Roasted Butternut, Mozzarella & Tomato Panzanella-Style Salad
Roasted Butternut, Mozzarella & Tomato Panzanella-Style Salad — 45 mins family dinner · Light vegetarian summer dinners with Italian/Mediterranean flavours. …
Ingredients
- 180g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 75g crusty bread or ciabatta, torn into chunks
- 45g mozzarella
- 70g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 80g tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cucumber, diced
- 40g salad leaves or little gem
- ¼ red onion, very finely sliced
- 4g fresh basil leaves
- 1½ tsp olive or rapeseed oil
- ¼ lemon, juiced
- ¼ garlic clove, optional
- ¼ tsp Italian herbs or dried oregano
- ¼ tsp mild paprika, optional
Method
- Heat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.
- Toss butternut cubes with oil, Italian herbs and optional mild paprika. Roast for 25–30 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.
- Tear bread into chunks. Add to the tray for the final 8–10 minutes if you want crouton-style pieces. Keep some bread soft for toddlers if needed.
- Remove baby and toddler portions of soft butternut and chickpeas before adding raw onion, balsamic, salt or crunchy bread.
- Mix roasted butternut, bread, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, salad leaves, mozzarella and basil.
- Dress with lemon juice and a little oil.
- Adults can add black pepper, balsamic glaze or chilli at the table.
- Save any extra roasted butternut for Dinner 3.
Storage and reheating
Cool cooked tomatoes, roasted butternut and bulgur within 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 48 hours. Keep salad leaves, cucumber, basil and bread separate from wet dressings until serving where possible. Reheat roasted veg until steaming hot if serving warm. Do not reheat yoghurt-dressed salads; serve chilled or room temperature after safe refrigeration. Freeze roasted butternut or tomato sauce components only; assembled salads and flatbread pizzas are best fresh. For babies and toddlers, keep portions separate before adding salt, chilli flakes, balsamic glaze, hard croutons, raw onion, large amounts of mozzarella, adult dressings or strong black pepper.
Safety and substitutions
Chickpeas should be squashed for babies. Hard croutons are not suitable for babies and may be difficult for toddlers. Keep raw onion out of toddler and baby portions. Butternut should be soft enough to mash. Cool leftovers within 2 hours. Store roasted butternut and chickpeas separately from salad leaves and bread where possible. Use within 48 hours.
Why this recipe works
45 mins family dinner · Light vegetarian summer dinners with Italian/Mediterranean flavours. set · Vegetarian protein. Part of a three-meal shopping base with household scaling.
Part of a three-meal set
Vegetarian Margherita Summer Set — Quick margherita flatbread pizzas, a roasted butternut panzanella-style salad, and a bulgur wheat caprese salad using shared tomato, mozzarella, basil, yoghurt and roasted veg.
Updated 2026-07-20