Homemade croutons are so easy to make – these baked, whole grain, 4 ingredient croutons will transform your soups and salads into something completely irresistible.
Once you go to a homemade crouton, there’s no going back. They are a major game-changer and your salads, soups and stews will never be the same. In a very, very good way.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy: These are ready in less than 15 minutes, start to finish!
- Four Ingredients: That’s right, only four! And aside from the bread, I bet you have them all on hand!
- Irresistible: They’re crunchy. They’re flavorful. And they’re all too easy to pop in your mouth!
- Great use for bread that’s getting stale: If you’re looking for ways to reduce waste in the kitchen, this is a great one! Make croutons out of bread that’s starting to get stale. Win win!
- Way better than store-bought: Seriously. Read the comments.
How to Make Croutons
All you need to do is cut the bread into cubes, toss it with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt, spread them on a baking sheet and bake.
They only take 10 minutes to bake (but if you have really fresh bread, they’ll take longer to get golden brown).
The hardest part, BY FAR, is not eating them all off the baking sheet while they’re still warm. They are an absolutely irresistible combination of chewy and crispy and make for an amazing salad topping or a soup topper.
How to Use Homemade Croutons
I’ve been loving them on top of Italian sausage stew. They star in this traditional panzanella salad and springtime asparagus panzanella salad.
How to Make Croutons on the Stove
I often get asked how to make croutons on the stove. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and toss the croutons around in the hot pan until they are golden brown. You can prepare the croutons exactly the same way if you’re going to make them on the stovetop, and you don’t have to increase the oil unless you want to. I prefer the oven method because it’s slightly more hands-off and frees me up to do other things.More Salad Toppings
- homemade reduced-fat ranch dressing
- fresh raspberry vinaigrette dressing recipe
- vanilla bean candied walnuts
- savory granola (not sweet, and super crunchy with pepitas, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds)
- pepitas (eight recipes!)
- sweet and tangy honey mustard vinaigrette
- olive oil roasted almonds
- seasoned oyster crackers
- pickled red onions
Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 4 heaping cups cubed bread (I used a multigrain baguette)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the bread, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle olive oil over bread while stirring. Stir well until bread is coated by all ingredients and olive oil is absorbed.
- Spread the bread cubes into an even layer on a sheet pan. Don’t crowd the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. If you’re using super fresh bread, they’ll take a little longer to become golden brown. If the bread is stale and dry, it may brown faster, so keep an eye on it!
Notes
- Serving size: 1/4 cup croutons.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Delish! Thank you!
Oh, as I the only person in the world who finds the only way to coat the cubes evenly is to put all the ingredients in a bag and shake it?
That’s a great idea!
Rachel,
These croutons are perfect. I used four hamburger-bun-sized buns from my grocery store’s day-old shelf. That yielded 8 CUPS, so I doubled the recipe. Very easy and not over-seasoned. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
AAAAAH! Discovered this recipe 3 weeks ago and so far I have made it 9 times. 1000/10 would recommend, except I roughly triple the salt and garlic powder, and I would recommend parsley and italian seasoning as well!! We love the kick when we do that!!
Wow, 9 times?! That’s so awesome! I’m glad you like this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and review, it means a lot to me!
Apologies if this has been answered; how best to store croutons once they’re cooled?
In an airtight container!
Delicious but made too many! Can they be frozen??
Yes, they should be fine frozen!
I made homemade no knead herbed bread last weekend. We only ate half of it. I want to make croutons out of the remaining half of the loaf. I’ll try your recipe.
I bet they’ll be so delicious!
Made a whole wheat sourdough that wasn’t that great (didn’t proof long enough).
The croutons are fabulous though! Total bake time was close to 25 minutes in 5 minute increments.
Should have added I used garlic salt and increased the amount a LOT!
Perfect use for that type of bread! I’m glad you liked them. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Love love these croutons !!
Trouble is can’t stop noshing them
So quick and easy.
Thank you so much
Haha I totally understand that! I’m glad you liked them!
I was munching on some Olive Garden croutons and on a nearby counter was a half loaf of slightly stale sourdough bread. I wondered how hard to make make croutons. I quickly found your recipe and in short order I had some delicious croutons. I agree they were super easy and as mentioned the hardest part is not eating them straight out of the oven. I’ll definitely make again!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that can’t resist eating them straight off the pan! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Made these with ancient grains fresh bread so it took a tiny bit longer but wow! So good! Perfect texture and so easy to make!! Thank you!
Oh yum, I bet that was amazing!
So great and easy! I used fresh garlic instead and made with butter bread! So yummy on my chicken Caesar salad! Will be my go to from now on!
So glad you liked them! I bet they were amazing with fresh garlic!