You’ll never buy ready-made croutons again after you try this mouth-watering recipe! These buttery, garlicky, homemade croutons are absolutely delicious, super easy to make, packed full of flavour, and definitely a little addictive! They’re the perfect addition to add some extra crunch to your salads, soups (such as this Tomato Bisque) , and pasta dishes, not to mention as a yummy standalone snack.
If you want to jazz up a salad with minimal effort required, these fragrant garlicky croutons are the perfect go-to! My go-to dish is my homemade Caesar salad topped with my homemade Caesar salad dressing and the added crunch factor from these buttery, garlicky, croutons. Heaven!
How to Make Buttery, Garlicky Homemade Croutons
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 °F.
- Whisk together the butter, olive oil and garlic powder (using minced garlic doesn’t work, as it cooks too long in the oven and burns!).
- Place the bread cubes in a large bowl, then pour the butter mixture over top. Toss until they are coated.
- Scatter out evenly on a large baking sheet in one layer then bake in the oven until golden brown and crispy, anywhere from 15-20 minutes, this depends on how dry your bread was, how large the pieces are, etc. Remove and cool.
- Store the croutons in a covered container or plastic bag.
- Serve in soups or salads.
What are Croutons Made Of?
Croutons are made from fried or toasted bread such as sourdough, white bread, wholewheat, and grainy bread that’s usually seasoned and cubed. Any bread that’s been toasted or fried so that it’s lovely and crunchy can be referred to as a crouton! In this recipe, my homemade croutons have been seasoned with the delicious taste of butter and garlic which is definitely one of my absolute favourites!
What can Croutons be Used For?
Croutons are mostly used to garnish a salad but they actually have lots of uses in the kitchen and this is an extremely versatile side dish! They can be added to pasta dishes, crumbled into breadcrumbs for various fish or chicken dishes, eaten in soups, used to thicken up chowder, or simply used as a really tasty snack! Ever seen those bags of flavoured croutons in the store? Well, why not make a few bags of your own to take to work or pack into the kids lunchboxes for a healthy tasty snack (that’s a lot cheaper homemade!).
What Salad Dressing Goes with Garlic and Butter Croutons?
I love to add my homemade Caesar salad dressing to these scrumptiously crunchy croutons and it never fails to impress – especially when it’s topping off my homemade Caesar salad! A creamy lemon dressing also goes really well, but it’s all down to your own personal preference!
How do you Store Homemade Croutons?
These buttery, garlicky, homemade croutons can be stored for up to three days at room temperature in airtight containers or zip-top bags. They will also keep well in the refrigerator for a few more days, but once you go over a week they’ll noticeably lose crunchiness. If you want your croutons to last significantly longer, just store them in the freezer where they’ll be fine for several weeks.
What is the Best Bread for Croutons?
You should always use a slightly stale bread for your croutons regardless of what type of bread you use; this is much easier than using bread that’s fresh and squashy. You can really use any bread you have lying around, but sourdough tends to make the heartiest croutons with a lovely chewy bite.
Do Croutons have Dairy?
Most croutons contain dairy as this is usually prevalent in bread in the form of butter, milk, or whey protein isolates. If you want your croutons to be dairy-free, you’ll have to make sure you use a bread that’s specifically free from dairy ingredients.
Hope you guys love these! My son took these to school as a snack after he made them (he’s been learning a lot of cooking lately) and I must admit they are a delicious little snack!
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Buttery, Garlicky Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup melted salted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small French bread/baguette cut into 1 inch cubes around 8 cups
- 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 °F.
- Whisk together the butter, olive oil and garlic powder. ( Using minced garlic doesn’t work, as it cooks too long in the oven and burns!)
- Place the bread cubes in a large bowl, then pour the butter mixture over top. Toss until they are coated.
- Scatter out evenly on a large baking sheet in one layer then bake in the oven until golden brown and crispy, anywhere from 15-20 minutes, this depends on how dry your bread was, how large the pieces are.etc. Remove and cool.
- Store the croutons in a covered container or plastic bag.
- Serve in soups or salads.
Nutrition
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Linda says
Perfect proportions and temperature to arrive at crunchy croutons. I did add a tsp of Worcestershire to the mix.
Joanne says
Rarely do we eat store bought croutons now! I usually buy a loaf of Italian bread so I have to tweak the recipe a bit.
depending on the mood I will also add parsley or parmasean cheese. Thank you so much for sharing!
Mary McMillan says
The best recipe I have found for Homemade Croutons. The combo of olive oil and butter are great. I appreciate that the recipe said how many cups of bread to use. That helpled immensely especially since my last batch didn’t have quite 8 cups but I was able to adjust the butter/olive oil to be just the right amount. thank you for sharing this recipe. By the way, I used various breads that I had froze (crusts, left over rolls, buns etc) and all worked well.
Desiree Martin says
I have been wanting to make homemade croutons because I have been dissatisfied with the store brought brands. I made these tonight and like another commenter said , I will never buy croutons again because these are delicious!
Toni says
So crispy and garlicy!
Diane says
easy and delicious, I also used sourdough bread and was happy with them