Croutons are just all around good things. And luckily, homemade croutons are super easy to make with whole-wheat sandwich bread and delicious.
Talk about an extra special and unexpected addition to your dinner salad. My kids go crazy over these homemade croutons, and honestly, I have to do everything I can to stop them from eating just this crunchy goodness plain so we can actually enjoy them in our salad with dinner!
I love making homemade croutons because it helps you save money by using leftover bread or scraps that the kids won’t eat. They’re also a great way to revive homemade bread that’s a few days old.
When you’re done, use these homemade croutons right away with your favorite salad recipe.
Homemade Croutons With Fresh or Stale Bread
Usually homemade croutons are made with stale bread but this recipe can be used with soft bread too! Any moisture in the bread will naturally toast as it cooks in the oven; perfect if you need croutons in a pinch.
The Best Bread to Use
To maintain our true food mission, we recommend making homemade croutons with whole wheat bread made without refined sugar. Store-bought is fine, but these croutons are even better with leftovers homemade bread.
If you prefer sourdough croutons, you can also use whole wheat sourdough bread instead. King Arthur’s flour has a great recipebut I recommend replacing the canola oil with cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil or unrefined oil of your choice.
Homemade Croutons FAQs
Alternative seasoning: Caesar Croutons
If you normally use your homemade croutons in caesar salad, you may want to swap out the Italian seasoning for the more traditional caesar crouton seasoning instead.
To make caesar salad croutons replace Italian seasoning with 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon dried thyme.