Air Fryer Croutons

5 from 1 vote

Savory air fryer croutons are a crispy-crunchy addition to your next bowl of soup or salad. There's no better way to use up stale bread!

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Salad Dressings & Toppings

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings: servings

In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
2 tablespoons olive oil, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Add the cubed bread and stir to coat the bread with the oil and seasoning mixture. Place the seasoned bread cubes in the air fryer basket in an even layer.
2 cups cubed day-old bread
Air fry at 380ºF for 5 to 8 minutes, shaking the basket or tossing the croutons every couple of minutes (see note). Cook until they are golden brown and crisp. Keep a close eye on them, as cooking times can vary based on your specific air fryer and the size of the bread cubes.
Once the croutons are golden and crisp, remove them from the air fryer. Serve as a topping for salads or soups, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and seasonings are optional in this recipe. If you want the recipe to be lower in sodium, omit the salt. Other seasonings of your choice may be substituted.
Oil: If you like, the oil can be reduced to 1 tablespoon. The croutons won’t be exactly the same but they are still crunchy and very tasty. If you’re looking to reduce calorie content, this may be a great option. Melted butter can be substituted for olive oil
The size of the croutons: The bread can be torn rather than diced for more rustic croutons. Make sure the bread cubes are roughly the same size so they cook evenly. If you make them smaller, they’ll cook a little more quickly; larger croutons will take a little longer to cook.
Add cheese: After you toss the bread with the oil and seasonings, add 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese and stir to coat all the bread with cheese. Cook as directed.
If you make a single batch of these and have a decent sized air fryer, you might not have to shake the basket while they cook. If they're not in a single layer and/or don’t have much room around them, you’ll want to shake the basket a couple of times so that they cook evenly.

Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.

*If you're viewing this on your phone, press and hold the QR code to open in your browser.