Everything in this salad is fresh, except the bread! Prepare this salad by using a loaf of artisan bread or rosemary bread that is a touch stale. If your bread is too fresh, toast it until it is about half as dried and crunchy as a crouton.
This salad was divine! My fiance absolutely loved it! I found when that if you toast fresh bread pieces in warm olive oil mixed with minced garlic it adds a great flavor.
Read MoreThis is a GREAT salad. I minced the garlic and added it to the dressing. I also mixed the vingar (I used red wine) with a teaspoon of prepared mustard before combining with the oil so it would combine better. I would toast the bread in the oven next time first so it won't be so soggy. I left out the cucumbers and used all tomatoes too.
Read More This salad was divine! My fiance absolutely loved it! I found when that if you toast fresh bread pieces in warm olive oil mixed with minced garlic it adds a great flavor.
Excellent taste. Very fresh! I kept the bread and salad separate, then we spooned each into individual bowls and tossed. This way, leftovers won't be a soggy mess. We added salt and pepper.
This salad was wonderful! Very fresh tasting and flavorful. I chopped all ingredients in food processor except for tomatoes and bread. Did not measure salad ingredients (only dressing). Ended up with a lot of salad so I doubled dressing. My picky husband enjoyed this! The next day I used the salad (minus bread) as a sauce. I sauteed boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces; added salad and heated through and served over pasta. Very tasty. Will definitely make this again!
My husband and I loved this salad. The first time I made it I did not have thyme or red onion. I made it anyway and we thought that was delicious. When I had all the ingredients and tried it again it was out of this world. We both loved it. Mozzarella is a nice addition to this also. I did toast the bread and used only half of what was called for. I will make this over and over again this summer.
This is a GREAT salad. I minced the garlic and added it to the dressing. I also mixed the vingar (I used red wine) with a teaspoon of prepared mustard before combining with the oil so it would combine better. I would toast the bread in the oven next time first so it won't be so soggy. I left out the cucumbers and used all tomatoes too.
It is a must to toast the bread - left out the thyme. Oh so good.
Wonderful flavor!! I only used 8 slices of bread, 4 toasted and 4 not toasted to see which way we liked it. We much preferred the untoasted bread. Thanks for a great recipe.
Yummy! Make sure the bread is nice & stale. I had fresh bread that I had to broil to dry it slightly. The bread still seemed to soak up all the oil & vinegar too quickly.
my husband and i thought this was delicious! next time, i'll try red wine vinegar, instead of balsamic, and fresh tomatoes from the garden. yummy...
Very yummy. A great beginning to a summer evening on the back deck. Rather than rubbing the garlic, I used several (eg. lots) garlic cloves. Don't forget to cut them in half and take out the bitter core. Well worth the effort. Place these in a bowl add the olive oil and whizz (my new culinary term :) with an immersion blender. Strain this mixture and you have an awesome garlic olive oil that will keep for several days in the fridge. I also toasted after coating the crusty bread bits with some of the garlic oil. Added an awesome layer of extra flavour! Thanks Tamara for a really nice recipe!
Great way to use that loaf of store-bought french bread that didn't get used on day one! A wonderful mix of flavors--bread and salad all in one dish! Very yummy!
Very good flavor. It was a one-dish meal. Make sure you have lots of bread on hand, cos you'll want to dip it in the dressing.
This salad smells so good. i was worried about the basil being to strong, but it was sooo good. I didn't have quite 2 cups of basil so I ripped up just a little spinach. My husband got really excited about this salad. He has plans to serve it when we entertain. I also added some seasoned chicken.
This recipe is amazing! I made it with fresh cucumbers and tomatos from the garden, and it turned out so incredible! I can not believe how esay it was, and how great it tasted! I will definatly make this again for my family!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I loved this recipe. I used a sourdough jaba?? Dont know what a jaba is but it was a longish football loaf. I semi-toasted on lowest setting. I did not have red onion either and used empire sweet. I combined balsamic and red wine vinegar (is this a big no-no? ....was delicious) I was also out of cucumber and finally I did not have a wooden bowl. I used my garlic press and rubbed all over bowl. Yum Yum! I love tomato season!
