Fall Kale Panzanella Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
on Oct 14, 2026
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This Fall Kale Panzanella Salad is a bread salad made with roasted butternut squash, red onions, sourdough herbes de Provence croutons, pears, kale, chicken, and mozzarella cheese. It’s tossed in a creamy Cranberry Vinaigrette for the perfect autumnal salad.
If you’re looking for more bread salad recipes, be sure to check out our Peach Panzanella with Feta and Sumac Dressing and Easy Spring Panzanella Salad with Asparagus.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Sweet squash with crisp pear and cranberry dressing is the perfect Fall salad
- Easy to scale servings and prep ahead
- 20-minute prep, and gets better as it sits in the fridge
- Can be served for lunch, as a side salad, or dinner
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the ingredients you need to make this recipe, including all our tips and substitutions.
- Butternut squash, red onion, and day-old sourdough bread: These ingredients are roasted in one sheet tray. The bread gets tossed in herbes de Provence, and everything is tossed in extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bosc pear: A cubed firm pear is added to the salad for crunch and sweetness.
- Lacinato kale: Also called Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale. It’s sliced thin and tossed with cooked and cubed chicken, as well as cubed mozzarella cheese.
- Lemon Cranberry Vinaigrette: Frozen cranberries are cooked down with water and then blended with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and honey.
The full list of ingredients with exact quantities can be found on the recipe card below.
Tips and Substitutions
- Bread: Use dry and stale bread. This will get a nice crisp.
- Preparing ingredients: When you are prepping your vegetables, cut everything into even sizes and shapes.
- Substitutions for butternut squash: You can use kabocha, delicata squash, or sweet potato.
- Prep: You can prepare this ahead of time and serve at room temperature, or cold. We recommend storing the croutons separately and tossing at the time of serving so they don’t get soggy if the salad is pre-tossed in the dressing.
- Storing: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
How to Make Fall Kale Panzanella Salad
Step 1: Roast your squash, red onions, and croutons on a baking sheet.
Step 2: Prepare your chicken and vegetables, assembling in a large bowl.
Step 3: Make your cranberry vinaigrette and blend until smooth.
Step 4: Transfer everything to the salad bowl, tossing with your dressing.
The full detailed instructions can be found on the recipe card below.
Serving Recommendations
Looking for some ideas to serve with this Fall Kale Panzanella Salad? We have you covered!
Fall Kale Panzanella Salad FAQs
Yes, frozen works great! Allow them to burst with a little bit of water, and blend until creamy. Adjust with water to your preferred consistency.
You can prepare this ahead of time and serve at room temperature, or cold. We recommend storing the croutons separately and tossing at the time of serving so they don’t get soggy if the salad is pre-tossed in the dressing.
Sturdy, crusty, day-old bread works great! Fresh bread will work if you dry it. You want it to crisp nicely in the oven. We like to tear it and bake.
More Salad Recipes
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Fall Kale Panzanella Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Fall Panzanella Salad
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 slices cubed day-old sourdough bread, roughly torn into bite-sized pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Bosc pear, cored and cut into cubes
- 1 large bunch of lacinato kale, stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
- 1 pound cooked chicken, cubed
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
Lemon Cranberry Vinaigrette
- 5 ounces frozen cranberries
- 2 tablespoons water, plus ½ cup
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add the butternut squash, red onion, and sourdough. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, placing the herbes de Provence over the bread. Toss well to coat.
- Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the squash is tender and caramelized and the croutons are golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- At this point, while roasting, you can go ahead and cook and prepare your chicken and vegetables for the salad.
- Add frozen cranberries with water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries soften and begin to burst.
- Transfer the cranberries to a blender with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, honey, 1/2 cup water, a generous pinch of salt, and several grinds of black pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more water if needed to reach a pourable consistency. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper as needed.
- Time to assemble! In a large bowl, add the kale as the base of the salad. Then add your squash, onion, croutons, pear, grilled chicken, and mozzarella. Drizzle with the cranberry vinaigrette and gently toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Serve! Add more dressing to taste, as needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
the perfect fall salad doesn’t exi….
now it does! enjoy this delicious fall salad, filled with herbes de provence croutons and a cranberry vin!