Homemade croutons are WAY tastier than store bought, and they’re easy to make at home. Here’s how to make homemade croutons!
Along with homemade salad dressing, homemade croutons is one of our best tips for an incredible salad. Why make croutons at home? They’re easy to make and they taste AMAZING. You’ll truly never buy croutons again with this recipe! Alex and I grew up on the boxed perfectly square store bought version: but after making this recipe, we vowed always to make them at home. Our homemade croutons recipe makes for crunchy, salty and garlicky croutons: I actually eat many of them out of the pan before they even make it to the salad! It’s also a great way to use up bread. Here’s how to make homemade croutons!
How to make homemade croutons
Making homemade croutons is truly easy: all you need is a few slices of bread, olive oil, and kosher salt. Here’s what to do:
- Slice or tear the bread: Cut the bread into cubes, keeping in mind that 1 medium slice of bread is about 1 cup of cubes. You also can tear the bread into small pieces, which makes for crispier croutons with crevices that catch the dressing!
- Mix with olive oil and salt: Place the cubes in a bowl and mix them with olive oil and kosher salt. These garlic croutons also have garlic powder! It makes for the most delicious, garlicky salty croutons.
- Bake for 15 minutes: Simply bake the croutons at 300F for about 15 minutes until they’re crunchy and golden brown.
Leftover bread is great for making croutons! Try making homemade croutons with leftover No Knead Bread, Artisan Bread, or Dutch Oven Bread.
Best salad recipes
How to serve these homemade croutons? We have dozens of delicious salad recipes that these would be perfect for. Here are a few of our favorite salad recipes that would go perfectly with the crunch of homemade croutons:
- The BEST Kale Salad
- Radish Chopped Salad Recipe
- Massaged Kale Salad with Pomegranate
- California Salad with Avocado Oil Vinaigrette
- Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Cabbage Salad with Apples & Walnuts
- Southwest Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad or Perfect Caesar Salad
- Pea Salad with Lemon Dressing
- Healthy Potato Salad with Hard Boiled Egg
- Beet and Apple Salad
- Easy Salad Bar Ideas
And a few salad dressings
Just like homemade croutons, the best salad dressings are homemade salad dressings! The main reason to make salad dressing at home: they are so, so delicious! Making them at home makes them taste super fresh and nuanced. Homemade salad dressings also don’t have preservatives or added ingredients. Most homemade salad dressings are also pretty quick to make! Over the years, we’ve created a bunch of salad dressing recipes so we don’t have to buy them again. Here are our favorite salad dressing recipes:
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Caesar Dressing Recipe
- Best Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Homemade Italian Dressing
- Best Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Thousand Island Dressing
- 21 Vinaigrette Recipes That Your Salad Needs
This homemade croutons recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free bread.
PrintHomemade Croutons Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: About 3 cups 1x
Description
Homemade croutons are WAY tastier than store bought, and they’re easy to make at home. Here’s how to make homemade croutons!
Ingredients
- 4 cups bread, cut into cubes (about 4 medium slices)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Cut the bread into small cubes, or tear it into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a small bowl.
- Mix with the olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder, and a few grinds of black pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and top with the bread cubes.
- Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, then let cool for a few minutes before serving. (Croutons can be made in advance and stored in a sealed container until ready to use.)
- Category: Essential
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Homemade croutons, Croutons recipe, How to make croutons, Salad recipes, Croutons for Salad, Homemade Salad Dressings
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