How to Make Homemade Croutons

Homemade croutons on a baking pan

For me it’s the little things that stand out and make a recipe pop, like these homemade croutons. Every time I toss these bad boys into a salad or soup, I always get compliments on how amazing the croutons are. Yes, something so simple as homemade croutons can make a recipe go from great to outstanding! They truly beat out any store-bought variety, and are a great way to use up any leftover bread you have lying around.

Homemade croutons take roughly 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and require 4 simple pantry ingredients that I know you all have in your house; bread, salt, pepper and olive oil, so there are no excuses for not making a batch up.

My kids get super excited when I make these up. Seriously, I find my kids sneaking into the kitchen and stealing hot croutons off the baking sheet and devouring them. They love them so much that sometimes I make up a batch for them to snack on. I know, you’re scratching your head and thinking to yourselves, “croutons as a snack?”  Well, I say, yes, why not?

Homemade croutons on a baking pan

how to make homemade croutons:

makes roughly 25-30 croutons

  • 2 slices country-style bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes – you can really use any sort of bread for the croutons, and even a sliced bread like Dave’s killer bread
  • 5-6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil – the amount of olive oil you use depends on the size and thickness of your bread cubes 
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch of freshly ground pepper – I don’t measure out my pepper, I just twist the pepper grinder a few times and call it a day! 
  • If making the croutons for a salad then be sure to add in 2 cloves of minced garlic

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

I love this below bread from Della Fattoria. If  you live in Marin, you can find this bread at Whole Foods or you can even visit their cafe in Petaluma!  I haven’t done that yet, but it’s on my to-do list!

Slice your bread into 2 thick slices. It’s really up to you on how thick you want the slices of bread! We like our croutons big, so we slice them pretty thick.  Make sure to keep the crust on, as it adds so much flavor and texture to the croutons.

Della fattoria bread

We also love using 2 slices of Dave’s Killer Bread for our croutons, specially when I’m topping them on my kid friendly caesar salad.

Dave's Killer Bread

Cut the slices into 1/2-inch cubes. This is really personal preference, you can cut the cubes as big or small as you want, just make sure they are roughly even-sized. 

In a medium bowl, add the 5-6 teaspoons olive oil, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.  Note: If you’re making the croutons for a salad, then be sure to add the 2 cloves of minced garlic to the olive oil mixture.

If you’re using thicker sliced bread like I used, then 6 teaspoons of olive oil is perfect. You want to make sure that the bread cubes are all evenly covered with the olive oil mixture. 

Bread cut up into cubes

Toss in the bread cubes and mix with your hands to combine. Make sure to get all of the bread cubes evenly coated with the olive oil mixture.

Bread cubes tossed with olive oil salt and pepper

Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bread cubes on baking sheet

Set your timer and bake the croutons for 6-7 minutes (I would check them at 6 minutes the first time to see how quickly they bake up in your oven) and then check the croutons, if the bottoms are browned, then flip over the croutons and bake for another 6-7 minutes, or until the croutons are browned and crisp to your liking.

NOTE:  If you’re using a thinner bread, like a sliced sandwich bread, then check your croutons at the 5-minute mark, as sliced sandwich bread cooks much quicker than a loaf bread.  

Total baking time for me is usually 14 minutes.  

Oven baked homemade croutons on the baking sheet

Below are some baked croutons using Dave’s Killer Bread!

Baked croutons using Daves Killer Bread

Let the croutons cool on the baking sheet for a bit. Watch out for sneaky kids, as my kids always sneak into the kitchen and steal a crouton or two as they’re cooling off.

Storing the croutons: The croutons will stay fresh in a sealed container for about 2-3 days.

Homemade croutons on a baking pan

Top them on your favorite soup, or toss them into any salad.

These croutons make my kid friendly caesar salad the bomb, especially when I’ve used minced garlic in the olive oil mixture.

Kid friendly caesar salad

I love them topped on my heirloom tomato gazpacho as well as my…

Heirloom tomato gazpacho

Carrot ginger soup.

Carrot ginger soup with homemade croutons

With love Jackie

How to Make Homemade Croutons

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Jackie
Servings

25-30

croutons
Prep time

2

minutes
Cook time

14

minutes
Total time

16

minutes

    Ingredients

    • 2 slices country-style bread, cut into ½ inch cubes - you can really use any sort of bread for the croutons, and even a sliced bread like Dave's killer bread

    • 5-6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil - the amount of olive oil you use depends on the size and thickness of your bread cubes

    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

    • pinch of freshly ground pepper - I don't measure out my pepper, I just twist the pepper grinder a few times and call it a day!

    • If making the croutons for a salad then be sure to add in 2 cloves of minced garlic

    Directions

    • Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

    • Slice your bread into 2 thick slices. It's really up to you on how thick you want the slices of bread! We like our croutons big, so we slice them pretty thick. Make sure to keep the crust on, as it adds so much flavor and texture to the croutons.

    • Cut the slices into ½-inch cubes. This is really personal preference, you can cut the cubes as big or small as you want, just make sure they are roughly even-sized.

    • In a medium bowl, add the 5-6 teaspoons olive oil, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Note: If you're making the croutons for a salad, then be sure to add the 2 cloves of minced garlic to the olive oil mixture. If you're using thicker sliced bread like I used, then 6 teaspoons of olive oil is perfect. You want to make sure that the bread cubes are all evenly covered with the olive oil mixture.

    • Toss in the bread cubes and mix with your hands to combine. Make sure to get all of the bread cubes evenly coated with the olive oil mixture.

    • Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

    • Set your timer and bake the croutons for 6-7 minutes (I would check them at 6 minutes the first time to see how quickly they bake up in your oven) and then check the croutons, if the bottoms are browned, then flip over the croutons and bake for another 6-7 minutes, or until the croutons are browned and crisp to your liking. Total baking time for me is usually 14 minutes.

    • NOTE: If you're using a thinner bread, like a sliced sandwich bread, then check your croutons at the 5-minute mark, as sliced sandwich bread cooks much quicker than a loaf bread.

    • Let the croutons cool on the baking sheet for a bit.

    • Top them on your favorite soup, or toss them into any salad.

    • Storing the croutons: The croutons will stay fresh in a sealed container for about 2-3 days.

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      4 thoughts on “How to Make Homemade Croutons”

      1. I’ve been making my croutons in the toaster oven. Summer LA heat and the hot oven don’t mix well! 😉 Snacking croutons rock!!!

        1. Hi Kathy! Yes, I’m sure if it’s hot up here, then its gotta be hotter down there. Toaster oven is the way to go! I was actually in LA 2 weekends ago and it was gorgeous. We went surfing and I didn’t need my wetsuit 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn

      2. It’s true that the little things definitely elevate a recipe. I ran out of packaged breadcrumbs a while ago, so I made some and the recipe I was making was more delicious than usual. If you go to the Della Fattoria cafe, get a piece of foccaccia – so good!

        1. Hi Margot! I know, it’s really the little things that can make a recipe go from good to great. A reader just told me to add rosemary to the croutons next time, so I’m totally going to do that! So cool to hear that you visited the cafe. I may take the kids there next week to check it out and we will be sure to try the focaccia! Thanks for the suggestion!
          Have a great night Margot! xoxo, Jacquelyn

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