Nothing beats homemade and croutons are no exception! And when they’re this easy, you’ll never want to buy them again. These Crunchy Homemade Croutons require just four ingredients and bring so much texture and flavor to your dish.
Plus, this simple recipe will teach you how to breathe new life into your stale bread, and how to get the perfect crunch and seasoning on your croutons.
Inspired by my education in environmental science, I always have the issue of food waste front of mind. And when avoiding food waste tastes this easy, I think it’s something we can all very easily get behind.
Homemade Croutons Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- Stale or day-old bread. Preferably sourdough, Italian, or white bread, but truly any bread works!
- Extra-virgin olive oil.
- Garlic salt. Or garlic powder + salt.
- Italian seasoning. You can even make your own Italian seasoning.
4-Ingredient Croutons Tips and Tricks
Cube Your Bread
Slice your bread into small, bite-sized cubes, about 1 inch in size. I recommend using a serrated knife. You can stack your bread and slice several pieces as once.
It’s much easier to slice into bread that’s a little staler, so if you are using fresh bread you may need to slice one at a time.
Season the Bread Cubes
Add the cubed bread to a large bowl. Add the olive oil, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning and toss. Try your best to distribute the oil and seasoning as evenly as possible.
Ideally, we want both sides of each piece of bread to have oil on it so every crouton is nice and toasty and golden brown. Similarly, the garlic salt needs to be distributed throughout so you don’t have some bland croutons and some overly salty ones.
Toast Your Croutons Until Golden Brown
Spread the bread cubes out on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Toast it on the top rack of the oven until crunchy and golden brown.
I do recommend setting a timer and checking them after 10 minutes at 350°F. Usually, mine are perfect after 15 minutes, but they do go from golden brown to burnt rather quickly, so it’s better to stay on top of it!
Serving Your Homemade Croutons
I toast these up any time I’m making a Caesar salad or Tuna Caesar Wrap, but they’re also delicious to snack on as they are! Here are some of my other favorite dishes to toss these onto:
How to Properly Store Leftover Crunchy Croutons
Homemade croutons last about 2 weeks if stored properly. Just make sure they are completely cooled before adding them to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature.
If they lose their crunch, simply re-toast them in the oven at 400°F for 3-5 minutes until they no longer taste stale.
Green tip: Of the billions of tons of food wasted annually, 50% of food waste happens at home. Reduce your contribution to food waste by properly storing and consuming leftovers.
Why I Love these Crispy Croutons with Italian Seasoning
- They’re super easy.
- They help reduce waste.
- The texture! They get exceptional crispy to add that perfect crunch to your salad and more.
If you’re loving these homemade croutons and want more stale bread recipes, check out this Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce and Savory French Toast Casserole.
Crispy 4-Ingredient Homemade Croutons
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Ingredients
- 8 slices stale bread (preferably sourdough, Italian, or white bread)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Slice your stale bread into roughly equal sized cubes, each about 1-cubic inch in size.
- Add the cubed bread to a large bowl with the olive oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic salt. Toss to coat and distribute the oil and seasonings as evenly as possible. You can also do this directly on the baking sheet — whatever works best for you!
- Spread the cubes out in an even layer. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.
Pro Tips
- If you don’t have garlic salt you can use ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of salt instead.
- Try these in my Tuna Caesar Wrap!
