Learn How To Make The Best Homemade Croutons

Learn how easy it is to make the best homemade croutons with this easy recipe. It only takes a few simple ingredients to make the best crunchy croutons.

With this simple recipe, you will end up with the best croutons that have a chewy texture and that make the perfect addition to green salads.

These are way better than store-bought and can be used in so many recipes. Make a batch of these crunchy homemade croutons to add on top of a Caesar salad or tomato soup.

Turn leftover homemade bread into these homemade croutons that are easy to make. And are just as easy to customize to your liking.

By simply changing up the flavor of olive oil or the seasonings you use. Not to mention, since they are homemade, you can make them as large or small as you prefer.

After seeing how easy this recipe is to make. You will be saying goodbye to store-bought and making your own homemade croutons.

Ingredients Needed

Of course, the first ingredient needed to make homemade croutons is a crusty loaf of bread. The bread can be any type of leftover bread you have.

I used a sandwich bread that was two days old, but I have used Bread Machine French bread in the past.

Any type of bread will work like white bread, sourdough bread, whole wheat bread, or rye bread.

Stale bread works the best since it is already a bit dried out, which will help with baking time. Fresh bread will take longer to bake with less of a change of being crunchy.

Olive oil is used to coat the stale bread cubes with, but can easily be changed. This time I used garlic-infused olive oil, which I had from making my garlic confit.

Melted butter will also work as a replacement for the olive oil.

For the seasoning, I kept it kind of simple by using sea salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. For the Italian seasoning, I used Good Seasons Zesty Italian, but any type of Italian seasoning will work.

The sea salt that I used can easily be replaced with kosher salt.

The seasonings are where you can get creative by using any combination of seasonings you like. Black pepper, onion powder, and fresh herbs would all be great ways to season the croutons.

You could also sprinkle the prepared bread cubes with Parmesan cheese.

How To Make

Homemade croutons are the perfect way to use up leftover bread. Any kind of bread will work. Taking the two day old bread, I cubed the bread into about ¾-inch cubes.

Added the cubed bread into a large bowl. Drizzled the olive oil on top of the cubed bread and sprinkled my seasoning in. Using my hands, but a large spoon will also work.

I mixed the ingredients together until the cubed bread looked like it was nicely coated. On a prepared baking sheet pan pour the seasoned cubes of bread out.

I used a large baking sheet pan that had a silicone mat on it. Parchment paper or spraying the sheet pan with cooking spray will also work.

When I added the unbaked croutons onto the baking sheet, there were little bits of bread crumbs. I didn't want those to burn when baking, so I picked up the cubes of bread.

Putting the cubes of bread back into the bowl and discarding the little bits of bread crumbs.

I then place the cubes back onto the baking sheet pan, making sure they were all in a single layer. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes. At the 10-minute mark, I did flip the croutons so both sides could become golden brown.

Leave the croutons on the baking sheet to allow them to cool to room temperature before storing them.

Ways To Use Homemade Croutons

The best way to enjoy homemade croutons is of course on top of a salad. Mix up your favorite salad, add salad dressing, and top with these baked croutons.

Use them for a crunchy texture in so many different recipes. Try adding crunchy croutons to hot soups, like tomato soup or our recipe for Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Stir some crunchy croutons into scrambled eggs, then there is no need for toast.

These homemade croutons will work wonderfully in our Homemade Stuffing In The Instant Pot recipe. Sprinkle a few crunchy croutons on top of chili or use them on top of your favorite casserole recipes.

Store the leftover croutons in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. They can be stored in the refrigerator for 6-7 days, or they can be frozen for up to 4-6 weeks.

By simply placing the croutons into either a freezer bag or an airtight freezer container.

More delicious homemade recipes to replace store-bought with are. Like our simple homemade onion soup mix or our homemade pumpkin pie spice.