Brioche Croutons

Brioche Croutons: The absolute BEST croutons because of the brioche bread, garlic, butter, parmesan cheese and fresh basil! Simple ingredients, and ready in only 20 minutes!

Are homemade croutons better than storebought?

Oh yes. 100% yes. Now this is coming from a gal who can sit and eat an entire bag of storebought croutons like a bag of potato chips.

But when you have homemade croutons on your favorite salad recipes and soup recipes, you’ll understand my love for the homemade, seasoned, little cubes of bread.

Why you’ll love brioche croutons verses regular croutons:

I love regular croutons (as in, croutons made out of regular bread instead of brioche) and have had some of the most delicious croutons at restaurants… but there’s just something about this brioche croutons recipe that’s hard to beat.

The brioche bread already has such a buttery and a tad “sweet” taste, that drives so much flavor! Combine those flavors with the added savory ingredients in this homemade croutons recipe, and you’ll love it as much as I do!

Jump to:

• Are homemade croutons better than storebought?
• Why you’ll love brioche croutons verses regular croutons:
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• How to store croutons
• FAQ’s and Expert Tips
• Recipes that go great with croutons
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

This recipe uses simple ingredients, or has easy subsitutions (see those below) so you can make these croutons in minutes, and have them ready for your classic caesar salad in no time!

• 1 loaf brioche bread (1 lb.)
• 1/2 cup butter (salted or unsalted – just be mindful of any added salt)
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
• sprinkle of salt, if desired

See the printable recipe card toward the bottom of this post for ingredients and instructions all in one place!

Instructions

Making homemade croutons is incredibly easy! Here’s how to make them:

1. Prehat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Begin by cutting your brioche bread in to about 1 inch cubes. (Don’t worry if it’s not exact. Also, if you prefer smaller croutons, you can cut them smaller!)
3. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. (Make sure the bowl is large enough for stirring later.)
4. Next, add shredded parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and fresh basil to bread. Stir to combine.

5. Add butter and minced garlic to a microwave safe dish and microwave for 2 minutes or until butter has melted. Stir and pour over bread.

6. With a rubber spatula, carefully stir to coat bread with buttery mixture and other ingredients until it looks like most of the bread as been coated.
7. Next, pour buttered and seasoned bread in a single layer, on to a baking sheet pan that’s lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

8. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping the croutons, half way through. (We did 20 minutes for the croutons that you see here. However if you prefer a crispier crouton, you may want to check on them at 20 minutes and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until they reach the desired crispiness that you prefer. Be careful not to burn!)

9. If desired, sprinkle a little salt on after baking. (I use kosher salt or flaked sea salt but you can also use table salt.) Then serve warm or allow to cool before serving on a cold dish like a salad!

This makes about 8 cups of croutons!

Substitutions

• Basil – If you don’t have fresh basil, it’s ok to use about 1 tablespoon of dried basil.
• Garlic – if you don’t have minced garlic, you can use chopped garlic or a little more garlic powder.
• Bread – this recipe is specifically for brioche croutons, meaning you’ll use brioche bread. However you can also follow this same recipe for a different type of bread.
• Seasonings – there is so much flavor with the garlic butter and basil but you can also use other seasonings if you’d like. Such as, black pepper, Italian seasoning, etc.

Variations

I’ve made this recipe two different ways, and wanted to include a variation that you may prefer as well.

Extra Buttery Croutons

If you don’t mind a croutons that’s not crispy, and love a big buttery flavor, then you may want to try the other way that I make these!

• Keep the ingredients the ingredients and instructions the same, except for the butter! Melt 2-3 cups of butter instead of 1/2 a cup. This will make the bread soak up way more butter and may prevent the croutons from becoming super crispy but talk about FLAVOR!

How to store croutons

Store the croutons, after they have fully cooled, in an airtight container or ziptop bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you line the bag or container with a paper towel, it can help trap the moisture to prevent the croutons from getting soggy.

You can also store them in the refrigerator for 6-7 days, or even in the freezer for up to 4-6 weeks! (Freezer Tip: flash freeze croutons on the baking sheet and then transfer to a plastic freezer bag or container and place back in the freezer so the don’t stick to one another.)

NOTE: They do soften after being stored so if you plan to use leftovers, you may want to toss them back in the oven to crisp up or even in an air fryer for a quick refresh if you want them super crispy.

FAQ’s and Expert Tips

If the croutons are not as crispy as you prefer, you can allow them to sit out for a few hours/overnight and they will become more stale (crispy), or simply allow them to sit out for a few hours to harden.

Recipes that go great with croutons

I have a feeling you may already have an idea of what you want to put croutons. However, if you need some ideas, we love croutons on this side salad, this buffalo chicken soup, this clam chowder recipe, and on this chili recipe!

📖 Recipe