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Peach and tomato panzanella with toasted seeds
youryum.com/recipes/peach-and-tomato-panzanella-with-toasted-seeds · serves 4

The small crunch that makes soft fruit work

A handful of toasted seeds gives juicy peaches and tomatoes the contrast they need, alongside crisp country bread.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 27 August 2026
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Peach and tomato panzanella scattered with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds
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Prep
15 min
Cook
12 min
Total
27 min
Serves
4
Per serving
371kcal
Effort
Easy

Soft peaches, soft tomatoes and softened bread need a little resistance. Toasted seeds are the easiest answer: they bring a nutty flavour and a clean crunch without turning the salad into a grain bowl.

Toast them before the bread so you can tip them out while they are ready. A hot pan keeps cooking after it leaves the hob, and seeds do not give you much warning between golden and burnt.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Equipment

  • Dry frying pan
  • Large baking tray
  • Large serving bowl

Method

  1. Toast the seeds

    Put the seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Cook for four to five minutes, shaking often, until the sunflower seeds are golden and some pumpkin seeds have puffed. Tip them onto a plate immediately. They should smell warm and nutty, with only a few darker edges; the pan will keep cooking them after it leaves the heat.

    Use your nose before your eyes. The smell turns nutty a little before every seed looks brown, and that is the moment to stop. Smaller seeds can darken in the gaps beneath larger ones, so shake the pan rather than waiting for a uniform colour. The plate should be cool and broad enough to spread them out. A heap of hot seeds traps steam, softens the underside and gives you a false impression that the toast has failed. Once they are cool, they will taste crisper and more savoury than they did in the pan.

    Hands tipping toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds onto a plate beside panzanella ingredients

  2. Crisp the bread

    Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Toss the bread with two tablespoons of oil and bake for eight to ten minutes, turning once. Cool for five minutes so it does not instantly collapse in the tomato juice.

  3. Season the tomatoes

    Put the tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, remaining oil and salt in a wide bowl. Toss and leave for five minutes. The tomato juice is the dressing; do not add vinegar before tasting it.

  4. Fold in the peaches

    Add the peaches, bread and herbs. Fold gently from the bottom and leave for ten minutes, turning once. The bread should be seasoned through but still have crisp corners.

  5. Scatter the seeds

    Add half the seeds and fold once. Put the rest over the top just before serving, where they will stay crisp and taste properly toasted.

Bread peaches tomatoes mixed seeds lemon red onion and herbs for panzanella
Toast the seeds until they smell nutty, not merely warm.

When seeds taste burnt

Seeds keep cooking in the hot pan, so tip them out when only some are golden. If they smell acrid, start again; burnt seeds spread their bitterness through the whole bowl. Pumpkin seeds often puff before sunflower seeds colour, which is a useful sign that the pan is ready for a quick shake and a quick exit.

A cool plate stops the carry-over heat.

Use chopped walnuts or almonds if you have no seeds, but toast them separately because they need a different amount of time. Crisp fried onions are another good substitute, especially with mint. Keep the total crunchy topping modest: too much and the panzanella starts to eat like trail mix over tomatoes.

A little cheese works

Feta, ricotta salata or small pieces of mozzarella can join the bowl at the end. The seeds still matter because cheese brings salt and cream, not the dry crunch that keeps the peaches from feeling soft.

Crunch needs a separate clock

Toast the seeds in a single layer and tip them out as soon as they smell nutty. The pan stays hot enough to burn them after they leave the hob, so a cold plate is part of the method. Use a mixture if you want different textures, but keep the smaller sesame seeds moving because they catch first. The bread can toast while the seeds cool. Dress the tomatoes and peaches, let them stand briefly, then add the bread. Scatter half the seeds through the bowl and save half for the surface. That gives you crunch in the middle and on the first bite. If you are packing lunch, put all the seeds in a separate little pot. Oil from the dressing will soften them before the fruit is ready. A squeeze of lime or lemon keeps the toasted flavour from reading too rich, and mint gives the bowl a clean finish. Do not add extra salt until you have tasted the seeds; they may already be seasoned.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 371 kcal
Protein 9 g
Carbohydrate 47 g
Fibre 6 g
Fat 18 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Which seeds can I use?
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are the most forgiving. Sesame and hemp work too, but hemp needs only a minute or two.
Can I toast the seeds in the oven?
Yes. Use 180°C fan for five to seven minutes and watch closely; small seeds burn quickly.
Can I use salted seeds?
Yes, but reduce the salt in the tomatoes and taste at the end.

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