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Homemade Crunchy Croutons

10 min

Soup

Homemade staple

One-bowl / one-pot

10 ingredients or less

Budget-friendly
Have some bread that's going stale? Making your own croutons is a great way to use up any less-than-stellar bread, and this crouton recipe always impresses! They are irresistible on soups, and also a pleasant thing to snack on while cooking.

Servings

(¼ cup per serving)

Total

10 min

Prep

5 min

Cook

5 min

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gluten

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soy

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peanut

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tree nut

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sesame

Ingredients

  • 4
    slices whole wheat bread
  • 2 Tbsp (30ml)
    olive oil
  • 1
    garlic clove, crushed (optional)
  • 2 tsp (1.6g)
    Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp (3g)
    garlic powder
  • 1 tsp (2.3g)
    onion powder
  • ½ tsp
    sweet paprika powder
  • ⅛ tsp
    salt
  • 1 pinch tsp
    ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Slice or tear the bread into 1 cm cubes.
  2. Add the bread, oil, garlic, herbs and spices to a large bowl and toss to combine.
  3. For the pan-fried version: heat a bit more oil in a large pan on high heat. Add the coated bread and stir often, cooking for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.
  4. For the oven-baked version: preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C)*. Spread the coated bread onto a lined baking tray and bake for 7 - 10 minutes, mixing once halfway. Enjoy!

Notes

  • * We used top and bottom heating (not fan-assisted/convection).

Storage

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Watch it step-by-step!

Nutrition info

Focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. For specific nutrition needs due to a medical condition, consult a dietitian or physician. While we strive to provide accurate nutritional information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. See our disclaimer for details.

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Aileen - May 19, 2025, 5:43 a.m.

The most phenomenal croutons ever!! I couldn’t help but just snack on them.

Reply
Jelena - May 1, 2025, 10:06 p.m.

The best croutons in the world! I am officially addicted. Such an amazing combination of spices, the taste is mindblowing! Thanks PUL team ❤️

Reply
Marijana - Feb. 23, 2025, 4:31 p.m.

This recipe has been an endless well of inspiration for making my own croutons, but also "crackers", like the ones of the brand names I won't mention here 😊

Reply
Pauline P. - Dec. 31, 2024, 10:30 a.m.

Heaven on earth ♡♡♡

Jelena - May 1, 2025, 10:03 p.m.

I couldn't agree more! These are mindblowing!

Reply
Leen De Blauwe - Oct. 31, 2024, 12:41 a.m.

Love them so much. And it’s a huge success when I add them to my soup for the family ^_^

Reply
Martunia - June 4, 2024, 10:07 a.m.

I make these in the air fryer, they come out perfect every time !

Reply
Karima - March 15, 2024, 4:28 p.m.

Simple and easy , miam !

Reply
Alex - March 9, 2024, 3 a.m.

I don't have an oven so I used my toaster oven. I definitely should have adjusted the slices of bread used. I will keep this in my mind for next time. Baked for 10 minutes they weren't as crispy as in the picture and we're still a bit soft. However I actually liked this texture so I took them as is. When I try again in the future I will experiment more to get crispier croutons. As for the taste I misplaced my garlic powder, so I used garlic salt and instead of paprika powder I used a seasoning mix that had paprika in it. I left out the Italian seasoning as I don't have that at the moment but kept the measurements for the rest of the ingredients the same. For some reason I expected it to be spice, which it wasn't at all and I have low spice tolerance. Overall 10/10 glad I tried this.

PUL small logo PUL Team - March 10, 2024, 12:31 a.m.

Hey there, Alex, thanks a bunch for taking the time to share your experience with the crouton recipe! It sounds like you adapted the recipe well given your equipment and ingredient substitutions. Happy cooking 🤗

Reply
Émilie - Feb. 28, 2024, 8:16 p.m.

Thanks to these my leftover stale bread always wonderfully jazzes my soups.

Reply
Nastja - Feb. 21, 2024, 8:36 p.m.

Made this today in air fryer, very delicious!

Reply
Jackie Z. (: - Feb. 4, 2024, 11:33 p.m.

Delicious!

Reply
Shayda - Jan. 5, 2024, 10:24 p.m.

Better than any croutons I’ve ever had! I baked it and used Ezekiel Flax bread and it turned out amazing!

PUL small logo PUL Team - Jan. 6, 2024, 8:54 p.m.

Woohoo! We're so thrilled to hear, Shayda, thank you :)

Reply
Priscila Pereira - Dec. 27, 2023, 2:48 a.m.

Made this today and they are so delicious!

Reply
Chrysiida - Nov. 12, 2023, 9:49 p.m.

I used to make croutons from toast bread, so this is the upgrade I didn't know I needed! Definitely my new to-go recipe!

PUL small logo PUL Team - Nov. 13, 2023, 8:22 p.m.

🙌 🙌 thanks, Chrysiida!

Reply
Shuchita Tripathi - Nov. 2, 2023, 8:35 p.m.

Tasty and simple.
I made these along with pumpkin ginger soup. Both were tasty.

Reply
Jamie R - June 4, 2023, 4:47 a.m.

I decided to make these because I had some leftover bread from a sourdough baguette 🥖 and WOW! So simple, easy, and SO flavorful! Honestly this baking sheet full of croutons might be gone before they make it atop a soup or salad 😂🥗🥣

PUL small logo PUL Team - June 5, 2023, 6:22 a.m.

Whoop whoop 😃 Thanks a bunch, Jamie!

Reply
Daniella - April 3, 2023, 7:05 p.m.

Loved it 😍

Reply
Eirini - March 22, 2023, 3:38 p.m.

So easy to make and without the conservatives that bought croutons may contain. Tasty too. ;-)

Reply
Eshita - July 10, 2022, 9:59 p.m.

❤️❤️❤️

Reply
Linda - Oct. 25, 2021, 12:40 a.m.

So easy to make and add the perfect crunch on top of soups.

Reply
Salome Van ingen - Oct. 14, 2021, 6:26 p.m.

Easy to make and very tasty! ☺️
Would I make this again? Yes!!

PUL small logo PUL Team - Oct. 15, 2021, 1:18 a.m.

Woohoo! So happy to hear, Salome 🤗

Reply
Clare - Sept. 21, 2021, 2:09 p.m.

So yummy!

Reply
Samantha - July 8, 2021, 10:53 p.m.

This is such a simple recipe and they taste soo much better than the store-bought croutons. I also like that it gives me a chance to do something with the leftover loaves of fresh bread that I buy. Plus everyone is always very impressed that I made my own croutons. 😂😂

PUL small logo PUL Team - July 11, 2021, 12:36 a.m.

Gotta love impressing everyone! Thank you for the review, Samantha 😊

Reply
Cris S - June 5, 2021, 4:41 p.m.

I made the oven-baked version and they came put really crispy, although I burned them a little! 😄

PUL small logo PUL Team - June 5, 2021, 9:55 p.m.

So glad you enjoyed them although they burned a bit, Cris! Ovens can be tricky so we recommend keeping a close eye on them or turning the heat down if needed 😃

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