Homemade Croutons

5 from 2 votes
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Homemade Croutons – learn how to make delicious, crunchy croutons from scratch! Super easy recipe you can customize to go with whatever salad you are making.

Salads are a staple in my house. We have this Simple Tossed Salad at least 3 times a week with dinner. And one of the reasons I can get my family to happily eat salad so often is the toppings!

Croutons are probably the thing they want the most on their salad, but we always have a stash of assorted crunchy toppings, nuts, seeds etc that are available to enhance a salad.

homemade croutons on a salad

 

And the only thing that makes a salad better is when we have homemade croutons! There is just something about croutons made from scratch that take your salad from good to great.

If you have leftover bread of any kind, croutons are what you should make with it! You don’t need much, if you only have 1 slice of day old bread, you have enough to top a couple salads. Or you can make enough to store in the pantry for a couple days.

looking down at bread cubes on a baking tray

What You’ll Need

Croutons are so simple, you really need just 4 ingredients, and then you can add on and go crazy from there if you want.

  • Day Old Bread
  • Olive Oil or Melted Butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Those are the 4 basic ingredients. You can add garlic powder, onion powder, or any herbs that you like to up the flavor if you like.

drizzling oil on bread cubes on a baking tray

What Bread To Use

You really can use whatever bread you have. If you like whole grain bread, then make whole grain croutons. I often use sourdough bread because that is what I have.

But you can use French bread, Italian Bread, Ciabatta Bread….literally whatever bread you have. Even sandwich bread makes better than store bought croutons.

baked bread cubes

How To Make Croutons

  1. Dice up your bread. You want to make sure that your bread cubes are about the same size. You can make them big or small, that is up to you. But you want them similar sized so they cook evenly.
  2. Arrange bread cubes on a baking tray and drizzle olive oil or melted butter over the top.
  3. Sprinkle the seasoning over the top of the bread. Here I am just using basic salt and pepper, but you can add garlic powder, dried herbs, parsley or whatever your like!
  4. Get in there and toss it all together. You want the bread to be evenly coated in the oil mixture.
  5. Then you just bake until crispy. You will want to flip them part way through the baking time to get them evenly browned.
bread cubes tossed with oil and salt and pepperon baking tray

Storing Croutons

After the croutons have cooled completely you can store in an air tight container for a couple weeks.

Ways To Use Homemade Croutons

If you can avoid just snacking on them they are perfect for so many things!

close up of homemade croutons

More Recipes To Improve Your Salads

close up of bread cubes on a baking tray
5 from 2 votes

Homemade Croutons

By Erin
Homemade Croutons – learn how to make delicious, crunchy croutons from scratch! Super easy recipe you can customize to go with whatever salad you are making.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients 

  • 1 loaf of bread, approximately 4 cups
  • 1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat bread to 400º F.
  • Cut bread into small cubes.
  • Arrange on a baking sheet in an even layer.
  • Drizzle olive oil or butter over the bread, sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.
  • Toss everything together until it is evenly coated.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes, tossing about half way, until they are lightly browned.

Notes

Baking time will depend on how big or small your bread cubes are. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 558mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Side Dish Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 188
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About Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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