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!
This was a phenomenal recipe thats super simple. I completely different seasonings in addition to the ones suggested and LOVED it. This is 100% my go to recipe. We had leftover Ciabatta bread from Costco and I used that so as to waste nothing.
SO GOOD!
This was amazing! I had family at my house this Valentines day, and we had a big ceasar salad with these croutons in it! Would definitely recommend to anyone considering making these! 10/10!
These were a bomb. They were simple to make and delicious.
I had two 10 day old sourdough boule I baked that we couldn’t finish. Made croutons out of them. They were yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for these wonderful recipes, I look forward trying them.
I love your recipes! I had a loaf of homemade bread that turned out too dry so I chopped it up and turned it into croutons. I used different seasonings but followed your method and they turned out marvelous!
OMG these are perfection!!!
Didn’t really follow the measurements for the spices, got a little fancy instead.
A dash of this and sprinkle of that…
I’ll never buy store bought croutons again. That old bread I would have just throw out was, and from now on will not be wasted.
These croutons have such a nice crispy so-fresh taste !! way better than the ones in the store.
I did lowered my temp to 325 degrees because my oven is hotter
8 minutes one side, 8 minutes other and perfect croutons !!!
Thank you so much, I love finding all these great ways online to fix the foods we normally buy.
And that we can make them at home with a little time and effort and save so much money. :))))
This recipe is a keeper!!
Made the recipe exactly as written. I have a new oven so still getting used to it so opted for 12 minutes first and they were dry but needed a little browning so kept a close eye on them for another 2 minutes and they are perfect. Thank you so much.
Made these from homemade white bread. Used salt, pepper, EVO and herbs de province. Can’t believe the difference to store bought. It’s worth the little prep you have to do. Will definitely do this again.
I have made homemade croutons for years. After they are adequately baked, they will last much longer than 2 weeks. We usually keep ours for 2 months or more.