Today I am sharing one of the easiest recipes … croutons! Make them at home and you will realize that they are so much better than the store-bought ones.

Croutons are pieces of bread cut into small cubes which are baked or toasted giving it a wonderful golden, crispy, crunchy texture.

Ingredients:

You just need three main ingredients:

Bread: Ideally the bread must be a day or two old. In fact, croutons are a great way to make use of stale bread lying around in the kitchen. You can use any variety of bread- sourdough, baguette, loaf, etc.

Olive oil: You can also use melted butter. The oil or butter helps the bread develop those crisp, golden edges.

Seasonings: You can customize with whatever seasonings you have. My 3 must-have seasonings are salt, black pepper powder and garlic powder. I prefer using garlic powder compared to fresh garlic so that the garlic doesn’t burn while baking.

Some seasoning ideas you can add are:

Parmesan cheese
Dried herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley or Italian seasoning
Paprika powder

How to Make Homemade Croutons

These can be made in the oven, in the air fryer and even on the stove-top.

If you are using the oven or the air fryer, the baking time will vary depending on the kind of bread used and the cube size. It is best to check and flip it midway. They are ready when they are fully dried and crunchy.

How to Use Croutons:

They can be used in:

Salads: Add them to your favorite salad and take it to the next level. This gives a crisp, crunchy texture to the salad.
Soups: Serve them with hot tomato soup, French onion soup or even chicken soup.
Breadcrumbs: Anytime you need breadcrumbs, just use a rolling pin or food processor to break the croutons up.

Storage:

You can easily store croutons BUT they must fully cool before packing them in an airtight container. Storing warm croutons will make them soggy and this will make them go stale quickly.

Once they have completely cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week on the counter.

You can also freeze them in a freezer bag or container for up to 6 weeks. To use frozen croutons, you will need to bake or air fry them until thawed and crisp.