How To Make Croutons
Three words: Easy. Easy. Easy. Homemade croutons leave all the others in the dust. I like to use fresh Italian bakery style ciabatta bread. Day old bread is okay but to me, fresh bread makes… fresh croutons. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: about 40
Ingredients:
- 4 one-inch thick slices of ciabatta or other Italian bread
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Cut bread into 1-inch chunks.
- Place in a bowl or plastic bag (a produce bag is good).
- Add oil, salt & pepper. Toss/smoosh to coat.
- Spread on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes or longer until they are completely dry, turning once or twice.
- To make sure they are dry, you can turn off the oven and let it cool down for 15 minutes, then place the croutons back in the warm oven until totally dry.
Notes: Additions you can make: fresh garlic, fresh parsley, dried oregano or basil, onion powder, garlic powder, or parmesan.
For more on this recipe in my blog click here.
I was wondering how should I store them & for how long? Ty in advance!
I love to be able to make Croutons. The ones I buy at the store & even get served at restaurants, always seem to be in the harder side to me anyway. I wish when I do try making them, that they wouldn’t be as hard as a rock… Any Advice?
I would suggest cutting off the crust and maybe trying some different breads: plain white bread, egg bread, King’s Hawaiian, etc. and see if there’s a difference. Good luck!
Jenny, I am so glad I have found your videos on YouTube. I have been looking and looking for low fat recipes for so long now. I have not been able to find such until I found your recipes. I have stents in my heart now and can’t afford to eat like most people do anymore. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.
Oh, I like your humor too.
I recently discovered your YouTube videos, and now your web page. I don’t cook as much as I did when younger, but I do enjoy cooking from scratch from time to time. I was looking at bread recipes when I came across your crouton recipe. When I was young and into full “earth mother” mode I always made my own croutons, but didn’t add them to salads. I used them to top casseroles and baked mac and cheese, and they were excellent. All we did in those days was dice up good quality bread and saute it in butter, then top the casserole with it. It’s nice and crispy but still chewable that way. I expect you could adapt my old technique for use on salads and such, by spreading the sauteed bread in a cookie sheet and toast it gently in the oven as in your recipe.
There is nothing tastier than good baked mac and cheese (sharp chedddar) topped with a layer of butter-sauteed croutons.
Your mac & cheese idea sounds great. Thanks for taking time to share this with us.
Just made these to go over a Caesar salad for dinner tonight. They were great! I sprinkled them with garlic sea salt….yummy! Thank you!
These were fantastic! And I forgot to take a photo. I’ll do that next time I make them which will be soon. I ate them ALL !
I make mine the same way! Super easy and, yes, ciabatta is the best!