Our homemade crouton recipe elevates the humble salad, soup or chili. 20 minutes and you will have beautiful, crunchy golden brown croutons AND you will have saved a day old loaf of bread from the waste pile and transformed it into a tasty garnish.
This is another one of those “un-recipes”, meaning it’s so simple. You can have fun with lots of different combinations depending what spices and cheese you have on hand. This homemade crouton recipe will give you general guidelines and then it’s open playing time.
How To Make Our Homemade Crouton Recipe
As simple as four ingredients and twenty minutes.
The basic guidelines for making homemade croutons is a loaf of bread, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Tear bread into ½” pieces, toss in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cutting the bread with a knife is faster and gives a more uniform look. But for homemade croutons I like the rustic look (and non-industrial) look of torn over cut.
Pour olive oil over the cubes and stir with a spatula. Add salt and pepper, stir again and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Stir half way through baking.
It’s really that easy!
See Ingredient Substitutions below for other great add-ons to bring these croutons to an even higher level.
How Should I Use Croutons?
The obvious choice for homemade croutons is a nice green salad. Especially Caesar Salad. We have a recipe for Caesar Salad without egg and a Caesar Salad without anchovies.
Eat them right off the baking tray, croutons are tastier than potato chips……….really.
Our homemade crouton recipe tops off soups and chilis well, adding a nice crunch, even as they sit in the liquid.
If using for soup or chili, it’s nice to slice the bread into thin slices as opposed to chunks, like you see served with French Onion Soup.
Should I Cut The Crust Off The Bread For Croutons?
That’s a matter of opinion. I usually leave the crust on unless it’s the heel of the bread. Then it is too “crusty”.
Traditional homemade crouton recipes called for removing the crusts. But todays a different time, personally I like the taste, texture and less hassle of just leaving the crust on.
What Kind Of Bread Makes The Best Croutons?
Again, it’s a matter of preference. In this homemade crouton recipe I call for using a French baguette. By tearing instead of cutting the bread you end up with a rustic crouton that looks more homemade and less industrial that store bought croutons.
But believe me, I’ve used about every kind of bread you can think of for croutons. If you’re anything like me, you always have leftover bread. That can be sandwich bread, gourmet herb or cheese bread, even hot dog buns. I don’t separate them, either. It’s all one big happy party of different flavors.
I use leftover bread for homemade bread crumbs as well, both panko and fine breadcrumbs.
Tear, or cut, the bread into roughly ½” pieces and follow our homemade crouton recipe. You’ll turn that leftover bread into croutons in about 20 minutes flat.
Can I Use Fresh Bread to Make Homemade Croutons?
Yes. Fresh bread is moist so it’s best to cut into slices and let it air out for a couple hours if you have the time. Or you can place the pieces of bread on a baking tray in an unheated oven and leave overnight.
If you don’t have time for that, no problem. You’ll want to reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and keep the croutons baking for an additional 5-10 minutes to dry them out more. Keep an eye on them. Croutons can go from beautiful golden to burned quickly.
Can I Make Your Homemade Crouton Recipe On The Stove?
Yep. Personally I like making it in the oven because it’s easy. I’m sure you’ve heard me say that before!
To make croutons on the stove, toss with the same amount of olive oil, salt and pepper and saute over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the crispiness you want.
Are You A Butter Fan or An Olive Oil Fan?
Olive Oil wins for me. Just easier to use. Plus I prefer the taste.
Butter does add another dimension of flavor but is easier to burn.
A combination, half and half, is a good idea as well.
Ingredient Substitutions And Fantastic Extras
Bread – I suggest using French Bread. But absolutely any bread will do. Try to keep the croutons roughly the same shape and thickness so that they bake evenly.
Leftover ends of different kinds of bread makes a unique, flavorful combination. Especially if you have leftover herb, whole grain or cheese breads. Go ahead and use up extra hamburger and hotdog buns or regular sandwich bread too.
Olive Oil – It’s up to you if you want to use 100% Olive Oil, 100% butter or a combination of the two. Use the flavor that you like best.
Spices – add your favorite dried spice. If you want garlic, I’d stick with garlic powder or salt instead of fresh. The fresh garlic tends to burn in the oven. Use garlic powder(BOLD) if you add salt, or use garlic salt(BOLD) without any additional salt.
Everything bagel spice is really good on croutons as well. Trader Joe’s has it, but I think there are lots of brands.
Lemon pepper is nice for a salad crouton.
I also like to add Nature’s Seasoning, a spice blend from Morton Salt, it’s a nice balance for croutons as well as garlic bread.
When using these spice brands check the amount of salt, you may not want to add any additional salt or keep it to a minimum.
How To Store and Freeze Our Homemade Crouton Recipe
Store our homemade crouton recipe in an airtight container on the countertop or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freeze any leftover bread that you have by throwing it into a freezer baggie, and when you have enough to make croutons remove, defrost and follow the regular crouton recipe directions.
You can also freeze our homemade crouton recipe for about a month, after that the croutons tend to lose texture consistency. Just defrost on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight.
Homemade Crouton Recipe, Super Easy
Homemade croutons are easy to make, add a nice touch to a salad, soup or chili, or just eat like a potato chip
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French Bread or any bread you have on hand
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil or butter or use half oil and half butter
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Favorite Spice Blend, optional I like to use Nature's Seasoning
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Tear bread into ½” pieces, toss in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Pour olive oil over the cubes and stir with a spatula. You want enough oil to coat all sides of the croutons without leaving a pool of oil on the pan.
Add salt, pepper and spice blend if using, stir again and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Stir halfway through baking.
Remove the croutons earlier rather than later. They go from golden to brown very quickly.
Look at notes and/or post for other spice suggestions.
Recipe Notes
Bread – Use any bread that you have on hand or buy French Bread, my favorite for homemade croutons.
Tear or Cut? – Cutting the bread with a knife is faster and gives a more uniform look. But for homemade croutons I like the rustic look (and non-industrial) look of torn bread over cut. Just a preference issue.
Olive Oil or Butter? Either is fine. Butter adds a richer flavor but burns easier. I actually prefer the taste of olive oil. And a lot of people like to use half butter and half oil.
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