This homemade easy garlic croutons recipe is utterly delicious and uses just 3 ingredients. – bread, butter and garlic!. Recipe can be made in an ActiFry, air fryer or oven!
How these 3 Ingredient Croutons came about
Recently I wanted to make a Caesar Salad for dinner and looked around the supermarket for croutons. Due to the heatwave everyone else seemed to have the same idea so the shelves had been raided.
Hence, when I came home, I set about making really quick and easy garlic bread style croutons with some reduced white sliced bread. Stale bread is perfect for croutons as you want them to be dry and crispy not soft and doughy!
My first attempts were done in my air fryer which is a Tefal ActiFry Express. This is my preferred method but I also tested out making these garlic croutons in the oven which also worked well. You can of course make them in any type of air fryer.
However, with energy prices soaring I’ll be making my croutons in my ActiFry for the foreseeable future.
Why you should make homemade Garlic Croutons
- It’s a great way to use up stale bread (although you can use fresh).
- Manufactured croutons tend not to be buttery but made with rapeseed oil.
- Shop bought croutons don’t contain fresh garlic but garlic puree.
- Food safety: If you or a family member suffer from nut allergies, many shop bought croutons say that they’re made in a factory that handles nuts.
- They are incredibly delicious and moreish!
Ingredients
There are just 3 ingredients involved in making these simple croutons:
- 3 slices of white bread
- 60 g salted butter (room temperature)
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
How to make homemade Croutons (Full recipe at bottom of page)
- Mix together softened salted butter with 3 cloves of crushed garlic.
- Spread the garlic butter on both sides of 3 slices of white bread (or bread of choice).
- Chop bread into 1.5 cm – 2 cm dice.
- Place in ActiFry, air fryer or preheated oven and cook until golden and crisp throughout. (Between 5 – 12 minutes depending on cooking method).
Substitutions
- Instead of white bread you can use any type of bread eg sourdough, wholemeal, Ciabatta etc.
- If you don’t have salted butter, just use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt.
- If you’re vegan you could use vegan spread instead of butter.
- Fresh garlic can be substituted with 2 teaspoons of garlic puree or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
Additions
You could add finely chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley but I found the ActiFry shook it off so best suited to a conventional oven or air fryer.
A dusting of finely grated parmesan cheese is another delicious variation.
Is it cheaper to make Garlic Croutons from scratch?
That all depends on the cost of your ingredients and what appliance you use. If you use:
- a standard white loaf at 70p
- a block of salted butter at £1.74
- a bulb of garlic at 30p
the total cost of the ingredients will be 64p.
Then you need to add on the energy price which by January will be about 30p (allowing for 5 minutes of preheating) for the electric oven and about 9 pence for an ActiFry or air fryer. (Calculated from this article in The Guardian).
So, the total cost by January 2022 will be between 73p and 94p approximately and bags of garlic croutons currently cost anywhere between 99p and £1.55. Crouton prices may go up by January!
You also need to factor in your time but as these croutons only take about 5 minutes to prepare it’s not much of a hardship. So, I do believe homemade croutons can be cheaper than store bought ones.
Is this the Best Buttery Garlic Croutons Recipe Ever?
I’d say yes as it’s such and quick, easy and fuss free recipe. There’s no melting butter involved you just butter the bread with garlic butter, cube and then air fry or bake.
Plus, the use of fresh garlic makes these crunchy croutons super tasty and delicious!
Storage
You can store garlic croutons in an airtight container for about 5 days but I seriously doubt they’ll get that old without being devoured!
You can also store croutons in the freezer for up to a month.
I’m sure you’ll love this quick crouton recipe so do leave a comment and rating below. You can also share a pic by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram!
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with a Caesar Salad or any salad to add some crunch and carbohydrate.
- Use to garnish soups.
- Enjoy on their own as a tasty snack.
Soup Recipes you could garnish with Garlic Croutons
- Kale Soup
- Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup
- Broccoli & Cheddar Soup
- Curried Root Vegetable Soup
- Carrot & Fresh Coriander Soup
Salad Recipes that would go well with Easy Garlic Croutons
- Spam Salad with Garlic Croutons & Gruyère
- Quick Nicoise Style Salad
- Vegan Caesar Salad with Grilled Lettuce
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Simple Summer Salad
Pin Garlic Croutons recipe for later!
I’m sure you’ll love this Easy Garlic Croutons recipe so do leave a comment and rating below. You can also share a pic by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram!
Easy Garlic Croutons
Equipment
- Chopping mat
- Bowl, small
- Garlic crusher
- Table knife
- Fork
- Kitchen knife
- Baking tray (if using oven)
- Air Fryer/ActiFry
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 60 grams salted butter softened
- 3 slices white bread or bread of choice (stale is best)
Instructions
- f using air fryer, preheat to 200 C or for conventional oven preheat to 210°C.
- In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter and crushed garlic.
- Butter both sides of the sliced white bread with the garlic butter.
- Chop the bread into 1.5 – 2 cm cubes.
- Using a cook’s knife, scrape the buttered bread cubes into an ActFry and cook until golden and crisp throughout. Mine took 12 minutes (see notes). In an air fryer place cubes in basket and bake for about 5 – 6 minutes at 200°C. For oven method place on a preheated baking tray of a preheated oven at 210°C and bake for about 12 minutes turning once.
- Test to see if croutons are ready by biting or cutting one in half, it should be crisp all the way through with no sign of doughiness.
- Once cool, use to garnish soups and salads or store in an airtight container.
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