Air Fryer Croutons are the crispiest! With just a few simple spices and a little butter, these homemade croutons are done in less than 10 minutes and are perfect for salads, soups, and more.
recipe overview
Croutons are always around in my house, and these Air Fryer Croutons are the easiest homemade crouton recipe I’ve tried yet!
There’s no waiting for the oven to preheat and no constant flipping of bread cubes to get every side evenly browned.
This recipe is super versatile and easy to make gluten-free or vegan depending on what kind of bread and butter you use.
The added garlic salt, oregano, parsley, and onion powder take these from ordinary to extraordinary and they’re ready in less than 10 minutes, including prep!
how to make them
I didn’t have trouble keeping the croutons from flying around the air fryer, but if you do, feel free to weigh them down with a metal trivet!
- Cut your bread into cubes and put them in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the melted butter over the cubes. You may want to pour, stir, and pour more to evenly distribute the butter.
- Add the spices to the mixing bowl.
- Stir to combine your bread, butter, and seasonings completely.
- Pour the seasoned bread mixture into the air fryer basket — or onto your air fryer tray!
- Air fry your croutons for 6 to 8 minutes at 400 degrees F — or 204 degrees C — until crunchy. Be sure to stir the croutons once or twice during cooking to keep them from sticking or burning.
What to Serve with Croutons
Croutons are a staple on salads, but they’re perfect to add to any dish that needs a little more crunch.
My favorite way to serve croutons is on top of this Creamy White Bean and Tomato Soup to add a little extra crispiness to the soup while the croutons soak up the tomatoey goodness.
Add them to this Kale Quinoa Salad packed with pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, pears, and grapes.
How to Store Homemade Croutons
Homemade croutons are great to make in batches because you can keep them for weeks, depending on how you store them.
These Air Fryer Croutons will last about 3 days left on your countertop in an airtight container,
If you keep them in the refrigerator, they will last a bit longer, about 5 days.
For this method, I recommend keeping them in a paper bag to help absorb the humidity and keep your croutons super crunchy.
You can also freeze them! Frozen, these croutons will last about six weeks.
If you portion them into single servings, it’s easy to thaw and add to any dish that needs a little crunch!
Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
- Knife
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 5 slices bread can be gluten free
- 3 tablespoons butter melted, can be dairy free
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Cut the bread into cubes and set in mixing bowl.
- Pour melted butter over bread cubes.
- Add spices to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add bread cube mixture into air fryer basket or onto air fryer tray. Cook at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for 6 to 8 minutes or until crunchy. Stir croutons once or twice during cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Great way to make croutons! So yummy!
Thanks so much, glad you liked them!
Love croutons. Half the time they never seem to make it to my salads or soups because I end up snacking on them. I can;t wait to try air frying them, genius idea!
Enjoy!
Love this easy approach to making croutons! I can make a small batch as needed instead of buying a bag that always seems to go stale…..
Thank you for stopping by and checking it out! Enjoy!
I love this idea! I can’t wait to give this a try! Looks so crunchy and delicious!
You are very welcome! Enjoy!
Love how crunchy these croutons look! Would never have thought of making them in an air fryer. I generally bake mine in the oven but can’t wait to try this way.
Thanks for checking out it! Be sure to come back and let us know how it turned out for you! 🙂