I really liked this! Great way to use up the garden produce. I didn't have a red onion so I used a shallot. My bread was brand new so I toasted it. I also thought the basil amount would be overpowering so I just used what I thought looked good. Added Mozzarello Balls, yum! Thanks!
Interesting and fun to serve, but the taste is a bit sour.
Outstanding! The only change I made was I used fresh parsley instead of the thyme, since that's what I had growing in the garden. I will definitely be making this salad every summer, when the basil and tomatoes are in season!
Unique salad with great flavors. I didn't have any fresh basil and used dried and it was still very good. I can only imagine what it would taste like with fresh basil.
Beautiful looking and wonderful tasting. I'm certainly making this for guests.
A little unusual to have stale bread in a salad, but this is quite good! Going to look for it in Italy this summer :) Very yummy - we added in feta cheese and some black olives which I suppose made the salad more Greek than Italian, but the flavours really improved. If not a salad, this could also make a good bruschetta recipe.
Really delicious! Can't wait to have it again. I baked my own bread, and used it the next day in this salad.... yummy!
This salad is super easy and a hit with our family. I didn't have 2 cups of basil, but used approx. 1 cup - everything I had in the garden. Very fresh. We used ciabatta bread and toasted it in the oven like other reviewers suggested. If I added some beans and a little cheese on top, it would have been a complete meal. There wasn't any left!
A delicious hit. I added a regular lettuce mix to make it last longer and it was still delicious. I also recommend keeping the dressing and bread separate until time to eat to avoid it getting soggy (I took this to a potluck, but also had leftovers).
This is one of our favorite summer salads. The trick is to add the croutons at the last minute. Try adding a ball of fresh mozzarella. We make a meal of this and gazpacho soup as a starter. Wonderful when all the ingredients are summer-ripe.
I made this salad for a birthday party that had an italian theme going on. Although I thought it was good enough with the ingredients given in the recipe I wanted to make it a little more interesting. So, I added to the existing recipe; sauteed chopped pancetta, also, chopped up some artichoke hearts and used shaved parmesan cheese, for the dressing I made garlic & rosemary infused olive oil and balsamic reduction so the bread wouldn't get soggy as the reduction is more like a syrup. Buon divertimento!
I love this salad, it's so fresh and delicious-a nice change from the regular italian fare! I added cannelini beans, shaved parmesan, and used fresh italian flat leaf parsley instead of thyme. I also lightly toasted the bread chunks first so it wouldn't get mushy. It was SO good, my guest and I both had seconds and kept exclaiming "this is fantastic!"
Update: 8/6 (Bright light on this recipe. Used just the crusty part of the Italian bread,which I baked in the oven first. Added salad greens, julienned green pepper, shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan. Mom added sliced black olives to hers, and I did use the red onion this time around. Outstanding!) Original review: 7/21 Well, I did change this considerably. I chopped up the veggies, omitted the onion (used more tomato), added the herbs (used half the basil) along with fresh oregano, dried rosemary, S&P and marinated for about an hour. Served as a salad with a nice fresh loaf of crusty bread on the side, and it was quite nice. (was worried about soggy bread.) Thank you, Tamara.
This was quick and easy. I used 1/2 the loaf and that was plenty. I had corn and black bean salad from AR left over and I added it to this salad to use it up. I sprinkled Dried basil and drizzled Olive oil lightly over the bread and tossed the bread to coat and set aside until dinner. I added the bread right before serving with 1/2 a bag of salad and the leftover corn and black bean salad. Light and refreshing. Will add grilled chicken next time to make a complete meal. Thanks for the recipe.
I feel like I might of used too much bread, I used half of what the recipe called for but it still seemed like a lot but maybe that's just my personal taste. This was a very good salad, I found after I let it sit in the fridge overnight it had a lot more flavor the next day. I probably would use less balsamic vinegar as well.
