Easy Homemade Sourdough Croutons from Leftover Bread
Homemade sourdough croutons from leftover bread create an easy to make and delicious salad topper. Sourdough croutons add the perfect little crunch to your favorite salads and creamy soups.
This easy recipe made from simple ingredients will quickly become your favorite way to use up leftover bread.
What Kind of Bread Can Be Used?
Fresh or stale, homemade or store bought, virtually any bread can be used!
Sourdough bread, yeast bread, white bread, whole wheat bread, rye bread and even gluten free bread can be used. The possibilities are endless!
As with any recipe, quality ingredients will always produce a superior product. For that reason, I highly recommend using homemade bread in this recipe.
What You Need:
Parchment paper- to toast the bread cubes and reduce sticking
Baking sheet- a rimmed baking sheet is preferable
Large bowl- to mix the bread cubes with oil
Serrated knife- to easily cut up the bread cubes. A serrated bow knife makes cutting even slices very easy.
Airtight container- to store the baked croutons in
Ingredients:
Loaf of bread or leftover stale bread- any type of bread will work: sourdough, yeast bread, whole wheat, etc.
Oil- olive oil, avocado oil, or melted butter all work great
Fresh herbs and seasonings of your choice- onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper are all great choices
Measurements for Turning One Loaf of Bread into Croutons:
1 loaf of bread (stale bread is great for making croutons to reduce food waste, but not necessary)
2-3 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of dried Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
2 teaspoon of fresh black pepper (or to taste)
How To Make Sourdough Croutons:
Set the oven to broil on high.
Cube up leftover bread into bite sized pieces, approximately 1 inch by 1 inch using a sharp serrated knife and place into a large bowl.
Pour oil onto the bread cubes and toss the bread cubes into the oil with your hands adding oil if necessary to make sure all pieces are lightly coated with oil.
The bread cubes should not be soaked in oil, just lightly coated to ensure seasonings stick.
Sprinkle salt, black pepper and Italian seasonings of your choice on to the bread cubes and mix to combine. Make sure all bread cubes are equally covered in oil and seasonings, adding more as desired.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Dump bread cubes on to prepared baking sheet, making sure the cubes are in a single layer to ensure even toasting.
Broil on high 8-10 minutes watching VERY closely as all broilers are different.
When the bread cubes turn golden brown on top, flip the bread cubes and toast the other side until all sides are equally golden brown.
Remove from the sheet pan from the oven and allow croutons to cool completely.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag, making sure to remove as much air as possible.
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Storage:
Sourdough croutons stored in an airtight container will last 1-2 weeks in a sealed air-tight container.
Sourdough croutons are the perfect way to use up leftover or stale sourdough bread and best of all they can be made in a big batch and kept on the counter in a container for several weeks to be added to numerous meals.
How can you Use Homemade Sourdough Croutons?
In addition to being used on top of salad or to add crunch to a creamy soup, croutons can also be made into bread crumbs by grinding them down in a food processor.
Homemade sourdough croutons are the perfect addition to my bacon onion jam meatloaf.
Once made into breadcrumbs, sourdough croutons are perfect for topping homemade casseroles and for dredging meat and vegetables in to fry.
Variations:
These perfectly crunchy croutons can be made into a variety of flavors to compliment any dish.
Parmesan Croutons- add parmesan for a nutty cheesy flavor, time may need to be adjusted to keep the cheese from burning.
Garlic Croutons- add garlic salt or garlic seasoning for a garlicky homemade croutons, a great way to top tomato soup.
Fresh herb Croutons- add fresh herbs like fresh thyme, basil or dill for a garden fresh flavor.
Dill Croutons- perfect to serve with a delicious homemade ranch.
Rosemary Croutons- add rosemary to stale bread to create a perfect accompaniment for most any dish.
Chili Lime Croutons- add fresh chili powder and lime for a taco salad you won’t forget.
Anyway you flavor them, this recipe makes the best croutons. You will never reach for store bought croutons again once you taste fresh croutons. There is no comparison!
Printable Recipe Card:
Easy Homemade Sourdough Croutons From Leftover Bread
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of stale bread or fresh
- 2-3 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 teaspoons of fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Set the oven to broil on high.
- Cube up leftover bread into bite sized pieces, approximately 1 inch by 1 inch using a sharp serrated knife and place into a large bowl.
- Pour oil onto the bread cubes and toss the bread cubes into the oil with your hands adding oil if necessary to make sure all pieces are lightly coated with oil.
- The bread cubes should not be soaked in oil, just lightly coated to ensure seasonings stick.
- Sprinkle salt, black pepper and Italian seasonings of your choice on to the bread cubes and mix to combine. Make sure all bread cubes are equally covered in oil and seasonings, adding more as desired.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dump bread cubes on to prepared baking sheet, making sure the cubes are in a single layer to ensure even toasting.
- Broil on high 8-10 minutes watching VERY closely as all broilers are different.
- When the bread cubes turn golden brown on top, flip the bread cubes and toast the other side until all sides are equally golden brown.
- Remove from the sheet pan from the oven and allow croutons to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Sourdough croutons stored in an airtight container will last 1-2 weeks in a sealed air-tight container.
Step by Step Video:
In this video I show many recipes and homemaking routines, including how to make sourdough croutons. Use the chapters in the description box to skip to the crouton recipe.
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