4-ingredient Homemade Sourdough Croutons

Name: Homemade Sourdough Croutons
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 160 min
Ingredients: 3 cups cubed stale sourdough bread (1-inch cubes); 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning

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These 4-ingredient Homemade Sourdough Croutons are so easy to make with stale sourdough bread, oil, nutritional yeast and everything bagel seasoning! They're super crunchy with a cheesy and garlicky flavor, making them perfect for your favorite soup or salad!

Lately, I've been pairing these croutons with my air fryer chicken caesar salad and homemade egg-free caesar dressing. They're also so addictive, you'll find yourself eating them as a straight up snack!

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Quick Look: Homemade Sourdough Croutons

⏱ Prep Time: 10 minutes
👩🏻‍🍳 Bake Time: 30 minutes
🆒 Cooling Time: 2 hours
⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
🍽 Servings: 6 (½ cup per serving)
⚡ Calories: 100 per serving
🔥 Flavor/texture: crispy and crunchy texture with a cheesy and garlicky flavor.
👌 Difficulty: super easy with just 4 ingredients.
❤️ Why you'll love: great way to use up stale bread; better than store-bought croutons!

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Reasons to love this recipe

I first shared this recipe in 2020, at a time when I was obsessed with everything bagel seasoning. Back then, it was still hard to find around here, but I had brought some back from a trip 6 months earlier, and I was putting it on everything.

So, of course, when it came to making homemade croutons for my bone broth French onion soup and my green pea soup recipe, tossing them with everything bagel seasoning was a no-brainer!

Here's why this recipe is on repeat for us:

Oven baked for the ultimate crunch: Baking the croutons low and slow ensures they dry out and get crunchy without browning too much.
Totally snack-worthy: The nutritional yeast and everything bagel seasoning add so much flavor, you may just eat these croutons straight off the sheet pan.
Saves stale bread: We always have a few leftover slices going stale at the bottom of the bread bag. During the holidays, I save them for my apple cranberry stuffing, but the rest of the year, they go straight into this crouton recipe. I just stash them in the freezer until I have a full batch, ensuring zero waste!

Table of Contents

Quick Look: Homemade Sourdough Croutons
Reasons to love this recipe
Ingredient notes and substitutions
How to make homemade sourdough croutons
Expert tips for making these croutons
Homemade sourdough croutons FAQs
More ways to top a salad
📖 Recipe

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Ingredients to make sourdough croutons arranged individually and labeled.

Sourdough: You only need about ¼ of a loaf of sourdough (or 3 cups cubed) for this recipe. (If you have a whole loaf to use up, consider making this baked french toast casserole recipe)!
Oil: I used olive oil, but avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil work too.
Nutritional yeast: This is a deactivated yeast that has a cheesy flavor. It also has a flaky texture, so it works well sprinkled on food. It can usually be found at your local grocery store in the organic or specialty section. I always have it on hand to make this cashew queso recipe.
Everything bagel seasoning: This is just a mix of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt. It's easily found in most grocery stores these days.

How to make homemade sourdough croutons

Bread cubes tossed in oil in a glass bowl with seasonings on the side.

Step 1: Add your bread cubes to a large bowl. Slowly drizzle on the oil, making sure to cover as much of the bread as possible.

Bread cubes tossed with seasonings in a glass bowl.

Step 2: Sprinkle on the seasonings and gently press into the bread cubes until well coated.

Seasoned bread cubes spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Step 3: Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Baked croutons cooling on a baking sheet.

Step 4: Bake at 300F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet. They get crunchier as they cool.

Expert tips for making these croutons

Stale bread. Make sure your bread is stale. And not just a day old. It should be a few days old. Stale bread is the key to making extra crunchy croutons.
Spray oil. If you'd like more even coverage of oil on the croutons, try using an olive oil spray.
Gently toss and press the seasoning into the cubed bread. If you're too rough or toss them too much, the bread may start to crumble.
Bake until golden and crispy. You don't want the croutons too toasty, but you want them golden brown and crispy. Flip them over if one side is browning too much.
Let cool completely. I normally let the croutons cool on the pan for 1-2 hours before storing them, just to make sure they're fully cooled and crunchy.

Homemade sourdough croutons FAQs

Can I make these croutons with another type of bread?

Absolutely! We love the texture and tangy flavor of sourdough, but other types of bread will work too. You can also try a crusty baguette, multi-grain bread or an Italian loaf. Just make sure they're stale.

Why are my croutons soft in the middle?

If they're soft or chewy in the middle, it means they weren't baked long enough. They should be crispy throughout when you pull them out of the oven. As they cool, they'll get even crunchier.

What's the best way to store homemade croutons?

Once they're fully cooled, store the croutons in an airtight container at room temperature.

How long do these croutons last?

If stored properly, they will last for 5-7 days.

Besides a classic caesar salad, how else can I use these croutons?

They go well with other types of salads like this strawberry kale salad or blueberry spinach salad. You can also serve them on top of creamy soups like this red pepper and butternut squash soup, this roasted sweet potato and carrot soup or this pear parsnip soup.

More ways to top a salad

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📖 Recipe

Homemade Sourdough Croutons

These 4-ingredient Homemade Sourdough Croutons are easy to make with sourdough bread, oil, nutritional yeast and everything bagel seasoning!

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Cooling Time: 2

Total Time: 2 40

Servings: servings

Author: Leanne Combden

Ingredients

▢ 3 cups cubed stale sourdough bread, 1-inch cubes
▢ 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
▢ 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
▢ 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the bread cubes to a medium-sized bowl. Slowly drizzle on the oil, making sure to cover as much of the bread as possible.
Sprinkle on the seasonings and gently toss to combine, pressing the seasonings into the bread cubes as you toss.
Arrange the bread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle on any remaining crumbs from the bowl and press them into the bread cubes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy. (If they start to brown too much on one side, flip them over).
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 2 hours before transferring to an airtight container. They will get crunchier as they cool.