Easy Homemade Croutons

Homemade croutons are easy to make at home in 30 minutes with leftover bread – and easy to customize, too! Perfect for topping a salad or some soup.

Most of us have been stress baking our way through rough times, and if you’re anything like me you might have found yourself with a plethora of homemade breads.

There are only so many loaves you can use for sandwiches, keep in the pantry and the freezer, give to neighbors, or eat copious amounts of slathered in butter.

The good news is there are plenty of things you can do with excess bread, and aside from making cornbread and bacon stuffing, my favorite is to make homemade croutons!

This homemade crouton recipe is quick, easy, and you can customize it for your own tastes.

How do you make croutons from scratch?

The answer is: easily! You just need to dice your bread into uniform cubes, toss them into a large bowl with olive oil or butter, add seasonings, and then bake.

That’s it! But let’s go into a little more detail about each element.

• Pick your bread. Honestly, you can use just about any kind, but I prefer to use a hearty bread like sourdough or some stale homemade white bread. You can choose to leave the crust on or trim it to be without.
• Coat in olive oil or butter. Both will work well, but butter will give you a more… buttery flavor. Shocker, right?
• Choose your seasonings. I like to use Italian seasoning because I have it on hand and ready to go, but you can make your own or use any mix of seasonings, dried herbs and spices you like. I like to add a hefty amount of black pepper to mine, as well.
• To cheese or not to cheese? I love adding grated Parmesan cheese to mine, but you can certainly omit it if you’d like.
• You want to be sure you bake them until they’re golden brown and crisp, but not burned. That’d be like just trying to eat little chunks of cement and that’s not fun for anyone.

How to dry out fresh bread

With homemade croutons, you want your bread to be a bit stale for best results. But if it’s not and you’re jonesing for croutons right now, here’s what you can do to speed up the process:

1. Slice the bread into uniform 1/2″ pieces and arrange on a baking sheet in an even layer. Don’t toss with any oil or butter! We’re drying it out.
2. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes until it’s dry and a bit toasted – but not browned.
3. Let cool, then proceed with the rest of the recipe as listed in the recipe card below!

Easy Homemade Croutons

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 (2 tablespoons per serving)

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Description

Homemade croutons are easy to make at home in 30 minutes with leftover bread – and easy to customize, too! Perfect for topping a salad or some soup.

Equipment

• High-sided sheet pan
• Nonstick silicone mat
• Parchment paper (precut)
• Mixing bowls

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• 2 cups hearty bread, diced into 1/2″ cubes
• 1 Tablespoon oil or melted butter
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons seasoning of choice, I like to use an Italian blend
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with a nonstick silicon mat or parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine diced bread and oil (or butter) to coat.
  2 cups hearty bread

  1 Tablespoon oil or melted butter
• Add Parmesan, seasoning, pepper, salt, garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.
  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  2 teaspoons seasoning of choice

  1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pour onto prepared sheet pan in an even layer and bake for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through for more even browning.
• Let cool completely on baking sheet, then enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freeze: You can bake them according to the recipe instructions, let them cool, and then place them in a single layer in a resealable freezer bag to store in the freezer for up to a month! When you’re ready to use them, let them thaw to room temperature (shouldn’t take long at all) and then toast them under the oven’s broiler for a few months. Enjoy!

My general rule is the following quantities per 1 cup of diced bread: 1/2 Tablespoon oil or melted butter, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tablespoon seasoning blend, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Nutrition information: The information below reflects 6 servings – your results will vary.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1oz | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 557mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.