Directions
Jump to Recipe Homemade Croutons – learn how to make delicious, crunchy croutons from scratch! Super easy recipe you can customize to go with whatever salad you are making. Salads are a staple in my house. We have this Simple Tossed Salad at least 3 times a week with dinner. And one of the reasons I can get my family to happily eat salad so often is the toppings! Croutons are probably the thing they want the most on their salad, but we always have a stash of assorted crunchy toppings, nuts, seeds etc that are available to enhance a salad. And the only thing that makes a salad better is when we have homemade croutons! There is just something about croutons made from scratch that take your salad from good to great. If you have leftover bread of any kind, croutons are what you should make with it! You don’t need much, if you only have 1 slice of day old bread, you have enough to top a couple salads. Or you can make enough to store in the pantry for a couple days. What You’ll Need Croutons are so simple, you really need just 4 ingredients, and then you can add on and go crazy from there if you want. Day Old Bread Olive Oil or Melted Butter Salt Pepper Those are the 4 basic ingredients. You can add garlic powder, onion powder, or any herbs that you like to up the flavor if you like. What Bread To Use You really can use whatever bread you have. If you like whole grain bread, then make whole grain croutons. I often use sourdough bread because that is what I have. But you can use French bread, Italian Bread, Ciabatta Bread….literally whatever bread you have. Even sandwich bread makes better than store bought croutons. How To Make Croutons Dice up your bread. You want to make sure that your bread cubes are about the same size. You can make them big or small, that is up to you. But you want them similar sized so they cook evenly. Arrange bread cubes on a baking tray and drizzle olive oil or melted butter over the top. Sprinkle the seasoning over the top of the bread. Here I am just using basic salt and pepper, but you can add garlic powder, dried herbs, parsley or whatever your like! Get in there and toss it all together. You want the bread to be evenly coated in the oil mixture. Then you just bake until crispy. You will want to flip them part way through the baking time to get them evenly browned. Storing Croutons After the croutons have cooled completely you can store in an air tight container for a couple weeks. Ways To Use Homemade Croutons If you can avoid just snacking on them they are perfect for so many things! Salads – BLT Salad, Caesar Pasta Salad or just about any salad you are making. Soups – They make a great topping to mix up the texture of soup. Use for French Onion Soup or even topping Butternut Squash Soup Stuffing – These are a great option when you are making Sausage Stuffing for the holidays. More Recipes To Improve Your Salads Lemon Vinaigrette Antipasto Salad Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette Greek Vinaigrette Spinach Chicken Salad Ranch Oyster Crackers Continue to Content I created a fun group on Facebook, and I would love for you to join us! It’s a place where you can share YOUR favorite recipes, ask questions, and see what’s new at Dinners, Dishes and Desserts (so that you never miss a new recipe)! If you’d like to check it out, you can request to join HERE. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and tag #dinnersdishes so I can see all the wonderful DINNERS, DISHES, AND DESSERTS recipes YOU make! Connect with Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts! Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post! Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram Author Recent Posts OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Stay ConnectedSignup for all the new recipes to be sent to your inbox on Saturday morning! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!
