My husband would tell you that no salad is complete without croutons. Instead of just buying bagged ones, what if I told you that you could make your own using your old bread? Let’s talk about how to make croutons in the air fryer for easy croutons anytime.
What I like best about this is it opens up a huge range of options in terms of bread types and flavorings versus what you’ll see in a grocery store. Mix and match combinations to suit your palette, meet dietary needs, and more!
What Temperature Should My Air Fryer Be for Croutons?
Croutons may be made in the air fryer at temperatures ranging from 350 degrees to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you want a dark, crunchy crouton, go higher in temperature. For a blonder crouton, stick to the lower end.
I personally cook mine at 390 degrees, as we enjoy the crunch factor!
Do You Need to Use Oil to Make Croutons in the Air Fryer?
No, you don’t have to use oil when making croutons in the air fryer. Butter or margarine works as a substitute. Alternatively, using no oil or butter will give you toasted bread cubes, which are great for stuffing.
The key is that you really need something to bind any seasonings you’re using to the bread cubes, which is why oil or butter is typically used.
How Do I Make Certain Flavor Croutons in the Air Fryer?
To make different crouton flavors in the air fryer, all you’ll need to do is adjust the seasonings you add. Here are some of our favorites:
- Garlic: Use garlic powder and a little onion powder
- Italian: Italian seasoning, Italian dressing mix, or a mixture of parsley, basil, and oregano works well
- Greek: Oregano and lemon pepper
- Cheese & Garlic: Garlic powder and Parmesan cheese
- Ranch: Ranch dressing mix (powdered)
- Caesar: Add garlic powder, parsley, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt & pepper
- Texas Toast: Garlic powder and parsley (butter is a better binder here for flavor)
Note that if you’re not using salted butter or a seasoning mix with salt in it already, you should add around ½ tsp salt to whatever other herbs and spices you add.
You can even make your own dried herbs, and I show you how easy it is to dry parsley in the microwave! I also enjoyed dehydrating parsley in the air fryer!
It doesn’t really matter what type of bread you use (and stale bread is totally fine)! Feel free to experiment and find your favorites.
If your bread is frozen, learn how to defrost bread in the microwave quickly and easily to get back to crouton-making faster!
How Long Will Air Fried Croutons Last?
Air Fried croutons should last about a week, as long as you store them in an airtight container. However, they are best when consumed within the first three days.
If they start to get soft on you, pop them back in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes with a spritz of oil to re-crisp them.
Instructions for How to Make Croutons in the Air Fryer:
- Preheat your air fryer for 390 degrees, following manufacturer instructions
- Cut 4 slices of bread into approximately 1-inch cubes, removing crust if desired
- Add 3 Tablespoons oil or melted butter to a bowl
- Then, add 2-3 teaspoons of desired seasoning blend (no more than ½ tsp of salt)
- Add bread cubes to bowl, and mix well to coat evenly
- Transfer cubes to air fryer basket
- Cook for 3 minutes at 390 degrees F
- Toss or stir cubes in the air fryer basket
- Return and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until cubes are golden brown and crispy
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain
- Add to a salad or another dish and enjoy!
This recipe is easily doubled or tripled if you’re serving a crowd. However, you’ll likely need to cook in multiple batches so as to not overcrowd your air fryer basket.
Check out the full list of ingredients and instructions in the handy recipe card below!
What Do Air Fryer Croutons Go On?
- Salads
- Soups (particularly tomato soup)
- Casseroles (chicken is best)
Though, they’re honestly so tasty I’d probably just eat them by the handful as a snack food!
In fact, try out these croutons on top of this homemade air fryer roasted tomato soup! That’s right, you can make soup in the air fryer, and this one is packed with fresh flavors!
Even if you don’t put croutons on this casserole, they sure make a perfect topping on a side salad next to my cheesy Air Fryer Baked Spaghetti!
Conclusion
Air Fryer croutons are delicious and it takes 10 minutes or less to make them! The best part is that you can create flavor combinations you won’t find on store shelves, and use up old bread before it goes bad.
Whenever I get a nice loaf of Italian or French bread that we don’t use up with dinner, I turn it into air fried croutons for my lunch salad later in the week.
I’ve never tried making croutons with gluten-free bread, though I see no reason it wouldn’t work. Alternatively, check out our 12 best gluten free air fryer recipes to try for some other tasty options!
Herb & Garlic Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
- Paper towel lined plate
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bread (any kind)
- 3 tbsp oil or melted butter
- 3 tspn garlic and herb seasoning (such as Good Seasons garlic and herb dressing & recipe mix)
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 390°F (199°C)
- Cut bread on cutting board using bread knife into approximately 1-inch cubes4 slices of bread (any kind)
- Toss bread cubes in a bowl with oil or butter and seasonings, mixing with spatula to coat3 tbsp oil or melted butter, 3 tspn garlic and herb seasoning
- Add cubes to air fryer basket, spreading out evenly
- Cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown, stirring with spatula halfway through
- Drain on paper towel
Notes
- This amount of bread works well in a 4- 6-qt air fryer. For a smaller unit, you may need to break into smaller batches
- Any kind of bread works (even stale) as long as it’s still good – meaning not moldy
- For very small sized slices, use 6 instead
- Cubes may be cut smaller if desired, but you may need to reduce cooking time by a minute so as to not burn them
- Cut back on your seasoning if it contains salt already – about ½ tsp of salt is plenty for this amount of bread
- If you want really dark and crispy croutons, add an additional 1-2 minutes more to cooking
Nutrition
I enjoy trying new recipes, creating my own, and dabbling with new techniques all the time. My husband loves to protest when I make him my guinea pig, but it’s all for the love of food!
My cooking philosophy is that great tasting food doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming to make. I'm a home cook with over 20 years of experience feeding myself and others. I've learned from a variety of different people, things I've learned online, and some trial and error as well.
I enjoy cooking a variety of foods, from convenience to comfort foods, as well as international cuisine. You can rest assured that all of my recipes have been actually made, thoroughly tested, and most importantly: tasted! I want you to enjoy my food as much as I do!
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