Adding Homemade Sourdough Bread Croutons to your soups and salads is an easy way to take simple dishes to new heights. They’re crispy on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and baked until golden and amazing!
One of my favorite soups is a tomato bisque, which has immense bold flavors and is incredibly velvety. These easy homemade croutons add the right amount of texture and subtle flavor to any creamy soup, even our tomato soup Rich, Homemade Tomato Bisque. Once you try this combination you won’t be able to imagine one without the other!
We love to add these delicious homemade sourdough croutons to our Cheesy Tuna Casserole. When we keep the summer dinners light, we like to add these crunchy morsels to any favorite salad recipe Chicken Chopped Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing or Caesar Pasta Salad.
Jump to:
- What are croutons?
- 🍞 Ingredients:
- Substitutions and Variations
- 🔪 Instructions:
- Pro Tip: If you want, you can remove bread from the package and slice a couple of hours ahead of time. Even old sourdough bread or stale sourdough bread works great.
- History of the Crouton:
- More delicious Bread recipies
- Sourdough Bread Croutons
What are croutons?
Croutons are bite-sized pieces of bread, usually cut into small cubes, that have been seasoned, baked until golden and crispy, and are used on top of dishes for added crunch and subtle flavor. They’re a signature feature of a Caesar salad not to mention a delicious topping to soups and a staple addition to any stuffing!
Making croutons yourself rather than buying store-bought croutons is a simple trick but a major game-changer. They’re much healthier without all kinds of ingredients you can’t pronounce and way too easy to make with just a handful of simple ingredients and very little time. It’s also very cost-effective and a great way to reduce waste and use leftover bread that may be on the verge of becoming stale.
This easy-to-follow homemade croutons recipe uses sourdough (because it’s awesome and delicious) but can be substituted with any type of bread you’d like. Using leftover sourdough bread does give it special flavor whether you’ve been baking up a storm or you’re buying a loaf from the store. The combination of parmesan, garlic salt, and parsley is light and flavorful but can really be swapped with any of your favorite seasonings.
These little bites of heaven are way too easy not to give it a try yourself. They’re slightly irresistible so don’t be surprised if you find yourself sneaking a couple off the tray right out of the oven!
🍞 Ingredients:
- Sourdough bread – Sourdough bread makes the best croutons.
- Olive oil – Used with the butter to add flavor, crispness and to help avoid sticking.
- Salted butter – Melted
- Garlic salt – A subtle hint of garlic and a bit of salt.
- Dried parsley – A great pairing with garlic and parmesan.
- Parmesan cheese – If you can grate your own fresh parmesan you’ll notice a difference in flavor!
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Homemade sourdough bread is delicious, but store-bought works too.
- You can play around with the herbs/spices in this. Try anything from black pepper, dill, thyme, or oregano, garlic powder or onion powder, Italian seasoning. If you like a little heat, add a bit of smoked paprika, cayenne, chipotle, chili powder, or Cajun spice.
- Try to make these sweet by adding some cinnamon and sugar instead of the parsley and parmesan cheese.
- If you or your guests are gluten-free – try these with your favorite gluten-free bread!
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Cut sourdough bread into bite size cubes (about ½ to an inch cubes) with a serrated knife.
Step 2: Place sourdough bread cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle dry ingredients on top. Gently combine the ingredients.
Step 3: Drizzle butter and oil over top and lightly toss with salad tongs or your hands. Careful not to squish or overwork the bread otherwise you may not have the signature crouton shape anymore.
Step 4: Spread soon to be croutons in a single layer on a large sheet pan. You can line the baking sheet with parchment paper if you’d like for a more simple clean up. Place in a preheated oven to bake until golden brown. Depending on the size of your cubes and how fresh your bread was, you may need to leave them in a little longer.
Pro Tip: If you want, you can remove bread from the package and slice a couple of hours ahead of time. Even old sourdough bread or stale sourdough bread works great.
Step 5: Stir croutons often throughout baking. They are ready when they are browned uniformly and crispy. Be careful not to burn them!
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Eat these fresh croutons as a snack at room temperature or put on any of your favorite salad dishes!
History of the Crouton:
The origin story of croutons is somewhat mysterious. According to some sources, they were invented by the ancient Romans as a way to use up stale bread. Others believe that they were created in medieval Europe as a convenient way to add flavor to bland dishes. Whatever the case may be, croutons have been around for centuries.
In modern times, croutons began to appear on restaurant menus in the mid-20th century. In 1954, a man named Robert T. Morris filed a patent for a “method of making croutons”. His patent detailed a process for cutting and seasoning chunks of bread, then baking them in an oven. This method is still used today, and it is credited with popularizing croutons as a culinary staple.
Cooled leftover croutons will stay fresh in an air-tight container for 1-2 weeks. You can actually freeze them too! Make a big batch of these since they keep for about a month and when you’re ready to crisp them back up again, just pop them in the oven.
You can swap the sourdough bread for whatever you have on hand. Whatever you do use, day old is best. French or Italian loaves, regular white sandwich bread, whole wheat, or gluten-free. Anything really!
More delicious Bread recipies
If you tried this Homemade Sourdough Bread Croutons Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Sourdough Bread Croutons
Ingredients
- 10 slices sourdough bread remove from package and slice a couple hours beforehand, optional
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup salted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. I like to use pre-sliced sourdough for convenience, but cutting up a fresh loaf of homemade or bakery sourdough bread is even more delicious.
- Place bread cubes into a large bowl. Sprinkle dry ingredients over the bread cubes and toss.
- Drizzle butter and oil over the bread cubes and stir gently with your fingers or salad spoons to combine everything.
- Spread seasoned bread cubes in a single layer on a large cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes (baking time will vary with the size of your bread cubes).
- Stir croutons often throughout baking and monitor closely for doneness. Croutons are ready when they are browned uniformly and crispy. Be careful not to burn them!
- Cooled croutons will stay fresh in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
- Homemade sourdough bread is delicious, but store-bought works too.
- You can play around with the herbs/spices in this. Try anything from dill, thyme, or oregano. If you like a little heat, add a bit of smoked paprika, cayenne, chipotle or Cajun spice.
- Try to make these sweet by adding some cinnamon and sugar instead of the parsley and parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Sarah Anderson says
Followed to the letter and after completely cooking they were extremely chewy, not crispy at all! What should I do to fix that?
Stefanie says
Sounds like there was more moisture in the bread. I would try cooking at a low temp – like 200° for a while to dry out the bread cubes and then proceed with seasoning and baking. You can also cut up your bread and spread it out on the counter overnight if you’re in a dry environment.
Herma Turner says
Very good. But I did have a lot of bread crumbs. Going to have to be gentle tossing the oil/butter mixture then the seasonings
Teri says
These sound really good…. with the olive oil & butter plus parm! Do you add the grated parm at the beginning with the dry ingredients? Thanks!