This is a fabulous salad especially in the summer when everything is in season! I've made it over and over again.
Very good...next time I will add strips of green pepper, cubes of mozzerella cheese and a sprinkling of oregano to make it even better!!
Very tasty. I added some red wine salami as well, with some Parmesan, which made this a great dinner salad.
Yum! My husband and I both loved this. I toasted my (fresh) bread for a few minutes in the oven to crisp it up a bit. Thanks! :)
Yummy! What a nice change from a greens salad. Just right for the Pork Cacciatore dish (from this site) that I made last night with homemade tomato spaghetti. Loved it and so did all of the family!
I brought this salad to a baby shower of a friend who loves garlic and tomatoes. I got raves and guests asked for the recipe. I think this is a unique dish for most people and is sure to impress. My caveat . . . I added about 2T of capers for added texture.
I made this recipie for company but ended up not serving it. The balsamic vinegar made the cucumbers look brown, and the dressing is too oily. I will make this again but use white wine vinegar instead of the balsamic, and will cut the amount of oil in half.
this was just an ok salad, i found that the basil and the thyme were way too strong. to help fill up the salad bowl, i added some baby spinach. the bread and the dressing were great ideas.
Not bad. Bread needed toasting - should have read the comments and done that in the 1st place - slightly stale bread is not appetizing. The rest of the salad reminded me of bruschetta, so next time I'll just toast bread slices and top them with the salad blend.
This was a very fresh and wonderful recipe for a summer salad. However, I found that 1 lb of bread seemed to be too much and overpowered the ingredients. Next time I would use less bread.
ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING! I made extra hoping to have have some for lunch the next day, but my family completely devoured it! I added kalamata olives, chopped walnuts & feta cheese for a little extra umph. FANTASTIC!!!! Will make this again and again and again....
I gave this a 5, but made quite a bit of changes. I sprayed my bread cubes with olive oil and toasted them until they were golden. I didn't measure anything, just put in as much as I thought we would like. For the dressing I used olive oil, balsamic vinegar, 3 cloves of garlic (was a bit too strong), and dried rosemary (did not have any thyme). I put all this in my electric chopper and it made a great emulsified dressing. I also only used about two bunches of basil chopped and subbed spinach for the rest. We had it with pasta and loved it!! I served the bread cubes on top of the salad so they would not get soggy. Easy recipe and so easy to modify to your taste. Will be a staple now that the weather is heating up. Thanks!
I did not like this salad. The bread got soggy and there was not a lot of flavor. Thanks for sharing, but I will not make again.
Yum, this was really good! I followed the recipe exactly with a couple of minor exceptions. I cut the recipe in half, I added a squeeze of honey to my dressing to cut through the vinegary taste, I added S&P to the dressing and I omitted the thyme because I don't really like it. I did toast the bread cubes lightly and the end result was really delicious, satisfying salad!
This is a great salad even for those of us who don't like tomatoes or onions. I doubled the tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, vinegar, garlic (even though its raw), added some lemon zest (Just got a micro-plain!), and a little lemon juice but didn't use all the onion called for. Also added some mozzarella. Even without these changes a very good salad, but gave it a 4 because to make it better I changed so much. I also toasted the bread cubes in the oven for 10 min or so at 400, corners just turned slightly golden. I let the basil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil sit for a while to meld then poured over bread after about 1ish hour. (To make it easier I put the basil, onion, garlic, and oil into a food processor)
Such a colorful salad. Everyone commented on its summery appearance. We did add baby spinach and toasted the bread prior to adding the dressing, and it was wonderful.
This is my new favorite salad! I used a roasted garlic bread instead of the fresh garlic the first time.. and it was amazing! The second time I made it, I used a rosemary bread and fresh garlic.. and it was good too! I like this recipe, becuase you can play with the ingredients a little bit. Some fresh pepper on top was nice too!
