I must be on a stale bread kick, first there was a french toast recipe and now we have homemade croutons. I’d venture to say that this is more of a croutons how to than recipe since with this method, you could come up with endless flavors. I used italian seasoning for these but rosemary and lemon zest would make for some nice crouton action on a salad, too. I also used millet and flax gluten free bread but any leftover bread would work well as long as it is pretty stale. And trust me, once you start making homemade croutons, you will never go back to store bought.
Croutons – A How To
Makes 3 Cups
3 cups stale bread , cut into 1 inch cubes (cut them smaller if you prefer smaller croutons)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely minced
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/8 tsp sea salt
Preheat the oven to 400* and spread the bread cubes onto a large baking sheet. Pour the olive oil, garlic and salt into a small pot and heat over low for until warm. Stir in the italian seasoning and then brush the olive oil mixutre onto the bread cubes, saving half of the oil. Bake the cubes for 5 minutes, brush them with the remaining oil and bake for 5 minutes more. Turn off the oven and let the croutons stay in the warm oven until they are your desired color and are crunchy enough. Serve atop a fresh green salad. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Do you like croutons? Have you ever made them yourself?
Sounds (and looks) delicious! I agree — I never buy pre-made croutons anymore. The taste and quality you can deliver right from your own kitchen far surpass the store brands!
Karena´s last blog ..Happy Mother’s Day!
i love croutons, and the best ones i’ve ever had are actually the ones i’ve made myself! sooooooooooo good…especially when they’re still warm. i had to fight my hubby out of the kitchen!
I do like croutons but I rarely eat them! Never made them, mostly because I never remember :P Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)
Diana´s last blog ..Flashback: Summer ’09
i’ve never made my own croutons– I’m not a HUGE fan of them, so I’ve never taken the effort to do it. I bet I’d like them more if I made my own though!
Heather @ Side of Sneakers´s last blog ..Gold Medal Oats
Like Diana, I like croutons but don’t rarely eat them. Your croutons do look yummy – that sentence sounds like it could be made into a dirty joke :-)
Tanya´s last blog ..Lentil and Vegetable Curry
Ya know, I don’t really eat them much either but I kind of think they have a bad rap as being unhealthy. Poor croutons. ;)
Yum! Those look wonderful! I like homemade croutons, but the store bought ones just seem tasteless and dry…not a fan of those!
These look so good! I love croutons too. Add those and some beets to a salad and I’m one happy chick! Thanks for this recipe. Really like your site too!
Marly´s last blog ..The Squirrel Diaries: And So It Begins
Thanks for stopping by Marly!
You know, I’ve never actually made croutons myself but I LOVE them. I like how in your recipes you can make the croutons exactly how you want them. Whenever Peter makes bread we never eat it fast enough, so we should try making your croutons next time. Great recipe, Christie!
That is how great recipes are born, mixing it up and doing what works for you!
Love to make homemade croutons, part of the problem is you need to have some stale bread, and most supermarket bread doesn’t go stale prior to mold settling in. A good organic or homemade bread is best. I like your recipe, my last croutons were made with some potato soup.
Eugenio´s last blog ..Cochon555 Washington DC 2010
We use gluten free bread so it going stale is never a problem ;)
Wow, that definitely sounds easy! I’ve got to try that some time. The only problem is keeping bread around long enough for it to get stale!