Salads never tasted so good as they do when topped with flavored croutons (and they’re also not bad as a crunchy snack).
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Homemade croutons can be whipped up in no time, and they’re a great way to use up old bread. I like to change up the shapes a bit just for fun, and depending on the other flavors you’re using, olive oil, coconut oil or melted butter can be used.
In these Italian roasted garlic croutons, I used olive oil, which seemed like a good match for the seasonings and Parmesan cheese used.
For these, I left the crusts on the bread, but if preferred, the crust can be cut off.
Italian roasted garlic croutons recipe
Yields 4 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes | Bake time: 55 minutes | Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 bulb garlic
- 2 drizzles olive oil (for the roasted garlic)
- 8 slices Italian loaf bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, crust left on
- 1/4 cup olive oil (for the croutons)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 dashes salt
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- On a small piece of foil, lay the bulb of garlic. Drizzle olive oil on top, lift all edges of the foil, and seal to form a “tent.”
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Use a spoon to squeeze out the garlic from each clove. Dice the garlic, and set aside.
- Lower the heat of the oven to 300 F.
- To a large bowl, add the bread, olive oil, oregano, basil, garlic powder and salt. Toss the croutons lightly with your hands, or gently stir with a large spoon until the bread is coated with the ingredients.
- On a large cookie sheet, lay the bread out flat. Sprinkle the roasted garlic on top.
- Top with Parmesan cheese, and bake for about 30 minutes or until the croutons turn a golden color.
- Serve on top of salads, or enjoy as a snack.
Next: Buffalo wing crust croutons recipe
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