Learn how to make homemade croutons from scratch with this simple, customizable croutons recipe.
Have leftover bread?
Make croutons! ♡
Homemade croutons are just about the easiest thing ever to make, and a million times better than anything you can buy at the store. They’re also easy to customize with whatever seasonings you might be craving, they can be made with any kind of bread that you have on hand (including gluten-free), and they’re easy to make as large or small, soft or crispy, plain or seasoned as you might prefer. Plus, if you’re trying to eat more greens in your life, I’m convinced that having a fresh batch of croutons around is one of the best motivators to toss together a quick salad. Or they’re also delicious for topping a fresh bowl of tomato soup or gazpacho (<– new recipe coming tomorrow, stay tuned!) this time of year.
So grab that leftover bread, and let’s bake up a quick batch!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CROUTONS | 1-MINUTE VIDEO
Homemade Croutons Ingredients:
To make homemade croutons, you just need three main ingredients:
- Bread: Ideally at least a day or two old, any variety will do.
- Olive oil: Or melted butter, if you prefer.
- Seasonings: Totally up to you! I always, always add garlic powder to my croutons. Plus salt and black pepper. But any other seasonings are up to you! I often turn to Italian seasoning or blackening seasoning, and will occasionally sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese too.
How To Make Croutons:
Simply:
- Dice your bread: Choose whatever size of cubes you prefer, either cut with a knife or torn into small chunks by hand. It’s just important that the croutons be uniformly sized so that they cook evenly.
- Toss with oil and seasonings: In a large bowl, drizzle the bread evenly with the oil and seasonings. Then toss until evenly combined.
- Spread out on a baking sheet: Turn the croutons out onto a parchment-covered baking sheet, and spread out in a single layer.
- Bake until crispy: Flipping the croutons once halfway through baking. Then baking until they croutons reach your desired level of crispiness. (If they start to get too brown, lower the heat and let them bake lower and slower.)
- Serve or store: Then serve immediately. Or let the croutons cool until they reach room temperature, then store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Ways To Use Homemade Croutons:
Some of my favorite ways to use homemade croutons include:
- Salads: Especially any kind of Caesar salad, or my favorite Everyday Salad.
- Soups: Especially hot tomato soup, or authentic Spanish gazpacho (recipe coming soon!)
- Stuffings/Casseroles: Especially around the holidays
And of course, anytime you need breadcrumbs, just use a rolling pin or food processor to break those croutons up into your preferred size of breadcrumbs.
Enjoy, everyone!
How To Make Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of bread (about 12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, evenly drizzle the olive oil over the bread chunks. Then evenly sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper over the bread. Toss gently until well-combined.
- Spread the bread cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake until golden, turning once halfway through cooking in order to brown all sides of the croutons. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the cubes, so watch to be sure that they do not burn. (Mine generally take between 15-20 minutes.)
- Remove from oven, and let cool completely. Use immediately, or store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I used everything bagel seasoning with 1/8 c olive oil & 4 tablespoons melted butter. I sprinkled with some onion & garlic powder & black pepper. They are delicious! I love them in salads, tomato soup, ramen soup, chili
Not sure exactly what went wrong, but I had to take mine out a few minutes early because they were near-blackened. Feels like they must have been in way too long, or at too high a heat. Either way, that’s half a baguette wasted.
I was astounded once a number of years ago when I tried an oven thermometer in my oven. It read 40° more than the dial on the oven!
I would ABSOLUTELY not use parchment paper people! I started with it, and it had so much moisture on the paper, because the bread wasn’t dried, but rather fresh cut. So I removed the parchment paper, and started tossing the croutons every 5 min until lightly golden brown and quite crunchy. It was off the hook!!! If it was dried ahead, then you could use parchment, but totally unnecessary either way!
Any luck on freezing the croutons and baking when ready? I have a stale loaf of beer bread, but am not making a crouton worthy meal for a little while.
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! I’d made a loaf of bread and had a decent chunk leftover- it made a perfect batch of croutons! I’m pretty proud. Lol. Thanks again!
Perfect recipe. I used leftover olive bread which worked really well with the seasoning.
The cooking time took exactly 15 minutes without turning.
Can I make this with multigrain sandwich bread?
Yes I made them with multigrain sandwhich bread and they were amazing!
After our Thanksgiving feasting we decided we needed more salads and soups in our lives. We had a leftover loaf of bread and found this recipe with great reviews, its super EZ and gives our salads a gourmet punch! So Tasty!!
Made these using sweet Hawaiian hamburger buns, because that’s all I had on hand. All I can say is these were hands-down, the best croutons I have ever had. I eat a lot of salads and I’ve had a lot of croutons and no others have compared to these.
Great recipe! I made them this evening 😊 Thank you for sharing!