Easy Homemade Croutons (Garlic & Parmesan)
This irresistible homemade croutons recipe is simple to make and bursting with Italian herbs, parmesan, and garlic! You'll never want to use store-bought croutons again.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 generous cups bread (try a baguette or any good crusty bread) cut into croutons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and move the rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with tin foil for easy clean-up if desired.
- Cut your bread into croutons and add them to the baking sheet. Pour the olive oil over the bread, and then sprinkle the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper as evenly as you can over the bread. Use your hands to toss until everything is as well combined as you can get it.
- Spread the croutons out in an even layer that's clustered fairly close together (but not stacked), and then sprinkle the parmesan cheese over top. This ensures that as much cheese as possible will be stuck to the croutons.
- Bake the croutons for 10-15 minutes. I find that 15 minutes works well for fresh bread.
- Let the croutons cool for a few minutes, then add them to your salad/soup or store in an airtight container. Don't discard the bits that fell off the croutons while baking - I like to add those to salads too because they have tons of flavor.
Notes
- You can use fresh garlic if you prefer. I'd use 2-3 minced garlic cloves.
- I estimated that this amount of croutons serves about 6 (it's enough for a large salad or a couple smaller ones). Of course, it's totally subjective how much people eat. The recipe easily doubles (I would double all ingredients).
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 159mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
