Garlic Croutons (Better than Store-Bought)

Learn how to make delicious croutons at home with garlic and herbs! These homemade croutons are much better than anything you can purchase at the store and are perfect for adding that extra crunch to your favorite salads and soups.

⭐️ We use these croutons to make our easy herb stuffing!

How to Make Croutons

Making croutons at home is a great way to upgrade your homemade salads and soups. These croutons are much better than store-bought as they are fresher, and the flavors can be customized to your liking. Plus, it’s a fun and easy way to use leftover bread. Follow our simple croutons recipe to learn how to make your own at home.

To make garlic croutons, you will need a handful of simple ingredients. You can add or subtract a few depending on your preference, but I highly recommend keeping the shallots and garlic!

We recommend using a rustic French or Italian loaf or even a French baguette to make delicious croutons. If the bread is a day or two old, it’s even better. Instead of butter, use plain olive oil to add color, moisture, and flavor while baking. We love using garlic and shallot for a sweet onion flavor. You can adjust the herbs to your liking; we use thyme, parsley, and rosemary. Adding parmesan cheese to the bread cubes before baking enhances both the flavor and color, but feel free to omit if you are dairy-free or don’t have cheese on hand. For using dried spice blends, see this recipe for homemade croutons, which calls on dried herbs to add flavor.

To make the croutons: Mix the olive oil and seasonings in a big bowl, and then toss in cubes of bread. Toss them with the olive oil and seasonings until evenly combined. Look at all that flavor!! I love the generous amount of fresh herbs, garlic, and shallot in this recipe.

Spread the croutons on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, flipping them a few times while they bake. As the croutons cool down, they will crisp up even more. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Using Homemade Croutons

Our croutons recipe makes 5 to 6 cups of croutons, so you’ll have enough to use a few different ways. Salads are a no-brainer — try them on this prosciutto and white bean salad or this tahini kale salad. We also love them for soups, especially this roasted cauliflower soup. You can even use them to make other recipes like stuffing or my favorite tomato gazpacho. We also use them to make this summery tomato panzanella salad.

Finally, you can turn these garlicky croutons into breadcrumbs and use them anytime a recipe calls for breadcrumbs. To do it, pulse them in a blender or food processor or add to a big resealable bag and bash the heck out of them with a rolling pin until they are crumbs. Use homemade breadcrumbs to make meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, our lighter eggplant parmesan, and more!