How to Make Homemade Croutons

Croutons that are homemade with day old bread are SO much better than store bought! What can you do with croutons? They are perfect tossed into your healthy salad recipe or into some homemade soup. Learn how to make homemade croutons and never throw away your stale bread ever again!

Making Croutons For Tastier Salads!

Now that we are home from vacation my husband and I feel a desperate need to start eating healthy again! Too much meat, fried foods, desserts and alcohol were consumed over the last two weeks. I have stocked up on salad ingredients and we will be eating a lot of greenery in the coming weeks.

My son’s favorite part of the salad is (of course!) the croutons on top. Croutons are nothing but toasted and flavored bread so I have no idea why the cost so darn much at the grocery store! Homemade croutons would be much cheaper, right?

How do you make croutons?

I decided to save myself some money (and skip the artificial ingredients!) and make homemade croutons instead. All you really need for homemade croutons is bread, olive oil/butter, and  your seasonings of choice. You can use all olive oil when toasting your homemade croutons if you like.

If you do choose to add butter,  be careful to watch them carefully so they don’t get too brown. Once you have finished toasting just let them cool and store your homemade croutons in a sealed container. Use within a week or two on top of a tasty salad!  Check out Bon Appetite for more uses for stale bread. 

 

Easy Homemade Croutons Recipe

Yield: 4 cups

How to Make Homemade Croutons

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Learn how to make homemade croutons and never throw away stale bread What can you do with croutons? Use as a salad topper or addition to homemade soup.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups of your choice of bread, cut into cubes. Remove crust if desired.
• 1/4 cup of olive oil or melted butter or a combination of the two (I used half and half)
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs. I used a combination of oregano and basil
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Combine the olive oil, melted butter (if using), herbs and salt in a small bowl.
2. Drizzle half of the olive oil mixture onto a cookie sheet with raised sides
3. Dump your bread cubes onto the cookie sheet.
4. Drizzle the bread cubes with the remaining olive oil mixture
5. Using a large spatula toss the bread crumbs several times to completely coat all sides
6. Spread the croutons out on your cookie sheet
7. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Mix ever 5 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and pour into large bowl.
9. Sprinkle with Parmesan and toss to coat.
10. Place back on the cookie sheet to cool completely.
11. Add to top of salad
12. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 96Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information not always accurate