Our new favorite summer salad! I have made this at least once a week. Love all the fresh ingredients.
Excellent flavors!!!I didn't have balsamic vinegar, so I used Paul Newmans Balsamic Italian dressing. It was delish with fresh veggies from my garden. I did serve the bread on the side, toasted, as others stated. People ate it that way, if they wanted to toss all together they could.
I thought the basil flavor was way too strong. If I made it again, I would use at least half spinach instead of all the basil.
I really liked this. I doubled the recipe. I used 2 whole cucumbers even tho it amounted to more than the 2 cups required by the double recipe. Wasn't too much. I cut the bread in cubes and toasted @ 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Til just starting to get crisp. I think the bread would have been really mushy otherwise. I didn't combine the bread cubes with the rest of the salad until just before serving. I did not need all the dressing the recipe called for. Need to add salt and pepper. Will make again for sure.
This is a tasty salad. I made a vinegrette with some dijon, added arugula and spinach, and omitted the onion. Served with a small side of pasta, it's perfect for a summer meal.
The Italian Bread Salad I made for dinner tonight was very similar to this one. I was able to get fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and red & green peppers from my sister's garden so everything was very fresh. I added capers and kalamata olives to the salad, too. This was our dinner, so I added a few more pieces of bread to the bowl. (Probably too many, in looking back in hindsight.) Leftovers should be good tomorrow, even if the bread is a bit mushy. I'm so glad I tried this recipe!
This was good. I toasted my bread in olive oil and garlic like one reveiwer suggested, because my bread was fresh. I don't think I have the greatest tasting olive oil, so with that I think I should have mixed maybe 1\2 and 1\2; olive oil and salsd oil, it might not have had such a bitter taste to it.
If you can't find rosemary bread, mash/mince some into oil or even butter, spread on plain French/Italian bread then toast. And you simply MUST have some Kalamata olives on the side!!! To die for! I like the cold meat idea too.
My favorite salad ever. I use about 4x the amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and no thyme. I have also made this with all of the chopped up fruits/vegetables straight out of the freezer, and let them sit in the salad to thaw overnight.
Very Good!! I grilled my bread first and it made it crunchy on the sides and soft in the middle. Didn't have fresh thyme but used a little Italian blend seasoning instead. Will make again!!
I used a loaf of italian bread I bought off of the clearance rack, making sure it was nice and stale before I used it. This was absolutely delicous. I did add fresh minced garlic to the dressing. I do suggest that if you make this salad, do use a quality balsamic. It makes all the difference in how well it turns out. Next time, I might add a cup or so of quartered baby bellas and up the dressing just a touch.
This salad is AWESOME. I love the flavor combination. I amp it up a little and add fresh mozzarella, since cheese makes everything better.
DELICIOUS! But expensive if you have to purchase the ingredients.
The only reason I am not rating it higher is because me and my family can not stand the taste of raw onions. I also added shredded meat slices for my meat loving hubby and threw in a bit of parmesan cheese. I would definintely make this again
F A N T A S T I C!!!! I substituted baby spinach for much of the basil. We don't have a garden and I sure as heck wasn't paying the grocery store's price on fresh basil! My family LOVED it, even my 3 year old!
This salad is awesome! We ate it as the main dish and couldn't have asked for a more refreshing and flavorful dinner. I did not make any changes other than adding a bit more balsamic vinegar. This is easy to make and most of the veggies came from our garden. I will definately make this over and over again.
This is awesome. A diner near where I used to work served something similar to this as a special once a month. They would add some chunks of Mozzerella and some squash or zucchini as well. Yummy.
I didn't measure anything except the oil and vinegar... next time I'll use less basil and more tomatoes. Good and fresh and healthy... my only complaint is the serious garlic breath you're bound to get from the raw minced garlic. :)
What a unique flavor! The second time I made it, I cut the olive oil to a teaspoon and added some more balsamic vinegar, plus cut the bread in half to save on calories. It was still wonderful--even my dad loved it!
