Homemade croutons are easy to make, add a nice touch to a salad, soup or chili, or just eat like a potato chip
- 1 loaf French Bread or any bread you have on hand
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil or butter or use half oil and half butter
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Favorite Spice Blend, optional I like to use Nature's Seasoning
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Tear bread into ½” pieces, toss in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Pour olive oil over the cubes and stir with a spatula. You want enough oil to coat all sides of the croutons without leaving a pool of oil on the pan.
Add salt, pepper and spice blend if using, stir again and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Stir halfway through baking.
Remove the croutons earlier rather than later. They go from golden to brown very quickly.
Look at notes and/or post for other spice suggestions.
Bread - Use any bread that you have on hand or buy French Bread, my favorite for homemade croutons.
Tear or Cut? - Cutting the bread with a knife is faster and gives a more uniform look. But for homemade croutons I like the rustic look (and non-industrial) look of torn bread over cut. Just a preference issue.
Olive Oil or Butter? Either is fine. Butter adds a richer flavor but burns easier. I actually prefer the taste of olive oil. And a lot of people like to use half butter and half oil.