Autumn is certainly in the air, with rain showers, crisp air, cold and dark mornings, and cold nights too! The blankets are out, long sleeves are now “in season”, and a warm cup of cocoa is definitely a mood booster.
The leaves are changing color finally in the Bay Area, and because of the rains, the air is clean as well. Such a beautiful season, with equally beautiful produce! There is a shift in the produce with pomegranates, apples, persimmons, pears in season now, and all the possible squashes in all shapes and sizes are everywhere!
I created this Fall Panzanella Salad as part of a collaboration in 2016, and I am still in love with this recipe.
What is Panzanella?
Panzanella is traditionally an Italian salad, consisting of stale bread that is cut into pieces, toasted in the oven to perfection and mixed with ripe tomatoes, at its peak in summer, along with fresh basil and a beautiful light dressing.
Ingredients for this beautiful Fall Panzanella
This is my take on a Fall Panzanella, using the best of the fall produce.
- Day old sourdough or ciabatta
- Butternut squash : The butternut squash, cut into small cubes, are roasted, with olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes.
- Brussels Sprouts: The brussels sprouts are roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and calabrian chili. The sprouts need to be placed cut side down, so that it chars perfectly! I use calabrian chili paste for the sprouts, which you can get from Amazon, linked here. You can even get a cheaper one at Trader Joe’s. I LOVE this paste, and use it all the time for roasting, sandwiches, with pastas etc.
- Apples: I like the Honey crisp or Fuji variety
- Pomegranate Arils
- Toasted Pine nuts
- Fried sage leaves: The olive oil in which the sage is fried, gets a wonderful fragrant taste and smell. Sage smells so earthy and I love using it in different ways in the fall.
- Herbed goat cheese: Goat cheese is the perfect cheese to go with this salad. It is creamy and mild, with the pungent and strong flavors of the sprouts and earthiness of the squash.
- Maple-Apple Cider Vinaigrette : This vinaigrette is the best one for this salad. It is slightly sweet, garlicky, pungent, and soaks up in the bread well, to give this salad a wonderful flavor. I make double the dressing, so that I can use it for other salads in the Fall season.
Great salad for the Thanksgiving holidays
This salad is great for the upcoming Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving holidays. Or just to make as a weeknight dinner. It comes together pretty easily.
East of this salad:
- Toast the bread, butternut squash and brussels sprouts – all together. They take different times to bake, which requires a little bit of monitoring.
- The vinaigrette can be made a few days ahead of time.
- Toss everything together and serve!
Let the oven do the work!
The bread takes 10 to 12 minutes to toast up nicely. The butternut squash and brussels sprouts are baked in quarter sheet pans, at the same time in the oven. The squash takes about 25 minutes and the sprouts take about 30 minutes to roast.
I bake everything in the lowest rack of the oven for maximum flavor and toastiness. In the meanwhile, you can get the rest of the ingredients ready.
Other substitutions
- You can substitute apples with pears, if that is what you fancy.
- Pine nuts can be used instead of toasted maple pumpkin seeds.
- I have also substituted butternut squash with delicata squash.
It is a pretty free flowing salad, so you can substitute ingredients to your liking.
What can I make in advance to ease the preparation?
- Make the maple-apple cider vinaigrette atleast a week in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
- The butternut squash and the brussels sprouts can be roasted a day in advance and stored in the fridge until the next day and ready to use.
Where can I find toasted pine nuts?
Toasted pine nuts are readily available at Trader Joe’s which I find the most cost effective. Or if you think you will use a big batch of pine nuts, get the bag from Costco.
Other fall inspired recipes that are great for Thanksgiving from the blog are:
- Chipotle Roasted Squash with Chipotle-Sage Oil Yogurt
- Harissa and Za’atar Potato Galette
- Garam Masala Root Vegetable Gratin
If you do try this recipe, please do not forget to use the hashtag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment in the blog post below.
Hope you get to try this fantastic salad this fall!
XO
Amisha
*Note: First published 11/3/2016 ; reposted on 10/18/2025*
Print
Fall Panzanella
Ingredients
Bread cubes
- 1 Whole loaf of ciabatta bread, or sourdough bread cubed into 1 inch size pieces
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
Brussels Sprouts
- 14 oz. brussels sprouts, cut into half
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon calabrian chili (or use red pepper flakes/aleppo pepper)
Butternut Squash
- 3 cups butternut squash, skin peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or aleppo pepper
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sage
- 20 sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Apple Cider-Maple-Garlic Vinaigrette
- ¼ + 2 tablespoons cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¾ cup good olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves of grated garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 red apple, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 small log of herbed goat cheese(chilled)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
Bread cubes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large baking sheet, spread the bread cubes. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Toss them on the baking sheet thoroughly to coat all the bread cubes.
- Bake in the lowest rack of the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, until toasty and light brown in color.
- Remove and rest.
Brussels Sprouts
- In a quarter baking sheet, add the brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt, pepper, calabrian chili. Toss to combine.
- Place the sprouts, cut side down.
- Bake in the lowest rack of the oven, at the same temperature for 30 minutes.
Butternut Squash
- In a quarter baking sheet, add the squash, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika and nutmeg. Toss to combine.
- Bake in the lowest rack of the oven, at the same temperature for 20 to 25 minutes.
Sage
- In the small pan, on medium to low heat, add the oli.
- After a minute, add half of the sage leaves at a time, and let them crisp up. They will shrivel in about a minute. Remove it on a plate and set it aside. Repeat for the remaining sage leaves.
Apple Cider-Maple-Garlic Vinaigrette:
- Add all the ingredients in a jar and mix thoroughly until well incorporated.
Assembly
- In a large bowl, add the toasted bread cubes, roasted squash, brussels sprouts,red apples, pomegranate kernels(leaving a handful aside for garnish), pine nuts (leaving 2 tbsp aside for garnish), sage leaves(leaving about 5-6 aside for garnish ). Toss it gently to mix.
- Add half the salad dressing and toss to combine.
- Add ¾ crumbs of herbed goat cheese and toss lightly.
- Plate in a serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, sage leaves, and goat cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
What can I make in advance to ease the preparation?
- You can make the maple-apple cider vinaigrette atleast a week in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
- The butternut squash and the brussels sprouts can be roasted a day in advance and stored in the fridge until the next day and ready to use.
Where can I find toasted pine nuts?
Toasted pine nuts are readily available at Trader Joe’s which I find the most cost effective.
How can I store the salad?
The salad cannot be stored as it gets soggy the longer it sits. It is best served right after mixing the ingredients together.
