crispy homemade croutons
Published: November 2023
A quick and easy homemade crouton recipe for soups, salads, and snacking!
Homemade croutons are one of my favorite, minimal ingredient recipes and taste so much better than store-bought croutons! The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any bread you have on-hand. I’ve made croutons with everything from sandwich bread to fresh bakery bread and they’ve all been so delightful with soup, in salads, or just for snacking. All you’re doing here is dicing up your bread (I like to use kitchen shears for this), drizzling with olive oil, and tossing with some seasonings on the pan! Truly so quick and easy to make and a hit with my friends and family every time I make them.
Try serving this recipe with my roasted tomato basil soup! It’s perfection!
INGREDIENTS
Bread, cut up into small pieces with kitchen shears (any bread will work here - see notes for more details): I like to buy fresh bakery bread from Sprouts that’s pre-packaged into small rounds (pictured in this post). I toss it right in the freezer and pull the bread, defrost at room temperature (takes little time), and make the recipe! I find that Ciabatta and Italian bakery breads work best, but you can use any fresh bread here.
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: you can drizzle more as-needed - this ingredient is key to get the croutons extra crispy!
Salt, pepper, garlic powder: I don’t list specific measurements for seasoning in this recipe because you can really season as much or as little as you’d like. I just start with a pinch of each, taste as I go, and add more if I need to!
DIRECTIONS
If time allows, let bread sit out at room temperature for 1-2 hours before making croutons to let it dry out. If you miss this step, the recipe will still work.
Heat a cast iron skillet (or non-stick frying pan) to medium heat and let it get warm first.
Toss in diced up bread and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (just a sprinkle of each seasoning)
Keep tossing in skillet until bread is lightly golden on each side.
Let cool and enjoy! Serve as a garnish to your favorite soups, on salads, or enjoy for snacking.
NOTES
Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Be careful not to over-crowd the skillet/pan when crisping these up. You may need to make them in more than 1 batch so they are all evenly toasted.
I've made homemade croutons with all sorts of bread ranging from regular sandwich bread to a nice leftover bakery bread. All work in this recipe! I like to buy bakery bread from Sprouts and immediately freeze, thaw, then make this recipe.
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