Homemade Croutons - 4 ingredients! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2025)

FAQs

How do you keep homemade croutons crisp? ›

The best is to store them air tight and prevent any moisture from coming in. Moisture is the main enemy of croutons, making them lose their sogginess. If they do become a little soft, heat them again in a pan to crucnh them back up.

The key to crispy croutons is making sure that they're fully dried out in the oven and crunchy all the way through. They should not be chewy when they come out of the oven. Bake croutons in a single layer on the baking sheet to crisp up the bread, rather than steaming it.

If you're baking your croutons, make sure they are well-spaced-out on a shallow tray to ensure they crisp evenly and they don't steam, causing them to become soggy. They also need to be in a single layer and not touching. If you're frying the croutons, toss the pan regularly to make sure they crisp evenly.

Good soup croutons are tossed in butter before they're baked too. The butter helps to make them waterproof, for a little while anyhow. So, dry and buttery. That's what you want.

3: Don't let the bread get perfectly crisp in the oven

The croutons will continue to crisp up as they cool, so croutons that are perfectly crisp straight out of the oven will end up being rock hard when they cool. Those are the croutons that hurt your mouth to eat – no one likes that!

Our croutons are made with Romano cheese, seasoned with garlic, Italian herbs & spices, and baked to a delicious golden brown.

Our croutons are made with Romano cheese, seasoned with garlic, Italian herbs and spices, and baked to a delicious golden brown. Try all of Olive Garden's® signature ingredients.

How long do croutons last? The expected shelf-life for homemade croutons is about two weeks. Moisture encourages mold, so make sure your croutons are completely dehydrated during the bake and let cool completely at room temperature before storing them away in an airtight container.

Can you crush croutons to make breadcrumbs? ›

If a recipe calls for dry bread crumbs but you don't have any on hand, use packaged croutons. Place them in a resealable bag and smash them with a rolling pin. Crumbs made from seasoned croutons add extra flavor!

The most common way to tell if croutons have gone bad is by smell and taste. If they have an off smell, it's best to throw them out. Similarly, if they taste stale or have lost their crunch, it's time to discard them.

The expected shelf-life for homemade croutons is about two weeks. Moisture encourages mold, so make sure your croutons are completely dehydrated during the bake and let cool completely at room temperature before storing them away in an airtight container.

Let croutons cool in a single layer on the baking sheet. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To refresh stale croutons, bake for 3 to 4 minutes at 400 degrees.

Keep crispy stuff and cheesy stuff off

Since a salad is typically a high-moisture dish, it's best to keep anything crispy or cheesy off until serving. Crispy items such as croutons or fried wontons will become soggy and cheese will become soft.