The BEST Homemade Garlic + Herb Croutons | Perfectly Crisp And Buttery (2024)

Crunchy Garlic + Herb Homemade Croutons are flavored with garlic and an assortment of your favorite herbs to make the best homemade croutons! These crispy croutons are perfect for topping all of your favorite salads and soups.

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Table of Contents

• Why You’ll Love This Homemade Croutons Recipe
• What You’ll Need
• How to Make Homemade Croutons
• Tips for Success
• Ways to Use Homemade Croutons
• Proper Storage
• Get the Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Croutons Recipe

• Quick and easy. When I tell you these crunchy croutons are easy to make, I mean they are easy. They’ll take you 25 minutes tops to put together, and most of that is just baking time.
• Better than store-bought. These croutons are SO MUCH BETTER than store-bought croutons! They are perfectly seasoned with garlic powder and Italian herbs. Also, they’re buttery and crispy to the point of addiction!
• Perfect addition to salads. What’s the best part of a salad? You guessed it! It’s hands-down the croutons. Leafy green salads are just 10 times better when they’ve got perfect, garlicky Homemade Croutons mixed into them.

What You’ll Need

What goes into making homemade croutons? Only a couple of herbs/spices, some bread, olive oil, and butter! Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.

• Olive Oil: Use whichever kind you like – my preferred type is extra-virgin olive oil.
• Butter: Melted. I like to use unsalted butter because you’ll add salt to these croutons later and then you are in control of how much salt you add.
• Seasoning: Use fresh flat-leaf parsley (minced), garlic powder, dried Italian herb seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
• Bread: Make sure to use stale bread, cubed into 3/4-inch squares (such as Italian bread).

What’s The Best Bread for Making Croutons?

More important than what type of bread, is making sure you use STALE bread. Whatever bread you end up using, make sure that it’s stale so that it’ll absorb the olive oil and seasonings.

I like to use Italian bread when I make croutons, but sourdough bread, French bread, Ciabatta rolls will all work too. Just make sure not to use a super soft bread.

How to Make Homemade Croutons

Let’s talk specifics on making these crunchy homemade croutons. There’s just three steps that you’ll need to complete, and then they’re ready for serving!

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Preheat the Oven to 375F: Then add the oil, melted butter, parsley, garlic powder, dried Italian herb seasoning, salt, and black pepper to a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the Bread and Prepare to Bake: Stir in the bread cubes and gently toss to coat. Spread the bread cubes in an even layer on a large baking tray.

Bake the Croutons: Bake until the croutons are golden, about 10 to 15 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Cool to room temperature.

Tips for Success

Are these salad-toppers not the easiest thing you’ve ever made? Maybe that’s a little extreme, but they’re pretty darn easy!

Here are some extra little tips and tricks on how to get the best results with your croutons:

• If You Want to Keep the Croutons Crunchy: When the croutons sit on the counter, they might lose some of their crispness. If you want, you can pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to get them nice and crunchy again!
• Cutting the Bread Cubes: Try to get the bread cubes to be about the same size so that they will bake evenly. I generally just cut cubes with a bread knife, and eyeball the size – they don’t have to be perfectly even.
• Can I Use All Fresh Herbs? If you’ve got them, go for it! Chopped up fresh herbs are just as good as dried herbs when it comes to this crouton recipe.
• Make Them Your Own! These croutons are easily customized – add your own favorite seasonings to fit your preferences. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese, for example, could be a good idea…

Ways to Use Homemade Croutons

How can you use your freshly-made croutons? In so many ways. Croutons are very versatile, my friends. There are a number of meals that are elevated flavor/texture-wise when they are added. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• On Salads: Croutons are a classic add-in for salads! Throw them on top of this Easy Broccoli Salad with Bacon, or mix them in with this Greek Salad.
• On Chili: Chunky Beef Chili is great with tortilla chips, but it’s also great with croutons!
• To Top Soups With: These crunchy croutons are fabulous on soups, too. Personally, I love to put them on Roasted Butternut Squash Soup or Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.
• For Stuffing: Blend your croutons into breadcrumbs, and you’ve got the perfect base for some delicious stuffing. It’ll be pre-seasoned and everything!
• Eat Them As-Is: I would be lying to you if I told you that I didn’t snack on these homemade croutons throughout the day – so don’t feel bad if you want to as well!

Proper Storage

You mean you’re not going to eat them all in one day? Kidding, kidding.

I like to store these croutons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days. That way I can take out a few at a time when I need them for salads, soups, etc.

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