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Learn how to make homemade croutons from scratch with this simple, customizable croutons recipe.
Have leftover bread?
Make croutons!♡
Homemade croutons are just about the easiest thing ever to make, and a million times betterthan anything you can buy at the store. They’re also easy to customize with whatever seasonings you might be craving, theycan be made withanykind of bread that you have on hand (including gluten-free), and they’re easy to make as large or small, soft or crispy,plain or seasonedas you might prefer. Plus, if you’re trying to eat moregreens in your life, I’m convinced that having a fresh batch of croutons around isone of the best motivators to toss together a quick salad. Or they’re also delicious for topping a fresh bowl of tomato soup or gazpacho (<– new recipe coming tomorrow, stay tuned!) this time of year.
So grab that leftover bread, and let’s bake up a quick batch!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CROUTONS | 1-MINUTE VIDEO
Homemade Croutons Ingredients:
To make homemade croutons, you just need three mainingredients:
- Bread:Ideally at least a day or two old, any variety will do.
- Olive oil:Or melted butter, if you prefer.
- Seasonings:Totally up to you! I always, always add garlic powder to my croutons. Plus salt and black pepper. But any other seasonings are up to you! I often turn to Italian seasoning or blackening seasoning, and will occasionally sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese too.
How To Make Croutons:
Simply:
- Diceyour bread:Choose whatever size of cubes you prefer, either cut with a knife or torn into small chunks by hand. It’s just important thatthe croutons be uniformly sized so that they cook evenly.
- Toss with oil and seasonings:In a large bowl,drizzle the bread evenly with the oil and seasonings. Then toss until evenly combined.
- Spread out on a baking sheet:Turn the croutons out onto a parchment-covered baking sheet, and spread out in a single layer.
- Bake until crispy:Flippingthe croutons once halfway through baking. Then baking until they croutons reach your desired level of crispiness. (If they start to get too brown, lower the heat and let them bake lower and slower.)
- Serve or store:Then serve immediately. Or let the croutons cool until they reach room temperature, then store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Ways To Use Homemade Croutons:
Some of my favorite ways to use homemade croutons include:
- Salads:Especially any kind of Caesar salad, or my favorite Everyday Salad.
- Soups:Especially hot tomato soup, or authentic Spanish gazpacho (recipe coming soon!)
- Stuffings/Casseroles:Especially around the holidays
And of course, anytime you need breadcrumbs, just use a rolling pin or food processor tobreak those croutons up into your preferred size of breadcrumbs.
Enjoy, everyone!
Print
How To Make Homemade Croutons
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 103 reviews
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 cups 1x
Description
Learn how to make homemade croutons from scratch with this simple, customizable croutons recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 loaf of bread(about 12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning,homemadeor store-bought
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, evenly drizzle the olive oil over the bread chunks. Then evenly sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper over the bread. Toss gently untilwell-combined.
- Spread the bread cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake until golden, turning once halfway through cooking in order to brown all sides of the croutons. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the cubes, so watch to be sure thatthey do not burn. (Mine generally take between 15-20 minutes.)
- Remove from oven, and let cool completely. Use immediately, or store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
*Recipe updated in July 2018.
posted on July 11, 2018 by Ali
How To's, Side Dishes
158 Comments »
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158 comments on “How To Make Homemade Croutons”
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Donnie — November 19, 2021 @ 9:07 am Reply
I’m gonna tryem today
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TF — November 25, 2021 @ 7:50 pm Reply
Perfect recipe. The croutons were so delicious straight out of the oven. But I finally found the restraint to keep from eating them as I needed it for the Caesar Salad for Thanksgiving. I followed the recipe, but cut back on the garlic powder to 1/2 a teaspoon. Subbed 1 tablespoon of olive oil for garlic olive oil. Really good and simple recipe.
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sherrie — April 21, 2022 @ 8:56 pm
This turned out perfectly. Love your method.
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May — November 28, 2021 @ 3:04 pm Reply
My olive oil sprayer worked great for evenly coating the cubes. Croutons were done after 15 mins. Great recipe!
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Leong Yee Khiam — December 16, 2021 @ 10:08 pm Reply
great way to save on looking for the stuff in stores. Wonderful and thank you!!!!!
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Lizzie Miller — December 26, 2021 @ 5:11 pm Reply
So easy. So good. Leave some for the salad!
