These croutons are so fabulous. I adapted this recipe from one that I read and then read many (many!) reviews on, in the end, I took a few suggestions from the comments and left out the other seasonings and WHOA! Seriously addictive to nibble on. It makes a salad more of a meal. Absolutely delicious!

I originally saw this recipe on Gimmesomeoven.com – (click the link to see the original recipe and to print from there if you like). These yummy little bites add pizazz to any salad!

HOMEMADE PARMESAN BREADCRUMBS

Oven at 375℉

Slice and cut up some leftover bread (homemade is best, but any will work), especially sourdough or French bread. I usually use one slice for each of us. I had some bread in the freezer. I pulled it out and let it thaw, then cut it up in fairly even pieces (bite size) and let it sit for a bit (I’ve also done it without letting it sit to get a little drier) – just make sure the bread is completely thawed.

I toss the bread cubes in a large bowl, drizzle generously with olive oil, parmesan, a wee bit of Italian seasoning and pepper. Using your hands lightly toss to mix it in, then pop it onto a very lightly greased baking sheet and spread out giving a little room between. Bake 10 minutes and then check, flip it might be good for you at this point or maybe with an additional 5 minutes (max). If you let it get darker the croutons will be VERY hard (but VERY tasty), so as not to lose a tooth I backed off to 10-12 minutes. Perfection! Once they cool, toss them on a salad (or eat them as is!) – you’ll never buy croutons again! These are so much better and literally only take a few minutes!

🍽️ Until next time…