These oven-baked homemade croutons are so simple and delicious. Once you make your own, you may never buy them again. Get ready to take your salads to the next level of deliciousness!
Okay, friends. This one’s gonna be short and sweet. There’s not a whole lot to say about homemade croutons except that they’re super simple, really delicious, so much better than store-bought, and you need to make them!
Any bread will do. My favorite type of bread to use is a crusty, chewy bread like ciabatta, Italian, or French bread. BUT I have even made homemade croutons with regular old sliced bread when that’s all I had, and they were still fabulous and so much better than any store-bought croutons I ever had!
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE CROUTONS:
- Bread
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Other seasonings (optional)
HERE’S A QUICK LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CROUTONS:
How easy is that? And it only takes about 20 minutes. The baking time will vary depending on the type of bread you use. For example, a heavier bread like ciabatta will take longer than lighter regular sliced bread. Just keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!
One thing to note: the croutons will get crispier as they cool, so when you are checking for doneness, look for the color you want and make sure the bread is dry and no longer soft rather than trying to achieve that final level of crispiness.
As you can see here, I like my croutons very lightly golden brown, but they are still nice and crispy after they come out of the oven and cool:
I keep things simple and just season my croutons with salt and pepper, but you could absolutely season these up however you would like (maybe some garlic powder, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, Parmesan cheese, or oregano … you get the idea). Experiment and have fun!
Once you make your own homemade croutons, there’s no going back! They will transform your salads (a must in my Caesar Salad), are an awesome topping for soup, and you can even use them to make stuffing.
I hope you try this recipe for homemade croutons and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed bread (1/2-inch cubes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- salt and pepper, to taste
- other seasonings (optional), to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Brush a rimmed sheet pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Place the cubed bread on the sheet pan and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper (and any other seasonings you would like). Toss to coat the bread cubes evenly with the olive oil and seasonings.
- Bake until the croutons are dry and crispy and golden brown (note: they will crisp up more as they cool), tossing occasionally so that all sides get brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on the sheet pan.
Notes
- Suggestions for possible other seasonings: garlic powder, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, oregano, Parmesan cheese.
- Store any leftover croutons in an air-tight container for up to a week.
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