Adding croutons to a salad makes it feel a little fun and fancy. If you don’t have any, you can make some in under 20 minutes with this Homemade Croutons recipe.
For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our recipes.
When I was young, I used to think croutons on your salad were the epitome of high class. If you had croutons at home, that was it, you made it in life.
I still have this thought in the back of my head and just don’t ever buy croutons. But, here’s the thing. It’s so incredible easy to make your own croutons. You don’t need a bag of grocery store-bought croutons to show you’re on top of the world. All you need is some leftover bread and about 20 minutes.
But, shh. Don’t tell the childhood version of me that croutons are not as high brow as Grey Poupon. Just let little me have that.
All joking aside, all it does take to make your own homemade croutons is some bread — preferably a loaf that’s a couple days old — and about 15 minutes in the oven.
Crunchy croutons are perfect salad toppers. If you’re looking for salad ideas, check out our list of Quick Vegetarian Salad Recipes.
Homemade Croutons Recipe
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Homemade Croutons Ingredients:
- 1/2 loaf of French bread
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
How To Make Homemade Croutons:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Slice the bread into 1-inch slices.
Cut those pieces of bread into 1-inch bread cubes.
Put them all in a large bowl.
Drizzle them with olive oil.
Add the salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Quick note: This seasoning is for really basic croutons. However, you can experiment with different seasonings, like onion powder and garlic powder, or fresh herbs, like fresh parsley and fresh oregano. You could also add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to these too.
Stir until each cube of bread is equally seasoned.
Spread the bread pieces out in a single layer on a silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet.
If you don’t have a baking mat, you can use parchment paper to line the baking sheet instead. I prefer a baking mat because it’s reusable, so it’s more sustainable and budget friendly.
Bake for 10 minutes, then use a wooden spoon to flip them (or just sort of toss them around).
Bake an additional 5 minutes until they’re golden brown and all the moisture is removed from the bread.
Let them cool before eating.
Ways To Use Homemade Croutons:
Salads
Homemade croutons are the perfect way to top any green salads, like our Grilled Caesar Salad. If you’re making a hearty dinner salad, like a Bacon Chicken Ranch salad, these would be perfect too.
Soups
Instead of serving bread on the side of soup, add homemade croutons instead. We really love them in our simple tomato soup and cheddar potato soup recipes.
Bread crumbs
If you need bread crumbs for a recipe and you ran out, just take your homemade croutons and crush them. You could either do this in a food processor or by just putting them in a bag and smashing them with a rolling pin.
Homemade Croutons: Frequently Asked Questions
Personally, I think French bread is best for homemade croutons. Since it comes as a soft loaf, you can easily cut it into 1-inch cubes of bread. And, since it starts soft, it will crisp up really well without totally drying out first.
Any type of bread will work. We’ve used slices of white bread and whole wheat bread before and those were fine, just smaller. But, try to skip seasoned bread because those flavors will compete with the seasoning you’re adding.
Old bread works best for homemade croutons. This is for a couple reasons.
Stale bread already has some of the moisture removed. So, when you’re cutting the bread, it will hold its shape rather than squishing from the pressure of the knife. Since its already drier, you’ll get more of a crunchy texture than you would from a fresh loaf.
Personally, I don’t think day-old bread that has been kept in the fridge is old enough for crunch homemade croutons. However, if you open it and expose it to air overnight, it should be fine.
This recipe is for homemade croutons made in the oven. However, you could follow the same process and make them in the air fryer. You would just need to adjust the time because they may bake quicker that way.
We’ve never made them in the air fryer, but we have made homemade grilled croutons on the grill before and that works great.
Store any leftover croutons in an airtight container at room temperature. Homemade croutons will last about two weeks this way.
Quick note: If you aren’t using all of the croutons and you’re planning on saving some for later, you want to make sure that the bread has completely dried out and is rid of any moisture. Storing croutons that aren’t completely dry can result in mold accumulation (and no one wants that).
If you need to, you can put homemade croutons in a freezer safe bag and freeze them for about two months. You will need to thaw them out for at least 30 minutes before using them.
As they’re thawing, they lose some of the crunchy texture. So you’ll want to heat them in a pan or in the oven before serving. And honestly, it takes longer to thaw them than to make a batch of fresh croutons. So, I personally wouldn’t freeze them. But you do what works best for you.
Homemade Croutons
Adding croutons to a salad makes it feel a little fun and fancy. If you don’t have any, you can make some in under 20 minutes with this Homemade Croutons recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 loaf of French bread
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
- Slice the bread into 1-inch slices.
- Cut those pieces of bread into 1-inch bread cubes.
- Put them all in a large bowl.
- Drizzle them with olive oil.
- Add the salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Stir until each cube of bread is equally seasoned.
- Spread the bread pieces out in a single layer on a silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then use a wooden spoon to flip them (or just sort of toss them around).
- Bake an additional 5 minutes until they’re golden brown and all the moisture is removed from the bread.
- Let them cool before eating.
Nutrition Information
Yield
14Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 80Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 119mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 2g
Have you made this homemade croutons recipe? Let us know what you thought in the comments.
EsmeSalon
Sunday 14th of April 2024
Need to try this with GF bread.
Debra
Friday 12th of April 2024
Croutons are a must for every salad! Thanks for sharing.
Linda Johnston
Thursday 11th of April 2024
I love coutons. Must give this a try!
Joanne
Wednesday 10th of April 2024
Yum! We do buy croutons (it's an easy way to get my boys to eat salad every night!) but I much prefer the homemade ones.
Jennifer Wise
Tuesday 9th of April 2024
I need to do this! I bet homemade croutons are amazing. Pinning this recipe to share and save.