I’m going to show you How to Make Homemade Croutons! Homemade Croutons will take a salad from average to extraordinary!
I had a dinner party recently and was amazed at how many people didn’t know you can make croutons. Friends, if you’re not making homemade croutons for your salads, you are missing out. Heck, not only for your salads but make homemade croutons for your stuffing and dressing as well.
And, let’s be honest. Salad dressing and croutons are the best things about salad. Don’t tell my ‘diet group!’
I found these great salad dressing containers on Amazon that you may want to try.
First of all, Homemade Croutons are SO much better than store-bought croutons. They are not those tasteless bites of dry, stale bread.
They are more economical as well!
In addition, this recipe is oh-so-easy to make. You can make croutons while you’re preparing the rest of the meal. Or, you can do like I do and make a bunch of them when you have time and store them in an airtight container until mealtime.
Finally, breakfast casseroles, bread pudding, and homemade croutons are a great way to use day-old bread.
How to Make Homemade Croutons
- Omit the pepper if you’re not a fan.
- In fact, you can omit any or all of the three seasonings if you prefer plain croutons.
- If you’re serving a green salad with Mexican food, you may want to use cumin and paprika as the seasonings. Bread cubes are a blank canvas for whatever flavor you desire.
- I used liquid coconut oil. Any oil will work, you may want to try olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
How to Make Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 5 cups bread cubed
- 1/2 cup oil liquid coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Cube bread and place in a large bowl.
- Add seasonings to oil.
- Drizzle oil over bread cubes tossing as you pour. (Optional - Add parmesan cheese and toss.)
- Spread bread cubes onto a large sheet pan in a single layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then toss and cook another 15 minutes.
- Test to make sure bread is toasted and crisp, but not too dried out.
- Remove from oven and serve or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
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Carla says
Why does the prep and cook time look so far off?
Paula says
I have no idea. All I can think is it didn’t update correctly at some point. I corrected it. Thanks for pointing that out, Carla!
Charlotte Kent says
Is there a bread you recommend?
Paula says
I have used sour dough, French, and even loaf bread. I prefer French or loaf bread over the sour dough since it is actually a little sour.