Homemade Croutons – don’t spend your money on bags of croutons – make your own! Perfect for everything from soup to salad.
We’re going back to the basics today! I may get my official food bloggers card revoked for posting such a simple recipe, but occasionally I really enjoy revisiting the kitchen basics. When I’m doing my weekly shopping, I sometimes have to stop myself from making a routine purchase of items that would be just as easily made at home.
Take croutons for instance. They’re one of the most basic of basic recipes, very economical and the homemade ones taste far better, too!
If you enjoy nicely seasoned, crispy croutons on your salad or on top of a hot bowl of soup, you’ll appreciate the simplicity of making them yourself. And if you’ve been purchasing them at the grocery store…well, after you make your own just once you’ll never purchase them again. Promise.
All you need to make a batch of perfectly seasoned, crispy Homemade Croutons of your own are some stale bread, a few seasonings and a little oil.
How to Make Homemade Croutons
Cut the bread into cubes about 1″ square. I used a day-old loaf of French bread, but you could any type of bread you happen to have. Even sandwich bread if you must.
Add a little salt and pepper, garlic powder, oregano, Parmesan and olive oil. Or use whatever seasonings you like. Depending on the ingredients in your salad or soup, you might like croutons with some basil or thyme. Or a different type of grated cheese. You could also substitute with a flavored oil. Adjust any or all of these to your personal taste!
Place the seasoned croutons on a baking tray in a single layer.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until the croutons are golden brown and crispy. Let them cool a bit and then serve!
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If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
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Recipe
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Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 small loaf of day-old French bread
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the bread into cubes about 1” square. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle olive oil over bread.
- Toss bread cubes until evenly coated with seasonings and oil. Place the seasoned bread cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes or until croutons are nicely golden brown. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
Oregano? You mean Parsley? And by Oil you mean Butter?
Thanks! going to use what’s left of my kinda stale french bread and make this tonight. Can you tell me the best way to store them?
Trish – You can store them in an airtight plastic or glass container for a couple of days. Or freeze them for several weeks. Just make sure your storage container is sealed well.
I absolutely love home baked croûtons and do them like you do Lana. Yours look gorgeous!
I just made my own croutons, too. Simple, but delicious! And necessary because they’re SO much better than anything you can buy in the store. I love the added parm! :)
Great recipe! And no comparison to store bought croutons. I love how you added parmesan. Delicious. :-)
Homemade croutons are fine by me! You are right…you will not buy them again once you’ve made your own. I just made some really special ones last evening for a soup. I couldn’t stop eating them!
Aren’t they the best? And it only takes a few minutes to make a big batch.
I agree with Miss P…homemade croutons are addictive and just too easy to munch on. I enjoy munching on them with a glass of wine before dinner.
Oh, that’s a great idea! You could make them into little rectangles and serve them with a dish of warm marinara, too. Yum.
I love that you added garlic, oregano and Parmesan to these croutons! Such a wonderful and creative use of leftover French bread, and delicious in a soup. Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to try these next time I make a warm, brothy soup. :)
I do hope you’ll try them and enjoy them, Georgia.
You could never get your Food Blogger Card revoked…especially with a recipe like this one. It will get people in the kitchen! And, I agree …homemade croutons all the way. I can’t eat store-bought ones…ewww
I agree. Ewwww :-) They mostly taste like oil, stale oil.
I dare not make these too often – I eat them like popcorn.
Miss P
You’re so right, Lana. Store bought croutons don’t hold a candle to the homemade version, which take a matter of minutes to make. I always stockpile the tail ends of French loaves that are past their prime in the freezer so I’ll have ready supply to make croutons on a moment’s notice.
great reminder, I pretty much make my own breadcrumbs but haven’t thought of doing croutons on soup & salads in years…. it’s such a darn good addition, could kick myself for forgetting….
I always make my own croutons. I keep a bag of old bread in the refrigerator or ends of bread and then when i have enough i make a few batches of croutons. Haven’t bought croutons from the store in years.
Made these today, they were great, thanks for the inspiration! :-)
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed them.
LOVE me some homemade croutons!