Take your soups and salads up a notch with these perfectly crisp, crunchy, and FLAVORFUL homemade croutons! Not only are homemade croutons a great way to use up leftover stale bread, but they add a ton of texture and flavor to your meal for pennies. I whipped up this easy homemade crouton recipe last week when I made my Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup, and I immediately knew I had to share them with you! Once you go homemade, you’ll never go back.
Ingredients for Homemade Croutons
This crouton recipe is so incredibly simple, yet so so good. Here’s what you’ll need to make your own homemade croutons:
- Bread: You’ll want to use a nice hearty bread to make croutons so you get a nice crunch that can stand up to soups and salad dressings. French, Italian, and artisan loaves are great for croutons.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil gives the croutons a deliciously crispy texture and adds a nice subtle flavor.
- Seasoning: To make sure our homemade croutons have plenty of flavor, we add salt and other herbs and spices. You can get creative with your seasonings or use the basic Italian seasoning blend and garlic powder listed below.
What Kind of Bread is Best for Croutons?
You definitely want to get a really sturdy, crusty, fairly dense bread for homemade croutons. Anything light and airy, like white sandwich bread, will just not have the structure needed to make a good crouton. It will dissolve in your mouth like cotton candy instead of giving you a nice crunch!
Your bread can be either fresh or stale for this homemade croutons recipe. In fact, it’s a fantastic way to use up the ends of a loaf of bread that is on its way out. So the next time you have a little bread left over, seal it up in a freezer bag and toss it into the freezer until you want to make some fresh homemade croutons!
Seasoning Ideas for Croutons
The croutons recipe below is for basic garlic herb flavor, but I think they’re great even when seasoned with just salt! Some other seasoning ideas include:
- Grated Parmesan
- Cajun Seasoning
- Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt
- Garlic herb seasoning
- Taco Seasoning
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Rosemary and pepper (fresh rosemary is probably best for this one, finely chopped)
- Nutritional Yeast and Garlic
Serving Suggestions
Croutons are a classic crunchy salad topper, but they’re also fantastic in any sort of thick soup, like Tomato Soup, Split Pea Soup, Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup, or even my Smoky Potato and Chickpea Stew.
Croutons can also be crumbled and used as a crunchy topping for baked pasta casseroles, like baked mac and cheese, or even crushed and used as a breading for meat or fish in place of regular or panko bread crumbs.
How to Store Homemade Croutons
The crouton recipe below is a small batch recipe (about 3-4 cups) because homemade croutons are definitely best when made fresh. After baking and cooling, you can store leftover croutons in an air-tight container, but they will probably go stale a bit faster than store-bought croutons. The actual shelf life of homemade croutons will vary based on several factors, like how much moisture is left in the bread.
To extend their freshness, you can freeze your homemade croutons (again, in an air-tight container). To crisp your croutons back up before using, you can toss them in a hot skillet for a few minutes or pop them into an air-fryer for 1-2 minutes.
Easy Homemade Croutons
Servings 4 about 3/4 cup eachIngredients
- 4 slices sturdy bread ($0.33)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes. You should have about 4 loosely packed cups of bread cubes.
- Place the cubed bread in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over top. Use a spatula or your hands to gently toss the bread cubes until they are coated in oil.
- Combine the Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl, then sprinkle the mixture over the bread cubes. Gently toss the bread cubes again until they are evenly coated in seasoning.
- Spread the seasoned bread out onto a baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes*, checking the color of the bread every 5 minutes. Stir the croutons and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes, if needed, to get the croutons to a nice deep golden brown color. Let the croutons cool slightly before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Homemade Croutons – Step by Step Photos
This homemade croutons recipe is a small batch because I believe they’re best when made fresh, and this batch size is perfect for when you only have a few slices of bread left! You’ll need about 4 slices of bread or about 4 cups once cubed. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes. It’s best to try to get the cubes into a fairly uniform size so they bake evenly. You can also tear the bread into chunks for a more rustic look, but again, try to get them fairly uniform in size.
Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil over top. Gently toss the bread cubes until they are coated in oil.
Combining the seasoning in a small bowl first helps them be more evenly distributed on the croutons. Combine 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning blend, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the herbs over the bread cubes and gently toss again until they are coated.
Spread the seasoned bread cubes out onto a baking sheet, then transfer them to the oven.
The baking time for the homemade croutons can vary quite a bit depending on the density of your bread and its moisture level, so check them every 5 minutes or so. When they’re just starting to turn golden, give them a stir, and bake for a few more minutes until they are deeply golden. My croutons baked for 10 minutes, then I stirred, and baked for 2 minutes more. Let the croutons cool slightly before serving.
Stale bread never tasted so good. 😜
Easy and delicious! I make these often!
How long do they keep?
Depending on how dry and crisp your croutons are, they will last for up to a week in an airtight container, but will be at their best for the first two days. You can refresh them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up again if you like. xoxo
When you freeze how do you thaw for use?
You can just let them sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. :)