Homemade Croutons are so easy to make! With just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of time, you can make croutons that are perfectly seasoned and taste better than store-bought.
When it comes to what to do with leftover bread, croutons reign supreme.
Not only do croutons make use of stale bread that may be thrown out, but they add texture and flavor to salads and soups. And really, who can resist a crispy, crunchy nugget of flavored bread?!
And they are SO easy to make!
Why Homemade is Best
We have already covered that Homemade Croutons make great use of stale bread and are easy to make, but there are a few other key reasons that homemade is better than store-bought.
- You can control the quality of ingredients. Store-bought croutons are typically high in sodium, have a lot of added sugars, and preservatives. Homemade croutons have no added corn syrup, preservatives, are lower in sodium, are sugar-free, and can be made with whole-grain bread.
- This recipe for homemade croutons is easily modified to be allergy-friendly. You can make dairy-free, peanut-free, corn-free, even gluten-free croutons easily when you prepare them yourself.
- Homemade Croutons taste better and are completely customizable. If you love garlic--add more. Hate garlic--omit it! Want to add cheese--go crazy! You get the idea.
Bottom line--Homemade Croutons are easy to make, incredibly flavorful, and better for you than store-bought.
Notes on Ingredients
- Bread: Use any variety of bread you like, such as Italian bread, whole wheat bread, gluten-free bread, and even cornbread makes delicious croutons. This is also a great time to use stale bread.
- Olive Oil: I highly recommend using good-quality olive oil, not canola or vegetable oil. The olive oil not only allows the bread to toast evenly but also adds flavor to the croutons. And don't worry, you don't need much!
- Seasonings: You can use any combination of dried seasonings you like. I personally opt for garlic powder, dried oregano, dried parsley, and onion powder, which mimic the flavor of store-bought Italian-seasoned croutons.
How To Make Croutons
- Cut up bread into ½ inch chunks--think bite size. Remember, this is a great time to put scraps of bread or stale bread to use. You can use more than one variety of bread.
- Place the cubed bread onto a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Drizzle the bread cubes with olive oil and sprinkle the dried seasonings.
- Use your hands to toss the bread with the seasonings and oil until the bread cubes are evenly seasoned.
- Spread the bread cubes out into even layer on a large baking sheet. You want to be sure to leave enough space that the croutons crisp up, instead of steam and get soggy in the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven and give the pan a shake, or flip the croutons with a spatula.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for additional 5 minutes or until the croutons are golden.
How to Use Croutons
Homemade Croutons are a delicious crunchy addition to salads, soups, but also can be used in a variety of creative ways.
- Use the croutons to top salads, such as BLT Salad or a Copycat Panera Greek Salad.
- Top soups, Instant Pot Tomato Soup, with a generous serving of croutons to add crunch and texture.
- Instead of drying out bread for stuffing, use croutons as a base for Homemade Stuffing.
- Grind up leftover croutons and use in any recipe calling for seasoned breadcrumbs or to bread Homemade Chicken Tenders.
- Replace the hash browns and omit the salt in Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole with 4 cup of croutons, for a delicious, savory, seasoned breakfast casserole.
How to Store Croutons
After baking, allow the croutons to cool fully. Then store them in an airtight container, in a cool pantry for up to 2 weeks.
Air Fryer Croutons
This recipe for homemade croutons can easily be adapted for an air fryer, but the recipe will need to be cut in half or prepared in batches.
- If your model of an air fryer needs to be preheated, heat to 400 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, and 1 teaspoon dried parsley with 4 cups of cubed bread.
- Let the bread sit in the mixture for 2 minutes to absorb the flavor.
- Spread the cubed bread in the basket of the air fryer and toast for 3 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove the basket and shake and toast for an additional 3 minutes.
- Check to be sure the bread is evenly toasted, if not, return to the air fryer for 2 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
You really can use any variety of bread you like. But my personal favorite is Italian Bread or French Bread. The mild flavor of these varieties really lets the flavor added to the croutons come through.
Yes! Parmesan cheese works best. Add ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese to the seasonings and proceed with the recipe as directed.
No. For uniform croutons, feel free to cut off crusts. However, this is not necessary and in my humble opinion a waste of food.
That will depend on the bread you use. Check the label carefully if you need your croutons to be egg-free, soy-free, dairy-free, and/or corn-free. My recipes for Honey Whole Wheat Bread and Homemade Italian Bread are both nut-free, corn-free, egg-free, soy-free, and dairy-free.
More DIY Favorite Recipes
If you made these Homemade Croutons, I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below.
Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 8 cups of cubed bread
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut bread into ½-inch thick cubes. You can opt to remove the crusts if desired, I find they add a nice texture.
- Place the diced bread onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Evenly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes and then sprinkle the seasonings over the cubed bread. Using your hands, toss to coat the cubes evenly in the seasonings and then spread out the bread onto the sheet pan being sure to not overcrowd the bread so everything browns evenly.
- Let the bread cubes sit for 2 minutes to absorb the flavor and then place the sheet pan into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan and flip the croutons or give the pan a good shake. Return to the oven and bake for additional 5 minutes, or until croutons are browned.
- Allow the croutons to cool to room temperature and then use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- If your model of an air fryer needs to be preheated, heat to 400 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, and 1 teaspoon dried parsley with 4 cups of cubed bread.
- Let the bread sit in the mixture for 2 minutes to absorb the flavor.
- Spread the cubed bread in the basket of the air fryer and toast for 3 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove the basket and shake and toast for an additional 3 minutes.
- Check to be sure the bread is evenly toasted, if not, return to the air fryer for 2 minutes.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2019 but updated in 2022 with new tips.
Jennifer
Since I started making these homemade croutons, I have no need to get store bought croutons! Homemade are so much better!!
Kristen Chidsey
Glad to hear you agree Jennifer!
Jen Shwartz
Who knew how easy these are to make? I will never buy the from te stroe again. Thank you!
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks so much Allyssa!
Noelle
I love how simple making homemade croutons is! This was a great way to do it, will be saving this recipe for sure!
Carrie
We eat a lot of salads and making our own will be awesome. Thank you for sharing.