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Jamie — February 17, 2022 @ 4:31 pm
I couldn’t find croutons at the store, so this was a great how-to. Used a sturdier French loaf with a good crust, seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and parsley. 8 mins per side and they came out perfect, I might never buy croutons again!
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Chris — July 22, 2022 @ 10:56 am
Lovely recipe – so easy and very tasty!
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Takeia — January 7, 2022 @ 2:22 pm Reply
I love this recipe. It’s super simple to make and most importantly, delicious!
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Eli Greene — January 10, 2022 @ 3:21 pm Reply
Very nice!
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shannon jensen — January 10, 2022 @ 5:15 pm Reply
Thank you for the recipe! The croutons were awesome!
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c — January 12, 2022 @ 4:32 pm Reply
do they have to be stale when i put them in the oven or can they still be soft/fresh?
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Joyce — February 24, 2022 @ 4:18 pm
Use any kind of bread you like, fresh or stale, whole wheat, rye or white. Fresh brea$ is harder to cut into cubes and will take a little longer too cook.
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Jill Shaw — January 20, 2022 @ 2:03 pm Reply
I’m learning to bake bread and the last batch was dry and dense this recipe was perfect for not wasting and giving my bread fail new life.
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Kelly — February 12, 2022 @ 10:51 pm Reply
This recipe worked perfectly for me. I threw a bit of Romano cheese in the mix for extra yum.
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Your Mom — March 7, 2022 @ 3:47 pm Reply
Oh its just so delightful!
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Tina B. — March 19, 2022 @ 12:45 pm Reply
I used rye bread and Cyprus white flake sea salt. Delicious and simple!
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Caitlin // @realswanky — March 22, 2022 @ 7:29 pm Reply
This turned out SO. GOOD. I used some sourdough bread and dried dill. I baked for 16 min (flipping halfway through). Thanks!
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Steven Allen — March 27, 2022 @ 4:19 pm Reply
Made several times . I change up what I put on the the bread . But garlic powder is a must have. Easy to make and saves money.
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Roy Murray — April 21, 2022 @ 11:49 am Reply
I make home made bread and when I’m about to bake another loaf, I freeze the heels of the old bread and use them for this recipe. These are great croutons and no chemicals! Thanks.
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Carolyn — May 3, 2022 @ 10:23 pm Reply
Yum 🤤 turned out awesome. Wish I could post the photo. Already ate a bunch 😊.
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Mole — May 16, 2022 @ 4:26 pm Reply
Hi, I noticed that there are two different storage time recommendations listed, both one and two weeks. I am wondering which is most accurate if using an airtight container? Thanks for the clarification!
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Mindy — June 12, 2022 @ 10:17 am Reply
Delicious! And so easy. Why did I ever buy croutons from the store?! Thank you for a great recipe!
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Shirley — June 29, 2022 @ 4:36 pm Reply
I decided to try this without the oil. My favorite high fiber bread disappeared so I’ve been trying other breads. Costco has Carbonaut so tried it. It is just ok as toast but the texture is way too moist and spongy for untoasted use.
I thought maybe the moisture would hold the seasonings. I added a couple of extra teaspoons – zatar and onion powder – and dropped most of the salt.
Tossed in a ziploc and all the spice stuck. Baked at 350F convection for 10 minutes. Flipped another, 15 minutes. Let them cool about 1/2 hr. They are still a bit chewy on the inside so later I put them in with lunch at 450F for 5 minutes. Just the right crunchiness now and a nice light flavor. They are not rock hard like some croutons.
Will definitely make these again. Very high fibre, very tasty croutons!
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maureen c — July 1, 2022 @ 4:22 pm Reply
Delish. Had a stale baguette and tried your recipe. Perfect!
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Bh — July 4, 2022 @ 12:55 pm Reply
Love these croutons came out great, thank you
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Sarah — March 30, 2023 @ 6:37 pm
Lovely recipe can’t wait to try it . Only thing is I don’t want to use a whole loaf so how much oil would I need for say 4 slices of bread .just to add to 4 wraps .
Thank you
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Natalia — July 11, 2022 @ 9:09 pm Reply
Just made the croutons and ate half of them already. So delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe.
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BonelessEvil — July 19, 2022 @ 5:39 pm Reply
simple, excellent croutons. I suggest making them slightly bigger, like 2×2 inch size.
