Forget tossing out rock-hard baguettes or leftover dinner rolls. With a generous drizzle of olive oil, a few everyday savory seasonings, and a generous sprinkle of nutty, salty Parmesan cheese, you can easily transform yesterday’s stale bread into golden, crispy, flavor-packed croutons in minutes. Whether you’re tossing these simple baked croutons into a crisp salad or drowning them in a cozy bowl of soup, these homemade gems are so irresistibly crunchy, you’ll find yourself intentionally letting bread go stale just to make them.
I am forever buying store-bought dinner rolls and then never actually getting around to using them. Especially since I’ve discovered Lidl’s freshly baked dinner rolls. They are super-crunchy on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside, and since they come individually, you can purchase as many or as few as you need. Sadly, or should I say, not so sadly, they are my newest bread obsession. Whether paired with a warm bowl of soup, drizzled generously with olive oil, or used to make a lunchtime sandwich, these perfect store-bought dinner rolls never fail to disappoint.
Near the weekends, I tend to buy a few extra rolls, just in case we feel like having sandwiches on Saturday or Sunday. Unfortunately, all too often, we fail to have sandwiches, which leaves us with stale bread by Monday morning. No biggie. Instead of simply tossing them out, I use them to make homemade croutons. They’re simple to make, use ingredients I seem to always have on hand, and taste just as great on a salad as they do dunked in a warm bowl of soup. And if soup and salad aren’t on the menu, they also make a deliciously crunchy little anytime nibble.
Ingredients:
- 4 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 4 Cups Bread Cubes
- 1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, parsley, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.
- Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- Spoon the olive oil mixture over the bread cubes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes until they are evenly coated with the olive oil mixture.
- Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bread cubes. Gently stir the bread cubes until they are evenly coated with the cheese.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes again. Bake for 2 to 5 more minutes, or until golden brown.
Suggestions:
- Use a serrated knife to gently cut rolls or bread into small cubes. I used two dinner rolls for this recipe. Any type of bread will work for this recipe.
- Do not smash the bread down when you cut it into cubes. You don’t want to flatten or smoosh the croutons.
- This is a great recipe for using up stale bread you might otherwise throw out.
- These croutons will brown quickly after 10 minutes of baking. Keep a close eye on them.
Improvements:
- Add a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the olive oil mixture.
- Replace the dried parsley with 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning.
- Use these croutons along with one of our delicious salad dressing recipes. CLICK HERE to see a full list.
- Ditch the crackers; these croutons make a flavorful, crunchy soup garnish. CLICK HERE to see a full list of our soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.
Ingredients:
- 4 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 4 Cups Bread Cubes
- 1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, parsley, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.
- Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- Spoon the olive oil mixture over the bread cubes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes until they are evenly coated with the olive oil mixture.
- Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bread cubes. Gently stir the bread cubes until they are evenly coated with the cheese.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Gently stir the bread cubes again. Bake for 2 to 5 more minutes, or until golden brown.
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CLICK HERE to see all of our amazingly fresh and delicious salad recipes. We’ve included a list of every salad recipe we’ve ever shared with our readers. If you scroll down, you’ll also find lists that break these recipes down into even more categories, such as potato salad, pasta salad, quinoa salad, coleslaw, chicken salad, egg salad, corn salad, pea salad, bean salad, tomato salad, cucumber salad, asparagus salad, broccoli salad, cauliflower salad, dinner salad, fruit salad, and salad dressing recipes. Whatever kind of salad you’re craving, we’ve got a recipe for it, and hopefully, these lists will make it easier for you to find the exact recipe you are searching for.
