Making Homemade Croutons is easy - all you need is bread, oil, and seasoning. They are cheaper and taste so much better than store-bought.
We eat a lot of Caesar salad in my house. Sometimes it has Cajun chicken on it, or rotisserie chicken, or leftover salmon. Sometimes it has no meat on it - just a big bowl of romaine, dressing, Parmesan, and croutons.
One thing my family can agree on is that Caesar salad is always better with croutons, and croutons are always better when they're homemade.
Croutons are one of those things that are ridiculously marked up when they're store-bought. Think about it: all they are are some stale bread, with some type of fat, seasonings, and maybe a little cheese. When you make them yourself, you know you're getting quality ingredients, and you can control how they taste for a fraction of the cost. Today we'll learn how to make Homemade Croutons with Garlic and Parmesan.
How to make Homemade Croutons with Garlic and Parmesan:
The hardest part about making croutons is cutting up the bread. It helps to have a good bread knife, especially if your bread is crusty. I like to cut up the ends of my bread when they're getting a little on the stale side, and store them as cubes in a Ziploc in the freezer. That way, I'm ready to go if I need to make more croutons, or if I feel the need to make stuffing.
Once your bread is cubed, all you have to do is toss it with a little oil, garlic, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Just stick them in the oven and they're all ready for you to toss into your salads or soups.
Store your croutons in an airtight container or zipper bag for up to a week. If you're not going to use them in that time frame, store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Homemade Croutons with Garlic and Parmesan Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Cubed high-quality, stale bread: Use gluten-free bread if you need to make gluten-free croutons. For the crunchiest croutons, use a chewy, crusty bread like sourdough. For softer croutons, use sandwich bread.
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Salt: this is a great recipe to try MSG-salt as it will enhance the umami flavor of the Parmesan
- Freshly ground black pepper
Want more recipes to use up bread?
Homemade Garlic Parmesan Croutons Nutrition Notes:
These croutons can be made with whole-grain bread to increase fiber content. You can also reduce the salt by half to reduce the amount of sodium in the croutons.
Garlic Parmesan Croutons
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium clove garlic minced
- 4 cups (10 ounces) cubed high quality, stale bread (use gluten free bread if you need to make gluten free croutons)
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F and move oven rack to the upper middle position. Mix olive oil and garlic together in a small bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Place cubed bread into a large bowl. Toss with olive oil/garlic mixture, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring every 3-4 minutes. Cool on baking sheet. Store in and airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Use in salads or soups.
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