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Ellen O'Malley — July 25, 2022 @ 6:32 pm Reply
Fantastic recipe, quick and easy. I didn’t do a single layer, basically a double layer, and they turned out great. I did stir them at 15 minutes, put them back for 5 more minutes. I used leftover rolls and French bread, pretty much anything will do. Dinner guests are always blown away by this recipe, homemade croutons are a nice touch.
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AM — August 30, 2022 @ 6:32 pm Reply
I used Grandma Sycamore’s Sourdough Bread (best ever!) I did everything the same and I added some dill for some zing! Wow are these amazing :)
Thanks gimmesomeoven.com!! -
Jasson — September 20, 2022 @ 8:32 pm Reply
Very nice recipe chef 👍👌👏. Give me some croutons 😊😋. Thank you for your effort 🌞😎.
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Rachel — October 3, 2022 @ 5:20 pm Reply
Really good! I accidentally bought both white rye pre-sliced sandwich bread and a rye loaf from the bakery and since I don’t like freezing everything I thought I’d use the extra loaf for croutons.
I did double garlic, in addition to everything else added rosemary and lemon pepper. -
Trish — October 9, 2022 @ 11:28 am Reply
This worked even with gluten-free bread (although I took 2 minutes off the cooking time because they looked done).
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Jess — November 10, 2022 @ 2:47 pm Reply
Why have I never made croutons at home before?! This recipe has made me a believer. Used a ciabatta baguette on the last day it was good and turned out perfectly. Made it a second time with a frozen baguette that I thawed a little and worked great too.
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Christal Brown — November 12, 2022 @ 6:40 pm Reply
Great recipe! I made them this evening 😊 Thank you for sharing!
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Jeffrey — November 15, 2022 @ 7:34 am Reply
Made these using sweet Hawaiian hamburger buns, because that’s all I had on hand. All I can say is these were hands-down, the best croutons I have ever had. I eat a lot of salads and I’ve had a lot of croutons and no others have compared to these.
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B — November 29, 2022 @ 10:40 pm Reply
After our Thanksgiving feasting we decided we needed more salads and soups in our lives. We had a leftover loaf of bread and found this recipe with great reviews, its super EZ and gives our salads a gourmet punch! So Tasty!!
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D — December 12, 2022 @ 1:35 am Reply
Can I make this with multigrain sandwich bread?
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Evelyn — January 8, 2023 @ 12:37 pm Reply
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! I’d made a loaf of bread and had a decent chunk leftover- it made a perfect batch of croutons! I’m pretty proud. Lol. Thanks again!
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Shelby — January 10, 2023 @ 12:49 pm Reply
Any luck on freezing the croutons and baking when ready? I have a stale loaf of beer bread, but am not making a crouton worthy meal for a little while.
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Trevor H — February 1, 2023 @ 2:27 pm Reply
Not sure exactly what went wrong, but I had to take mine out a few minutes early because they were near-blackened. Feels like they must have been in way too long, or at too high a heat. Either way, that’s half a baguette wasted.
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Melissa — February 4, 2023 @ 12:12 pm Reply
I used everything bagel seasoning with 1/8 c olive oil & 4 tablespoons melted butter. I sprinkled with some onion & garlic powder & black pepper. They are delicious! I love them in salads, tomato soup, ramen soup, chili
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Jeff Haggard — February 16, 2023 @ 7:11 pm Reply
I took a dredge, drilled out the holes to 1/8 of an inch, to accommodate the spice size, and used that to evenly spread the spices over the croutons. Before that, I bought a California Olive Oil aerosol extra virgin olive oil sprayer to evenly coat the croutons. Everything came out wonderfully.
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Candis — February 20, 2023 @ 10:49 am Reply
This was a good and easy recipe. I used garlic infused olive oil that I had on hand and left over the garlic powder in the recipe. My husband wanted to eat them as a snack.
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Brenda — March 7, 2023 @ 10:33 am Reply
So easy….so tasty…had to hide from the family so there would be some for supper!
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Lashawn Bailey — April 19, 2023 @ 6:57 pm Reply
I make my own bread and had some leftover. This recipe was easy and it was delicious! We’re never going back to store bought. Thank you!
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Sharon — November 22, 2023 @ 1:20 pm Reply
Made the recipe exactly as written. I have a new oven so still getting used to it so opted for 12 minutes first and they were dry but needed a little browning so kept a close eye on them for another 2 minutes and they are perfect. Thank you so much.
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