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Top your next soup or salad with homemade vegan croutons! Super easy, done in about 10 minutes and just 4 ingredients! Who needs store bought anymore?
I know we've all been there, we have half a loaf of bread just sitting, and it sits for too long and suddenly it's nearing the best buy date or even a day or two past it - I am not condoning eating anything past the best buy date, use your own judgment here - and you don't want to just throw it away. You could stuff it in the freezer and forget about it *guilty*.
Or, you could have some tasty homemade croutons that will lengthen the life of your bread, therefore no freezer burnt waste!
These croutons pair deliciously with my yummy mushroom and wild rice soup, as well as any salad!
Sound good? Awesome, let's get started!
🥘Ingredients
Not many ingredients at all, you can certainly substitute anything here for something else.
If you need gluten-free, just use GF bread. I can not guarantee they will hold up the same, but I have never tried. They should though!
Seasonings can be liberal, you could even add other things like onion powder, or greens like parsley or basil.
See recipe card for exact measurements.
🔪Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C.
Start by cutting up your bread. If your bread is soft, try using an actual bread or serrated knife. Cut the bread into sticks, and then into squares.
Place the bread bits into a large bowl.
Sprinkle the bread liberally with oil and toss around to coat all pieces of bread. Once all are coated well enough, add in the seasonings and toss around again.
If you are satisfied with how your bread looks, add it all to a baking pan and spread them out as best as you can.
Bake your croutons for the specified time and serve!
🌡️Equipment
You definitely need an oven for making homemade baked croutons, however, you can also air fry these crunchy golden toppers. Follow the same process but heat them in an air fryer on 3 minute intervals until desired browning occurs!
📖Variations
This recipe is super versatile, you can make your croutons any flavor you want!
Cheesy Garlic - Garlic powder, parsley and grated vegan parmesan cheese.
Nacho Cheese - Nutritional yeast and jalapeno powder (or cayenne pepper) and vegan parmesan.
Chili Topping - Chili Powder and cumin.
Italian-style - Oregano, basil and parsley.
You will love these croutons because they are:
- Dairy free - No silly added dairy powder for zero reason!
- Hassle proof - For real, just cut up some bread, season and bake!
- Kid friendly - Your kids can totally help make these, in fact, this would be a great independent recipe for them to try while you're busy making other things!
- Budget friendly - If you're not going for fancy croutons, you should already have the ingredients in your home.
- Snackable - Who says you gotta put these in a salad or soup? Snack away!
- Almost Zero waste - we're making use of stale bread rather than throwing it away!
🍱Storage
These croutons are super easy to store and can be stored anywhere!
- Refrigerator - Store in an air tight container or bag for up to 1 month
- Pantry - Store on pantry shelf in air tight container or bag for up to 2 weeks
- Freezer - Store in freezer in bag or air tight container for 3-6 months.
Interestingly enough, most store-bought croutons are, in fact, not vegan. Why? Couldn't tell you personally, I have been asking this question, not just of croutons but so many other things! Unfortunately, most store-bought croutons contain dairy and sometimes even egg. There may be some obscure brands out there at places like Whole Foods. I find it is best and easiest to just make them at home!
Check out some of my other toppings and condiments!
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- a sheet pan
- bread knife
- decent-sized bowl
Ingredients
- ½ loaf stale bread
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoons oil - may vary
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 400 °F or 200 °C .
- Cut bread into sticks and then squares and add them to a large bowl.½ loaf stale bread
- Add oil and toss.1 tablespoons oil
- Once the bread is mostly coated in a little oil, add seasonings and toss.½ loaf stale bread,1 tablespoon garlic powder,1 tablespoons oil,pinch of salt
- Bake for 5 minutes then mix the pieces up a bit. Then pop back in for a few more minutes. Be careful not to burn them (like I kinda did). 5 more minutes may be a bit too much so aim for 2-3 minutes and go from there.
Notes
- For Gluten free use a gluten free bread.
- You can use any seasonings you wish, this is just a basic recipe.
- For oil free spritz the bread with water so that seasonings will stick to the bread.
- The amount of oil you need may vary. A tablespoon is just a general guide.
This recipe belongs to Planty Of Eats
Nutrition
Recipe was published September 15, 2020 and has been updated August 15, 2022.
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