Learn how to make homemade croutons with this easy recipe, which yields the most delicious crispy, crunchy toasted exterior with a slightly chewy interior. These croutons make for a flavorful topping for salads, soups, and more, and are also a delicious snack all on their own. If you have extra bread on your hands from making artisan bread, ciabatta bread, or homemade bread bowls, use it to make croutons!
A fresh green salad without croutons is like a peanut butter dessert without chocolate—disappointing and dull. 😉 This is especially true when it comes to homemade croutons, with their irresistible crispy, crunchy, herb-infused, and perfectly oil-kissed goodness.
Once you make these, be sure to store them right away—or you WILL find yourself snacking on them every time you pass by. My whole team and I couldn’t resist. It might sound dramatic to rave about little cubes of bread, but if you’ve ever made croutons from scratch, you’ll completely understand!
Why Make Homemade Croutons?
- Quick and easy
- Homemade croutons taste approximately 1000x better than store-bought packaged croutons (we’ve done the math)
- Elevate any salad into a company-worthy meal
- Excellent use for crusty bread, homemade or store-bought
- Option to make them dairy-free and vegan if you use all olive oil and skip the optional parmesan
- The perfect accompaniment for soups and salads, or a delicious savory snack in their own right
- Taste incredible with homemade Italian dressing on a fresh green salad with red onion, olives, tomatoes, pepperoncini, and parmesan cheese
Ingredients You Need
The most basic ingredients you need to make croutons are bread, fat (oil or butter), and seasoning (salt). If you have those three things, you can make croutons. But for the best, most delicious croutons that are full of flavor, use the recipe below, which includes:
- Crusty, sturdy bread
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Italian seasoning blend
- Dried parsley
- Garlic powder
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh parmesan cheese, optional: Freshly grated parmesan adds tangy, nutty, salty flavor, but feel free to skip if you don’t have any on hand.
Best Bread for Making Homemade Croutons
Start with a loaf of crusty bread, such as homemade artisan bread, Italian or French bread, sourdough, a baguette, homemade ciabatta, or even homemade bread bowls. The type of bread you use for croutons makes a difference. You don’t want to use a flimsy sandwich bread, you want something a little sturdier.
Fresh or 1-day-old bread is best for making homemade croutons. You don’t want to use super stale bread because then the croutons would be too hard and crunchy. The best croutons have a crispy exterior and a slightly softer, chewy center… they’re not meant to break your teeth! Use staler bread for breakfast casserole, French toast casserole, or strata.
You can simply tear the bread into pieces, which gives you craggy, irregularly shaped pieces with some variation in texture (smaller pieces will be crunchier, larger pieces will be a little chewier); or you can slice the bread into cubes if you like a more uniform look. Either way you break apart your bread, be sure to make the bite-size pieces small enough to fit on a fork or a spoon along with whatever they are accompanying, such as salad or soup.
Flavoring Your Croutons
You can use either olive oil or melted butter, but I recommend using BOTH for the best possible flavor.
In a small saucepan or skillet, heat the olive oil, butter, and seasonings until the butter melts, whisking until everything is well combined. Drizzle the mixture over the bread cubes and toss thoroughly to ensure every piece is fully coated. Warming the mixture helps it absorb into the bread more quickly and distributes the flavors more evenly.
By the way, if you’re looking for a quality skillet, I own and love this one (affiliate link, though I am not working with this brand). I have been pleased with Made In cookware.
Spread the coated bread pieces in a single layer on a lined baking sheet.
Per the printable recipe below, bake for 10 minutes, stir, then bake another 8 minutes. You want a golden brown color, crunchy on the outside but still a little soft inside.
Do not bake for too long, because they’ll continue to crisp up as they cool, and you’ll end up with too-hard croutons that are unpleasant to crunch/chew.
Serve Homemade Croutons With:
Storage Tip: Lightly cover them to store for the first day, so they stay crunchy, but after the first day, transfer to a tightly sealing container or bag to prevent them from becoming too stale.
How to Make Homemade Croutons
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Yield: 6–8 cups
Category: Bread
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Description
A flavorful topping for salads and soups, homemade croutons are also a delicious crispy-crunchy savory snack all on their own. A wonderful way to use up extra bread!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Tear or slice bread into small bite-size pieces and place them in a large bowl. You should have around 6 to 8 cups of bread cubes, give or take.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together olive oil, butter, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until the butter is melted and everything is combined, about 3–5 minutes. Pour over the bread cubes, add the optional parmesan cheese, and stir/toss until all the pieces of bread are coated. Spread the seasoned bread cubes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and stir, then return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Let the croutons cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes; they will continue to crisp up as they cool.
- Store leftover croutons lightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 day; after that, store covered tightly for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Saucepan or Small Skillet (if you’re looking for a quality skillet, I own and love this one | Whisk | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Best Bread to Use: For best results, I strongly recommend using a crusty, sturdy bread for making croutons, such as artisan bread (1 loaf from that recipe is around 12 ounces), French or Italian loaf, baguette, sourdough, or ciabatta. Avoid using soft or flimsy bread.
- Can I Use Only Olive Oil? Yes, feel free to skip the butter. Instead, use 1/2 cup (120ml) of olive oil.
- Italian Seasoning: If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use any combination of Italian spices that you like such as dried basil, rosemary, oregano, etc.
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