Air fryer croutons are easy to make and a crunchy addition to salads or soups! These air fryer garlic croutons crisp up perfectly and are a great use of leftover bread.
Is there anything better than homemade croutons? What about croutons that are SO quick and easy to make in the air fryer. Quicker than chopping up all those veggies for your salad or cooking your soup.
And these crunchy air fried croutons have just the right amount of crisp when you bite into them.
Honestly, I've been guilty of just snacking on the crunchy croutons by themselves. But they are great in so many soups and salads!
You can easily add them to salads like this cheeseburger salad or Tuscan salad. I also love the croutons in soups, especially this creamy butternut squash soup.
Why make homemade croutons in the air fryer?
- So much quicker than cooking in an oven!
- They come out perfectly crunchy.
- You can easily check on them to make sure they reach the perfect level of doneness.
- Uses less energy than an oven (and doesn't heat up the house in the summer!)
- You can add your own herbs and seasonings to customize with different flavors.
Ingredients
- French loaf - I used half of a French loaf in this recipe. You could also use sourdough, a baguette, ciabatta, or other crusty bread.
- Olive oil - Olive oil helps crisp up the bread perfectly.
- Garlic powder - The garlic powder gives the croutons their garlic flavor.
- Onion powder - The onion powder helps to balance the garlic powder and adds an additional savory component.
- Salt - Salt helps to bring out all the other flavors.
- Dried parsley - I love using dried parsley to bring a little color to the croutons. However, you could also use dried oregano, dried thyme, or another herb for a slightly different flavor.
How to make air fryer croutons
Preheat your air fryer at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. While air fryer is preheating, slice your bread into chunks about 1-2 inches in size. Add to a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle olive oil over the bread and toss to combine until olive oil is completely distributed amongst the bread pieces. Add an additional 1 teaspoon oil if needed. Bread should still be light and fluffy.
Add your spices to a bowl and then stir to combine. Mixing them together before adding to your bread helps to get them distributed more evenly over the bread.
Add your spice mix to the bowl and toss to combine until spice mixture is evenly distributed.
Add bread cubes to your preheated air fryer basket.
Cook for 4-6 minutes, tossing/shaking every couple of minutes, until croutons are browned and crunchy.
Serve your air fried croutons however desired! If serving on a salad, let cool for a couple of minutes before adding to a salad.
Recipe tips
- All air fryers cook differently. Make sure to check frequently near the end to reach that perfect level of doneness.
- When coating the bread with the olive oil, add an additional 1 teaspoon oil if needed.
- Shake, shake, shake the croutons in your air fryer basket. When I'm making these, I shake every couple of minutes.
- Note that this recipe uses half a loaf of French bread, or about 5 cups after cutting into cubes. If using a full loaf, cook in two batches.
Do you need to use stale bread?
In this recipe? No. You don't need to use stale bread to make the croutons. The air fryer will dry out the bread appropriately, leaving you with perfectly crunchy croutons.
In fact, I recommend using one to two day-old bread for the best results. You can use slightly stale bread, but never use moldy bread (even if you cut off the moldy parts).
Storing the croutons
After cooling, these croutons can be stored in an uncovered container for up to 2 weeks. If they are slightly chewy, you can dry out in an oven at a low heat or pop into your air fryer for a minute to crisp up again.
Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ loaf French bread cut into 1 inch cubes (about 5 cups)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Take the French loaf and slice into cubes. Add the cubes to a large bowl.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the cubes and toss until all the cubes have been slightly moistened with the olive oil.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, parsley, onion powder and salt. Add the mixture to the bread cubes and toss until well distributed.
- Add the cubes to the air fryer basket. Cook for 4-6 minutes at 400 degrees F until lightly browned, shaking every couple of minutes.
Notes
- All air fryers cook differently. Make sure to check frequently near the end to reach that perfect level of doneness.
- When coating the bread with the olive oil, add an additional 1 teaspoon oil if needed.
- Shake, shake shake the croutons in your air fryer basket. When I'm making these, I shake every couple of minutes.
- Note that this recipe uses half a loaf of French bread, or about 5 cups after cutting into cubes. If using a full loaf, cook in two batches.
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
LuAnn
The croutons were so good! And done so fast. I will be making my own from now on and experiment with different seasonings. Thank you!
Sharon P
These turned out great! I changed up the bread - used some hotdog buns that needed to be used. I have wanted to make my own croutons and will do so from now on! I am having to use my willpower to not eat the leftovers. My air fryer has basket-trays, and I lined them with wax paper. Of course, I kept a close eye on the cook time and checked them as mentioned in the recipe. Thank you for posting the recipe.
Lynne
So easy. I used sourdough bread and they were great. Will definitely make again. Thank you.
Jamie
These turned out so good! I didn’t use onion powder (husband’s preference) but added a little Italian seasoning. Yum-o!
ange;a
Store cupboard ingredients, thrown together in minutes to create really good croutons! Great recipe.
Connie
So easy- great