Chicken panzanella with peppers and pine nuts

6
Points®
Total Time
35 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
We’ve given Panzanella, a Tuscan bread salad, a twist but it still combines all the beloved characteristics we celebrate about the classic dish. We incorporated chicken to make the salad a complete meal and swapped the cucumber and tomatoes for roasted red peppers and arugula. For a hint of Greek flavor, toasted pine nuts and olives are stirred in too. The crusty bread chunks soak up the homemade balsamic vinaigrette and bring all the flavors of the dish together. If you want to pump up the veggies, add some thinly sliced sweet onion to the mix when you roast the bell pepper mixture.

Ingredients

French bread

4 oz, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)

Olive oil cooking spray

4 spray(s)

Bell pepper

1 item(s), medium, (1 large), red variety, thinly sliced

Orange bell pepper

1 large, or yellow, thinly sliced

Olives

12 olive(s), medium, kalamata variety, pitted and sliced

Pine nuts

3 Tbsp

Fresh thyme

1 tsp, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

4 tsp

Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp

Water

1 Tbsp

Whole-grain mustard

1 tsp, Dijon

Table salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast

2 cup(s), chopped, cubed

Arugula

6 cup(s), baby variety

Instructions

  1. 1 Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil.
  2. 2 To make croutons, spread bread cubes in even layer on prepared baking sheet. Spray with olive oil nonstick spray and toss to coat. Bake, stirring once, until croutons are golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate.
  3. 3 Combine bell peppers, olives, pine nuts, and thyme on same baking sheet. Spray with olive oil nonstick spray, toss to coat, and spread in even layer. Bake until bell peppers are tender and nuts are toasted, about 12 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking time.
  4. 4 Meanwhile, to make dressing, whisk together oil, vinegar, water, mustard, salt, and black pepper in large bowl.
  5. 5 Add chicken, bell pepper mixture, croutons, and half of arugula to dressing; toss to coat. Add remaining arugula and toss again.
  6. Serving size: 2 1/4 cups