Crunchy, herbaceous, and delightfully tangy, these Homemade Sourdough Croutons are sure to elevate any salad or soup with a big hit of texture and flavor. Next time you have a loaf that is going stale, give it new life by turning to this recipe for easy baked seasoned croutons. All you need are 5 pantry staples and about 20 minutes to make them!
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About This Recipe
Anyone else out there who thinks croutons are the best part of a salad? Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE veggies. But I’m a sucker for perfectly golden, shatteringly crisp, rosemary-scented hunks of carb-y sourdough deliciousness. They just make everything better!
Whether you’re making a summery panzanella or a classic Caesar salad, or whether you’re looking to garnish a bowl of creamy bisque or roasted cauliflower soup or cheesy French onion soup, making croutons is the quickest, cheapest and easiest way to add textural interest to the meal at hand.
In this recipe, I show you how to turn your loaf of bread into a pan full of splendidly toasted, naturally vegan croutons that’ll bring flavor and crunch to any of your favorite meals. Best of all, you need just 5 ingredients (3 of which I basically guarantee you have on hand) and all of 20 minutes to make a batch.
Looking for more sourdough recipes to try? How about this Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Dutch Oven Sourdough or Sourdough Garlic Bread!
Ingredients & Substitutions
You don’t need much to make the best salad croutons of your life. Here’s your list of things to gather:
- Sourdough Bread - You can go wild and use homemade sourdough bread to make baked croutons if you want! You can also use any ol’ loaf you have lying around. For more tips on how to store sourdough bread, head over to my in-depth guide!
- Olive Oil - The flavor of EVOO is excellent on these rosemary-tinged bites, but you’re welcome to use a 50/50 split of butter and olive oil if you prefer a richer crouton.
- Rosemary - Feel free to use fresh or dried rosemary here. Just note that you’ll need about 3x as much fresh rosemary to get the same punch of flavor.
- Salt & Pepper - Never forget your seasoning! I like to use kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for the best flavor.
Equipment
You just need kitchen basics to make croutons at home. Here’s what to grab:
- Serrated Knife - Also known as bread knives, the small teeth on serrated cutlery helps you slice through bread with ease. They’re also quite handy for cutting thin-skinned fruits like tomatoes!
- Sheet Pan - If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and invest in nice, unwarped baking trays for even baking.
- Aluminum Foil - I’d normally suggest using parchment paper, but aluminum foil helps to crisp up your croutons more quickly. Note that most municipalities will let you recycle aluminum foil if it’s clean, so give it a quick hand wash when you’re done!
How To Make Croutons At Home
There are few DIY recipes as easy to pull off as these simple bread croutons. Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Prep. Cut or tear bread into small cubes or bite-sized pieces. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking tray with aluminum foil.
Step 2: Season & Toss. Place cut bread on prepared baking tray and toss it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
Step 3: Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, stirring the croutons about halfway through baking.
Step 4: Cool. Remove from the oven and let cool before using.
Optional Variations
My rosemary sourdough croutons are but one option of many. Here are some of my other favorite variations:
- Change up the seasoning. Make garlic croutons by swapping in garlic powder or garlic salt. Use thyme, red pepper flakes, or Italian seasoning instead. Or just go for plain salt & pepper – they’ll still be delicious because they’re olive oil crisped bread. Honestly, you can’t go wrong here.
- Swap in a different type of bread. No sourdough on hand? No problem. Swap in French or Italian bread, use the remnants of your savory pesto babka, focaccia, sweet Hawaiian bread, or even shake things up by making cornbread croutons.
- Make large-format croutons. The only thing better than crispy, crunchy, bite-sized croutons are giant croutons. You can make a big batch by arranging full or half slices of bread on your baking sheet, or use your skillet to make just 1-2 as needed. They’re great for things like Beans & Greens on toast or for setting atop bowls of French onion soup.
- Keep your house cool by making air-fryer croutons. Oven croutons are fine and dandy when the weather is cool, but I’m not trying to heat up my kitchen in the middle of summer. Feel free to use your air-fryer as a backup! Just be sure to work in batches so the croutons can rest in a single layer and get heat from all sides.
Expert Tips
- Keep your leftover silica packets from shoe boxes and beef jerky packets. When you make something crisp and crunchy like these homemade rosemary croutons, toss one or two packets in the zip-top bag with your crunchy snacks to keep them at their textural best!
- Let your croutons cool COMPLETELY before putting them in storage. Any remnant whiff of heat can cause condensation to occur in your package, and we all know that liquid of any sort is the enemy of crunchiness. Don’t trap your croutons with it!
- Cubed bread looks tidier, but torn bread has more craggy edges. Choose your own crouton adventure based on your preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Actually, it is better to keep them in a zip-top bag at room temperature (where they’ll last for up to a week) or in the freezer than in the fridge, which has latent humidity that can cause the croutons to go stale more quickly.
I LOVE where your head is at! The answer is a resounding YES! Just be sure to cut or tear the croutons into smaller bites for the proper consistency.
Since these are entirely homemade and have zero preservatives, yes, they will eventually go bad. The first stage of crouton ruin is staleness. If your croutons become stale, you can usually revive them with a quick trip to the oven to recrisp. After staleness comes mold. At that point, you need to cut your losses and toss the croutons in the compost heap.
More DIY Recipes
- Homemade Triple Chocolate Marshmallows
- How to Make Homemade Fresh Ricotta
- How to Make Browned Butter
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try the recipe for these Homemade Sourdough Croutons, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Homemade Sourdough Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Sourdough Bread
- 3 Tablespoons Olive OIl
- 3 Tablespoons Rosemary, minced
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Using the dutch oven sourdough recipe as the base, and cutting bread into small cubes.1 Loaf Sourdough Bread
- Place cut bread on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil and toss the bread with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.3 Tablespoons Olive OIl, 3 Tablespoons Rosemary, Salt & Pepper
- Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, stirring the croutons about halfway through baking.
- Remove from the oven and let cool before using.
Notes
- Change up the seasoning. Make garlic croutons by swapping in garlic powder or garlic salt. Use thyme, red pepper flakes, or Italian seasoning instead. Or just go for plain salt & pepper – they’ll still be delicious because they’re olive oil crisped bread. Honestly, you can’t go wrong here.
- Swap in a different type of bread. No sourdough on hand? No problem. Swap in French or Italian bread, use the remnants of your savory pesto babka, focaccia, sweet Hawaiian bread, or even shake things up by making cornbread croutons.
- Make large-format croutons. The only thing better than crispy, crunchy, bite-sized croutons are giant croutons. You can make a big batch by arranging full or half slices of bread on your baking sheet, or use your skillet to make just 1-2 as needed. They’re great for things like Beans & Greens on toast or for setting atop bowls of French onion soup.
- Keep your house cool by making air-fryer croutons. Oven croutons are fine and dandy when the weather is cool, but I’m not trying to heat up my kitchen in the middle of summer. Feel free to use your air-fryer as a backup! Just be sure to work in batches so the croutons can rest in a single layer and get heat from all sides.
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