Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Homemade croutons are so easy to make and you’ll never look back once you’ve tried them! This easy crouton recipe will transform your day-old bread into completely irresistible crispy croutons. Perfect for salads, soups, or even snacking!
How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large bowl, sheet pan
Servings: 16 (about ¼ cup each)
Once you start making homemade croutons, there’s no going back. Learning how to make croutons is a major game-changer and your salads, soups and stews will never be the same (in a very, very good way). Be sure to try my homemade salad dressing recipes, too.
The Best Homemade Croutons!
Simple ingredients and so easy to make. You only need four ingredients to make your own croutons: bread, olive oil, garlic powder, salt. That’s it! I’m sure you already have everything you need on hand. Your homemade croutons will be ready to enjoy in just fifteen minutes, start to finish!
Use 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 day-old bread that’s starting to get stale. The croutons are actually better if the bread is on the dry side. (Homemade bread crumbs are another great way to use day-old bread!)
So much better than store-bought! Seriously. Read the comments. Homemade croutons are crunchy. They’re flavorful. And they’re all too easy to pop in your mouth! Store-bought croutons tend to be too hard and don’t have much flavor. These croutons are crispy but still tender, with just the perfect crunch. Plus, you can use good-quality bread which means you’ll have the best tasting croutons!
“Why, why, why would I ever buy croutons from the store again?!??!! These are so easy & so delicious, it’s life changing, seriously! Love!”
How to Make Croutons
Cut the bread into cubes and toss the cubes with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Spread the cubed bread on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Helpful Tips
- Use the right kind of bread. I usually use a French baguette, Italian bread, or any bread with a coarse airy texture. You can use whole wheat bread or other whole grain bread. Try pumpernickel bread (try my Ruby Tuesday copycat croutons!), rye bread, sourdough bread, you name it. However, keep in mind that soft sandwich sliced bread isn’t the best choice for croutons.
- Dry bread is the best choice. Super fresh bread has a lot of moisture in it so it doesn’t absorb the oil as well and doesn’t toast up easily. To fix this little problem, simply cut the bread into cubes, spread it out on the sheet pan, and let it set an hour or two uncovered. It will dry out nicely.
- Don’t underbake the croutons. The baking time can vary depending on how dry the bread is, how large you cut the cubes, and the temperature of your oven. Make sure they’re dry and crispy. If they are underdone, the croutons will be more chewy and won’t keep as well.
How to Use Homemade Croutons
Eat them as a snack. The hardest part of homemade croutons (by far!) is not eating them all right off the baking sheet while they’re still warm. They are an absolutely irresistible combination of chewy and crispy!
Add to salads. Homemade croutons elevate almost any salad. Some salads even revolve around croutons, like this classic panzanella salad or asparagus panzanella salad. Add croutons to a simple house salad or a wedge salad. If a Caesar salad is more your thing, try my Caesar croutons and Caesar salad dressing.
Float them in soups and stews. I’ve been loving them on top of my Italian sausage stew or pasta e fagioli soup. Croutons are a great topper for creamy soups, like smoky roasted tomato soup, butternut squash soup, or Instant Pot cauliflower potato soup.
Recipe Variations
- Make croutons on the stove. You can prepare the croutons the same way if you’re going to make them on the stovetop. I usually increase the oil a little. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and toss the croutons around in the hot pan until they are golden brown. (I prefer the oven method because it’s slightly more hands-off and frees me up to do other things.)
- Use your air fryer. Another option if you don’t want to turn your oven on is air fryer croutons. An air fryer is perfect for smaller batches and and the croutons are ready to eat in less than 10 minutes.
- Add seasoning or cheese. Feel free to jazz up the croutons any way you like. I often add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. You can skip the garlic powder if you like. Add a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese for cheesy croutons.
More Salad Toppings
Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 4 cups (heaping) cubed bread (day old bread is best, see note)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (or 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 the seasonings are distributed and olive oil is absorbed.4 cups (heaping) cubed bread, ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 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, the croutons will 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!
- Enjoy immediately or cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- Bread: Bread that is day old, or slightly stale, works best. I usually use a French baguette, Italian bread, sourdough bread, or any bread with a coarse airy texture. You can use whole wheat bread or other whole grain bread. Soft sandwich bread is not the best choice for croutons.
- Pro tip: Super fresh bread has a lot of moisture in it so it doesn’t absorb the oil as well and doesn’t toast up easily. To fix this little problem, simply cut the bread into cubes, spread it out on the sheet pan, and let it set an hour or two uncovered. It will dry out nicely.
- Stovetop instructions: Prep the croutons the same way although I usually increase the oil a little. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and toss the croutons around in the hot pan until they are golden brown.
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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!
the perfectly healthy one..lots of nutrients and proteins from wholegrain your recipe is amazing and the way you explained it is awesome. keep sharing, I love all your recipes
Thank you so much!
Reformed male chauvinist here, who used to think that cooking was ‘kinda girly’ (and have seen the error of my ways.) Had a big leftover loaf of bread that would’ve gone to waste, so tried this recipe. You’re right–super easy and they taste great. Ran low on e/v olive oil, so had to use some regular, but it worked. Also tossed some grated cheese in the mix. Keep watch on the time, cause they brown fast. But they’re go-o-ood !! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll never buy croutons off the shelf again!
So glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Good call on the cheese. ;)
Making salad for dinner party this evening, these croutons were easy to make and delicious and brings a little gourmet to the salad. Will try garlic infused olive oil next time.
Garlic infused olive oil would be amazing!! I’m glad you like this recipe, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
These are so much better than store bought! Love the flavor. Homemade croutons are delicious on salads and even great in soups!!! These look great!!
I have a couple of those baguettes that are “par-baked” and you finish baking at home for 10 min in hot oven. If I cut these baguettes into cubes can I make according to your recipe still?
I haven’t tried this recipe with that type of bread, but I think it would work. It might just take a little longer for them to get crispy. Let me know if you try it!
Great recipe! I actually made the croutons from just one slice of sourdough, about one cup of cubes, with 1T olive oil, and a pinch of garlic, salt, pepper and my daughter wanted some dill. Baked for 10 minutes. Perfect. Just thought I would share this for anyone else who might be interested in making a smaller batch.
I love dill! Can’t wait to try them that way! Thank you for the small batch tips!
Fabulous!!! These are so good – just what my soup needed! Next time, I might even sprinkle some italian seasoning….. hmmm…
They’d be great with Italian seasoning!
Can you use regular sliced bread?
That should work fine! :) Each type of bread is going to yield slightly different results.
Made them with my homemade beer bread. The grandkids made short work of them. 82yr old grandpa scores again. Thank you!
Oh yum! I bet they’re amazing with beer bread! Go grandpa!
This recipe is awesome! I can’t stop eating my croutons! I used a ciabatta bun and a whole wheat baguette left over from a dinner party, and I added an Epicure Bruschetta spice to the mix. They are so crunchy and taste so fresh because they are! Thanks for this delicious recipe!
They are very addicting! So glad you liked these – thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!