Do you love homemade croutons? Make delicious buttery croutons in your air fryer. You can make flavorful crispy seasoned croutons in about 10 minutes in your air fryer.
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Turn ordinary bread into flavorful croutons
- Super Fast: Ready in just 10 minutes from start to finish
- Budget-Friendly: It transforms ordinary or slightly stale bread into something special
- Versatile: Works with any bread you have on hand
- Customizable: Easy to adapt with different seasonings to match any meal
- Better Than Store-Bought: Fresher flavor, better texture, and no preservatives
- Reduces Food Waste: Perfect way to use up bread that’s past its prime
- Consistent Results: The air fryer ensures even cooking and perfect crispness every time
Recipe ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Bread – The foundation of your croutons that provides structure and absorbs flavors; any variety works well (sourdough, whole wheat, white, rye, or day-old bread)
- Butter – Creates rich flavor and helps achieve golden-brown crispiness; melted butter coats bread evenly
- Dried parsley – Adds color and herbaceous notes that complement many salads and soups
- Onion powder – Provides savory depth without the texture of actual onions
- Seasoned salt – Offers balanced seasoning with hints of paprika and other spices
- Garlic powder – Adds aromatic garlic flavor that infuses throughout as the croutons cook
How to make croutons
Preparing the Bread
- Take 4-5 slices of bread and place them on a cutting board.
- Using a serrated knife (preferred to prevent tearing), cut the bread into even, bite-sized cubes, approximately ½-inch to ¾-inch squares.
- Set the cubed bread aside while you prepare the seasoning.
Creating the Seasoned Butter
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter (about 30-45 seconds in the microwave).
- Add ½ teaspoon each of dried parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder to the melted butter.
- Sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon of seasoned salt.
- Whisk all ingredients together until well combined.
Coating the Bread
- Add the bread cubes to the bowl with the seasoned butter.
- Gently toss and fold the bread in the butter mixture until all pieces are evenly coated.
- Make sure to get the seasoned butter into all the nooks and crannies of the bread.
Air Frying the Croutons
- Preheat your air fryer to 350°F if your model requires preheating.
- Place the seasoned bread cubes in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding.
- Cook for 3 minutes, then shake the basket or stir the croutons.
- Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until the croutons are golden brown and crispy.
- Keep a close eye on them during the last minute, as they can go from perfect to over-browned quickly.
Cooling and Storing
- Remove the croutons from the air fryer and spread them on a plate or baking sheet to cool completely.
- The croutons will continue to crisp up as they cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
No air fryer? No problem. Make homemade croutons on your stovetop
While this recipe is developed for an air fryer, you can prepare this same recipe by heating up a large skillet to medium, tossing in the seasoned bread, and cooking it for 5 to 7 minutes.
You will need to stir the bread every 30 seconds or so. The bread will brown. So you can make these on the stovetop.
Other uses for these crunchy croutons
You may use this air fryer crouton recipe for dishes other than salads. One of my favorite ways to savor croutons is as a topping on your favorite soups. Soups I love croutons on are:
- Creamy tomato soup
- French onion soup
- Cheddar cheese beer soup
- Gazpacho
- Broccoli cheese soup
You can also use crispy air fryer croutons in recipes such as your favorite stuffing recipe or in any recipe that requires bread crumbs such as your favorite meatloaf recipe.
How to store leftover croutons
I know you will love these more than store-bought croutons, so you will want to save them. Make sure they are at room temperature, and then store them in an airtight container for up to five days.
Need more recipes for your air fryer? Check out these air fryer recipes.
Use croutons on these salads
More recipes for stale bread
Check out more of my delicious homemade salads and easy bread recipes.
Quick & Easy Air Fryer Homemade Croutons
Transform ordinary or slightly stale bread into crispy, flavorful, buttery croutons in your air fryer in just 10 minutes. These versatile, seasoned croutons are perfect for topping salads and soups or using in any recipe calling for crispy bread cubes or breadcrumbs.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 127kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 4 slices bread cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 390°F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the butter, parsley, onion powder, seasoned salt, and garlic salt. Stir well.
- Add the bread to the bowl and carefully stir to coat the bread with the seasoned butter.
- Place buttered bread into the air fryer basket and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bread is toasted. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Croutons
- Bread choice matters: Denser breads like sourdough create sturdier croutons, while softer breads make lighter, crispier ones
- Stale bread advantage: Slightly dry bread actually makes better croutons as it absorbs less butter and crisps more evenly
- Cut size is key: Keep your bread cubes consistent in size for even cooking
- Don’t overcrowd: Arrange in a single layer with some space between pieces for optimal air circulation
- Butter vs. oil: Butter provides more flavor, but olive oil or avocado oil work well for dairy-free options
- Temperature matters: If your croutons are browning too quickly, reduce the temperature to 325°F and extend cooking time slightly
- Check frequently: Every air fryer model cooks differently, so check often the first time you make these
- Cool completely: Croutons continue to crisp as they cool, so don’t judge their texture straight from the air fryer
Equipment
Nutrition
Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 777mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
Loved it. I did double the recipe and exchanged half the butter with olive oil
Thank You for this recipe! I used Asiago bread and, like someone else commented, thank goodness dinner is soon or else there wouldn’t be any left! No more store-bought croutons for me!
Easy to make, but I substituted the seasoned salt with dried herbs -parsley or whatever is even my spice cabinet. So much better than the store bought croutons and love how I can control amount of salt. I wonder how long they will keep in a ziploc bag?
Perfect and so easy! I used a small baguette and didn’t need to change the quantities of the remaining ingredients. In 7 minutes, they were beautifully golden, crunchy on the outside and slightly soft in the center. Fortunately, dinner will be soon, or I’d eat the whole lot, nibble by nibble!
Thank you! This was very easy and fast! Mine only needed like three minutes and they were perfect.
Awesome! Glad they worked for you!
So good and easy to make – will never buy store bought again! I make multiple batches & freeze most of them. We eat them within minutes of taking them out of the freezer. Recently purchased an air fryer and I’ve never been so addicted to cooking before! These croutons are the best!!!
Love these! I just tried a new soup, Roasted Parsnip and Apples. It mentioned adding croutons and with a quick search, found this recipe. These are so good!! These could just be a snack on their own, better than Chex Mix.
I made these with stale Costco bagels & they were to die for!! Thanks for the idea!!
WOW These are amazing and sooooo easy and fast. My 9-year old daughter just wanted to eat them as a snack! LOL I’ve now made these several times. I don’t even measure anymore. It’s really THAT easy. They definitely make a salad better. In my AF it’s only 5 minutes on 390. So watch them carefully near the end.
Absolutely divine! Just made them and tasted and it’s omg goodness!
I substituted Ranch Seasoning instead of the parsley, garlic, and onion powder. It was really good!
Can I give this 10 stars…. Had to substitute the parsley did have any and instead I used Italian seasoning. It was amazing!! Can’t stop eating the croutons!!
These came out so good. They were crunchy yet light and pillowy. They had a nice light garlicky flavor and just salty enough. This is a keeper!
Will try this recipe one of these days.. This one looks delicious..
I love trying out different recipes from online and I’m glad to have come across this one.. 🙂
I really loved it! Can’t wait to make it again!
I feel like I need to buy an air fryer ASAP! We love making homemade croutons but would never of thought to do it in the air fryer! Thank you!
What a fabulous recipe! I’m new to the air fryer, but these were terrific!
Croutons are my weakness. I can say that I definitely ate more out of the bowl than in my salad! But so good and a great use of stake bread.
Hi, please state at what temperature….
The first instruction is to preheat at 390 degrees, please cook it at the same temperature.