Very impressive salad. I cut the bread into chunks and drizzled with olive oil and garlic and baked on a cookie sheet for a few minutes. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly, chopping all the veggies fine. Delicious. Next time im gonna try keeping the bread in slices and making a brucshetta with the salad. Maybe add some kind of cheese.
This really was good! Rachael Ray did something like this on her show and at first it didn't sound appealling to me, but I followed the advice of other reviewers and toasted my bread in the oven first to get it crisp. Also rubbed the bread with garlic (since I wasn't using a wooden salad bowl) and even though it softened up in the salad, it still had some chewy/crunchy texture. I also added other fresh herbs - rosemary and oregano - since I have pots of them on my deck. Will make this again - maybe try different "artisan" bread in it next time.
Quite delicious! Only issue (for vegetarians like my brother) is there was no real protein as a meal by itself. So we added some red kidney beans. The flavor was only slightly changed (they were canned ^_^) and a full meal could be had. All in all, excellent!
I thought this was a very yummy recipe. I add romaine lettuce to mine and I thought it added a nice balance.
The Family loved this as well! I too added mozzerella and used grape tomatoe's instead and was much tastier!
Fantastic!!! I followed the recipe exactly but grilled up some chicken slices with thyme, garlic, and basil. Added that to the salad for some extra umph! And kept the bread seperate till serving so it wouldn't get too soggy from the liquids. It was DELICIOUS! Great recipe!
This recipe is fantastic. I used Ciabatta bread and it was a hit. Also I didn't use all the bread noted in the recipe.
This was wonderful! I didn't add as much basil as it called for and it was still very tasty. I brushed the bread with olive oil and garlic and toasted it for about ten minutes. I also waited to add the bread until right before I served it so the bread wouldn't get mushy. It tastes like brushetta (sp?) in a bowl!
Loved this salad! It was easy to make and delicious to boot. However, I'm not much on all the basil that was in it so I simply used only 1.5 cups. I also added minced garlic to the salad. Made garlic chicken to place on top - it was delicious! It won my husband's vote and he is a picky eater so that is hard to do!
Really good. I had never made a bread salad before, but since my husband is a huge bread lover (and not a salad lover) I thought I'd give it a try. Huge hit. Thanks for the recipe.
This was very good and flavorful. The rosemary in the bread makes all the difference. I love the texture of the bread as it mixes with the dressing and juice from the veggies--slightly chewy and very substantial. Next time, I'll add more veggies; the bread-to-veggie ratio as prepared was a bit heavy for my taste.
I changed it up to make the salad a little heartier by adding a little romain, mozzerella cheese, garbanzo beans and dried salami. It was really good, but I really didn't care for the bread in it. I toasted the bread like some reccommended as my bread wasn't really stale and it just hurt my mouth. I ended up taking the bread out and really enjoyed the salad. Maybe next time, I will not toast the bread. I loved the basil in the salad. I didn't have the thyme it called for but it was still good.
This is delicious! I added about 2 cups of mini balls of fresh mozzerella. I also used 1/2 cup olive oil and 4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar. My whole family thought this dish was the bomb!
This is a very fresh and different salad. It is delicious, the flavors meld together nicely! We had this with baked spaghetti and fresh lemonade, wonderful!!!
I absolutely LOVE this salad. I usally get tired of salads, but I make this several times a week for a side salad with supper or for my noon-time lunch! I've also added green olives and sliced avacado to the salad and it tastes SUPER!
Delicious!! We added fresh mozzarella cheese balls and didn't have the fresh thyme, but it was great. I'll definitely make this again and try some of the other users suggestions.
I did make a few changes. I cut my bread into cubes and toasted it in the oven on 400 for about 10 minutes. I eliminated the thyme because I didn't have it on hand. I used red wine vinegar instead of balsamic and I finely grated in some fresh parmesan reggiano cheese. It had a good flavor, but even with toasting the bread it was still really really soggy before even putting the dressing on. It was pretty much a flop.
