of other ingredients. But in reality, there’s a huge difference between making this recipe with low-quality bread and high-quality bread. Try to get a nice loaf of bread to use when making this salad.
- Make your own vegan feta. If you want to make this recipe extra homemade, then try out my recipe for homemade vegan feta cheese !
Serving Suggestions
This salad is good enough and substantive enough that you can eat it by itself as a meal. But I like to serve it alongside a bigger entree. Here are a few of my favorite recipes to serve with vegan Greek panzanella salad.
- Vegan beet falafel with harissa tahini dressing
- Mediterranean quinoa salad bowl
- Vegan tempeh gyros
- Crispy quinoa patties with creamy tahini sauce
- Hearty vegan stuffed peppers
How to Store This Recipe
You can store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days. However, the longer you store the Greek panzanella salad, the more the bread will absorb the dressing and become soggy. So it’s best to eat it on the first day if possible.
Can I Freeze Greek Panzanella Salad?
I do not recommend trying to freeze this salad, as the veggies and bread will take on a funny texture when you thaw them. If you want to try, though, store it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
More Salads to Make
Here are a few more delicious salad recipes for you to make.
- Cashew Thai quinoa salad with peanut ginger sauce
- Strawberry panzanella salad with balsamic glaze
- Mediterranean chickpea salad
- 15-minute quinoa salad with sesame ginger dressing
- Easy vegan caesar salad
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups gluten-free crusty bread , chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 large red onion , sliced
- 1 cup cubed English cucumber
- 1/4 cup pitted halved olives
- 1/4 cup vegan feta cheese , crumbled
For the Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the vinaigrette together.
- Preheat oven to 450°F degrees.
- Add the bread cubes to a silicone mat on a baking sheet or a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or foil.
- Drizzle the bread with the extra virgin olive oil and toss to ensure all the cubes are covered with oil.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the toasted bread, the cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber cubes and olive halves. Toss until combined. Add the feta cheese and toss lightly to combine.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss again to combine.
- Cover the salad and let sit for 30 minutes to up to an hour so that all the ingredients are completely soaked in and the flavours combined. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Greek Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups gluten-free crusty bread chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 large red onion sliced
- 1 cup cubed English cucumber
- 1/4 cup pitted halved olives
- 1/4 cup vegan feta cheese crumbled
For the Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the vinaigrette together.
- Preheat oven to 450°F degrees.
- Add the bread cubes to a silicone mat on a baking sheet or a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or foil.
- Drizzle the bread with the extra virgin olive oil and toss to ensure all the cubes are covered with oil.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the toasted bread, the cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber cubes and olive halves. Toss until combined. Add the feta cheese and toss lightly to combine.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss again to combine.
- Cover the salad and let sit for 30 minutes to up to an hour so that all the ingredients are completely soaked in and the flavours combined. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Greek Panzanella Salad https://jessicainthekitchen.com/easy-greek-panzanella-salad-recipe/ April 2, 2023
Watermelon tuna is an easy fish substitute that tastes like the real deal! Marinate cubed watermelon in a blend of seasonings to mimic the flavor of ahi tuna steak, then add it to poke bowls , sushi, and more.
It may sound strange, but with a few simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, you can transform watermelon into ahi tuna.
Okay, not literally . But you’ll be surprised how close this watermelon tuna comes to the taste of real tuna. Just like my vegan fish sticks and vegan fish tacos , it’s all about the seasonings you add—watermelon naturally looks like raw tuna, but to get it to taste like it too, we add nori for that fishy flavour. The rest of the marinade ingredients have the same flavours of the marinade used to prepare tuna for poke, which makes for a convincing plant-based tuna to use in meal bowls and sushi rolls.
Friends, you are going to flip for this recipe. Although it takes some time for the marinade to soak in and do its work, everything else about this watermelon tuna is a cinch. Just dice the watermelon, whisk the marinade, and your job is done! With the summer months approaching, this vegan tuna watermelon is perfect for hot days when you just don’t want to turn on the oven.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Watermelon – This vegan tuna recipe is one of the rare occasions when you actually want a watermelon that’s a little bit under-ripe. The sweeter the melon, the less convincing your watermelon tuna will be as an ahi tuna substitute.
- Rice wine vinegar – Be sure to use the unseasoned variety, as it doesn’t have added sugar.
- Soy sauce – Use low-sodium soy sauce or tamari.
- Sesame oil
- Green onion
- Dried nori sheet – This is key to that seafood flavour. Don’t skip it!
- White sesame seeds
- Black sesame seeds
Is Toasted or Untoasted Nori Better?
You’ll be crumbling the nori sheet, so purchase toasted nori; it’s more brittle and thus easier to crumble. Untoasted nori will work too, but you may want to use a knife or kitchen shears to prepare it instead of trying to crumble it.
How to Make Watermelon Tuna
While this is quick to prepare, as I mentioned above, you will need to account for the time needed for the watermelon tuna to marinate, so it’s not the kind of thing you can make on a whim and enjoy for dinner a few minutes later. On the flip side, this vegan tuna is an amazing option for meal prep lunches and dinners!
- Make the marinade. Stir the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, crushed nori sheet, and sesame seeds in a large bowl or airtight container.
- Add the watermelon. Place the watermelon in the bowl with the sauce and stir until everything is combined and the watermelon is evenly coated.
- Marinate. Cover the bowl and let the watermelon marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, but ideally 48 hours.
- Serve. Let the watermelon sit at room temperature for a few minutes and serve.
Tips for Success
This vegan watermelon tuna is a cinch to make, but these simple tips will help you make sure it turns out absolutely perfect .
- Buy a seedless watermelon. You don’t want crunchy black seeds in your vegan tuna! If you do use a regular watermelon, remove as many of the seeds as possible before marinating it.
- Submerge the watermelon in the marinade. If possible, completely submerge the watermelon; if not, you’ll at least want to ensure that the melon cubes are in an even layer so each piece is in the liquid and then flip the melon halfway through the chilling time.
- Be patient. You’ll really get the best results if you let the vegan watermelon tuna marinate for the full 48 hours.
How to Use Watermelon Tuna
I developed this watermelon tuna recipe to use in poke bowls, so the marinade gives it a similar flavor to tuna poke. But you don’t have to limit yourself to using it in poke! You can make a meal bowl with sushi rice, watermelon tuna, and cucumber slices, or make it into sushi rolls or vegan sashimi.
How to Store Leftovers
Any leftover watermelon tuna should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days total (including the initial marinating time).
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
I don’t recommend freezing watermelon tuna, as the texture is likely to suffer with freezing and thawing.
More Watermelon Recipes
- Watermelon Mojitos
- 3-Ingredient Easy Watermelon Granita
- Watermelon Mint Popsicles (Three Ingredients)
- Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Reduction
Ingredients
- 2 cups 1 inch cubed watermelon
- 2 ¼ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 3 ½ tablespoons soy sauce , low sodium
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 stalks green onion , diced
- 1 sheet dried nori sheet , crushed
- ¼ teaspoon white sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon black sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, crushed nori sheet and the sesame seeds. Stir to combine. Add the cubed watermelon in and stir everything together to combine. Ensure that all the watermelon is marinated in/under the liquid.
- Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours, preferably up to 48 hours for the best texture.
- Remove from the fridge, and enjoy as desired! You can let it sit out a bit to come back closer to room temperature and serve in a poke bowl.
