Tuna Panzanella Salad made with seared tuna steaks, juicy and sweet cherry tomatoes, salty olives and crunchy cucumber. It's tossed with a simple and easy dressing and homemade croutons. This salad can be prepped ahead making it perfect for lunch on the go or a light dinner.
This is totally an amped-up, non-traditional version (more about that below) but it doesn't go overboard with fancy ingredients and it still takes less than 15 minutes to make from start to finish.
I absolutely love a traditional Panzanella salad with canned tuna but this time I decided to swap it for fresh tuna steaks and wow, flavour is insane. Best of all this salad is super healthy and fresh so you can whip it up and serve it any time of the day.
Traditional Panzanella Salad Vs Tuna Panzanella
So there a good few differences between this salad and a traditional version here's what you need to know:
- Traditional Panzanella: a traditional Panzanella doesn't contain any tuna although it's a popular addition throughout Italy. The bread is also traditionally soaked in water (stale bread) to rehydrate and then is crumbled into the rest of the ingredients.Â
- Our Tuna Panzanella: The seared tuna steaks and ciabatta bread croutons are the main differences here. The croutons are fun and give a delicious, crunchy texture to the salad whereas the tuna steaks give it an amped up modern feel making it a great dinner option that's both filling and healthy.
How to Make Tuna Panzanella Salad - Step By Step
Place the ciabatta bread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, freshly grated parmesan and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes until crisp (photos 1 & 2).
Drizzle the tuna steak in olive oil just to lightly coat and sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Place on a hot griddle pan for 2 minutes each side, it should still be pink in the middle. Remove and cut into slices (photos 3 & 4).
Place the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, olives, basil and parsley in a large bowl then add the croutons and slices of tuna (photos 7 - 9).
Whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl then pour over the salad ingredients, toss the salad to combine. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes then serve (photo 10).
Other ingredients that would work really well
I like to stick to simple ingredients when it comes to panzanella but you can easily adapt it with whatever ingredients you like. Sun-dried tomatoes would work really well as would zucchini, asparagus, carrots, eggs and you could swap the tuna for cured meats such as prosciutto or just simply keep it veggie.
Top tips For making this salad
- Make sure to use the freshest tuna possible and from a sustainable source
- If you can't get ahold of tuna steaks you can use canned tuna
- I like to let the salad sit for a few minutes so the dressing soaks into the croutons and all the flavours get a chance to develop
- Make sure to cut the onion as thin as possible so you don't get a pungent onion taste
- You can store this salad in the fridge for up to 2 days
More Easy Salads You Might Like
- Authentic Tuscan Panzanella Salad
- Tuna White Bean Salad with Basil and Lemon
- Warm White Bean Salad – Tomato, Prosciutto & Baby Mozzarella
- Loaded Lentil Salad With Eggplant And Burrata
- Classic Caprese Salad – Easy, Fresh & Delicious
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📖 Full Recipe
Tuna Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Tuna steaks 300g
- 2 ½ cups Tomatoes cut in half (300g)
- ½ Red onion finely sliced
- 1 cup Cucumber finely sliced (150g)
- 1 cup Olives mixed (150g)
- 7 oz Ciabatta bread cut into cubes (200g)
- 1 tablespoon parmesan freshly grated
- 1 tbso fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoon Olive oil extra virgin
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F/200C. Place the cubed ciabatta bread on a baking sheet and spinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes until crisp.
- Drizzle the tuna steak in around 1 teaspoon of olive oil just to lightly coat and spinkle with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Place on a hot griddle pan for 2 minutes each side, it should still be pink in the middle. Remove and cut into slices.
- Place the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, olives, basil and parsley in a large bowl then add the croutons and slices of tuna.
- Whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl then pour over the salad ingredients, toss the salad to combine. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes then serve.
Notes
- Make sure to use the freshest tuna possible and from a sustainable source
- If you can't get ahold of tuna steaks you can use canned tuna
- I like to let the salad sit for a few minutes so the dressing soaks into the croutons and all the flavours get a chance to develop
- Make sure to cut the onion as thin as possible so you don't get a pungent onion taste
- You can store this salad in the fridge for up to 2 days
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Cheryl
Love this salad so much, especially with fresh tuna. Simple and delicious!
Lorraine
I thought this might be soggy but it was so delicious, brilliant!