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!
Had some sandwich bread a week old from my bread machine. Turned out absolutely delicious. Will never buy croutons again.
I’ve always liked croutons but findingd s really yummy variety is hard to do. Until now. I followed the recipe decreasing the salt to 1/2 a teaspoon and omitting the pepper. Delicious!! Definitely a keeper ! Can’t wait for caesar salad! Thankyou.
My family loves these croutons. I used salt, pepper, home made garlic powder, grated Parmesan cheese and butter. Yum! Thank you for these easy steps!
It’s actually a question… Is there an alternative way to still make croutons if you don’t have an oven?
By the way your recipe and procedure is rly helpful and easy to understand.
I made these croutons at home but instead of using Italian herbs I crushed up some garlic in a mortar and pestle and then added some salt and olive oil to the garlic and mixed in the garlic mix and extra oil. Mine only took ten mins but it was SO YUM! Thanks so much for the recipe, but I won’t need to be storing these any time soon, they were gone in seconds!
Delicious! So worth it to make your own. I use 2 day old Italian bread, cut into extra large cubes, toss into a gallon ziploc bag, or just put directly onto cookie sheet, where I’ll toss oil and spices, and then bake. When cooled, I put into another gallon freezer bag, and just pull out what I need.
So Good…!!
So good! I’ll lever buy croutons again.
I tried this recipe with my homemade bread. It turned out great!! Great with homemade soups! ❤️❤️
My bake time was much shorter….10 minutes and they were perfect.
Delicious… we accidentally burnt them but they where still amazing. I would like To make them again but try not to burn them.