Homemade Croutons

Croutons add the perfect crunch to soups and salads, but I often find store-bought croutons to be ho-hum. Luckily, homemade croutons are a no-effort ingredient to make, especially when there’s a stale loaf of bread sitting in your kitchen. Master our homemade crouton recipe and you’ll be able to turn any dry loaf of bread into the best croutons you’ve ever had. Just coat bread cubes with melted butter, good olive oil and a flavorful seasoning blend, then bake and load them onto soups or salads.

Homemade Crouton Ingredients

• French bread: While we usually want the freshest ingredients, the bread for croutons actually needs to be the opposite. Stale French bread makes for excellent croutons.
• Butter and olive oil: While you could use all olive oil or all melted butter, we like an equal mix of both. Too much butter can make the croutons feel greasy, and the olive oil lightens things up a bit. Plus, they both add their unique flavors to the croutons: Butter adds richness and olive oil adds earthiness.
• Seasonings: A bold seasoning mix—garlic salt, lemon pepper and ground mustard—adds a pungent kick. No boring, flavorless croutons here!

Directions

Step 1: Coat the bread cubes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, olive oil, garlic salt, lemon-pepper seasoning and ground mustard until combined. Drizzle the mixture over the bread cubes and toss everything together to coat.

Step 2: Spread onto a baking pan

Place the coated bread cubes in a single layer on an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Editor’s Tip: Try not to let the bread cubes touch each other. More space between allows for more airflow, creating crispier croutons.

Step 3: Bake the croutons

Bake the bread cubes until they’re golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cool the croutons to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container or use immediately.

Homemade Crouton Variations

• Play with different spices: Don’t feel as if you have to limit yourself to the spice mix in our homemade crouton recipe. Other spices like Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, herbes de Provence, onion powder, garlic powder and so many other options sitting in your spice cabinet would be great additions to homemade croutons.
• Add fresh herbs: Fresh herbs add a lot of floral earthiness. Before baking, toss the croutons with chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, basil or parsley.
• Make them cheesy: Just before the croutons hit the oven, toss them with a semi-hard or hard cheese like freshly shredded Gruyere, Parmesan, Pecorino or a nice cheddar. Freshly minced garlic goes great with this variation.

How to Store Homemade Croutons

Once they’re cooled to room temperature, store homemade croutons at room temperature for up to three days in an airtight container or good-quality zip-top bags. Keep the croutons in a cool place, away from sunlight and extreme temperatures, including the oven and stovetop.

Can you make a recipe for homemade croutons ahead of time?

Yes, you can make this recipe for homemade croutons ahead of time. Make the croutons the day before and keep them stashed in an airtight container or zip-top bag.

Homemade Crouton Tips

How do you use homemade croutons?

Of course, you’ll want to add croutons to fresh green salads. Caesar salads, for example, are a classic option for homemade croutons. Homemade croutons can top homemade soups, be used in Thanksgiving stuffing or casserole recipes, or become a bread crumb replacement wherever bread crumbs are needed.

What kind of bread makes the best croutons?

Breads that make the best croutons are sourdough, French bread or rustic Italian bread loaves that are a few days old. However, if you decide to make croutons on a whim and nothing more than a sandwich loaf is available, not to worry. The croutons will still be very tasty, though maybe not as crunchy.

Why aren’t my homemade croutons crunchy?

Your homemade croutons may not be very crunchy if the bread loaf wasn’t stale or if you didn’t bake the croutons long enough to dry them out. Also, if you had the pieces of bread too close together on the baking sheet, the air couldn’t circulate and dry out the croutons.