This easy Air Fryer Croutons recipe shows you exactly how to make croutons right in your air fryer! Use the tasty air fried croutons as a topping to your favorite soups or salads or crush them up to make breadcrumbs.
Try them with some of these soup recipes or salad recipes!
Turning stale bread into croutons is always a good idea. It's even better when you take a little help from your air fryer!
The air fryer is a small convection oven that circulates dry heat around whatever you’re cooking. This means that the food gets nice and crispy all around without the use of any excess oil.
Using your air fryer also helps food cook faster too!
This recipe for air fryer croutons takes cubed bread, then tosses it with oil and seasonings. It then gets thrown into the bottom of the air fryer to crisp up in just 5 minutes!
Making croutons in the air fryer is the perfect way to jazz up your soups and salads. Plus it's easy and you don't need to turn on your oven and heat the house to make them!
This was inspired by my air fryer pierogies on this site, and pairs well with this vegan lentil soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
You can use any bread you have on hand or buy your favorite bread to make croutons.
This recipe uses simple ingredients, bread, seasonings, and oil to make homemade croutons.
Your air fryer will circulate dry heat around the bread which helps them cook up fast.
Change up the seasonings to whatever your desired tastes are.
The entire batch of croutons takes just 5 minutes to cook.
Air Fryer Croutons are a great way to use up slightly stale bread.
Ingredients
You only need simple ingredients for air fried croutons!
- Cubed Bread - You can use any bread you have on hand and cut it into cubes. Stale bread works best in this recipe because the bread is already partially dried out.
- Seasonings - To flavor the croutons, you’ll need garlic powder, salt, and Italian herbs for an herbed crouton.
- Olive Oil - Tossing the bread with oil helps the seasonings stick to the croutons and also helps them get nice and crispy.
Please see the recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
Wondering how to make this air fryer croutons recipe? It's easy! Just follow this step-by-step photo tutorial. Then, scroll down for the recipe card for the full ingredients list and recipe method.
Prepare the bread: Cut your bread into cubes into the size you like your croutons. You can give them a rough chop for a rustic look as well.
Toss with seasonings: Add the cubed bread to a bowl along with oil, toss until bread is coated, then sprinkle with seasonings.
Air fry croutons: Place the croutons in a single layer at the bottom of your air fryer basket and place in a preheated air fryer set to 340F/170C. Give them a toss halfway through and remove when crispy with tongs.
Enjoy! Let cool to harden and serve.
Top tips
To ensure even seasoning, you can whisk the seasonings into the oil before tossing to make sure everything is coated evenly.
You’ll need to place the croutons in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If your air fryer basket is small, cooking in small batches is best.
No matter what shape you cut your bread into, make sure everything is roughly the same size so it cooks evenly when air-fried.
Depending on the air fryer, the type of bread and if it's stale, 5 minutes may be too little or too much cooking time. Always check a few minutes in, to gauge the additional cooking time.
Serving Suggestions
Try the croutons served on, soups, salads or as a snack!
Perfect on Tomato Soup or Pea Soup.
Enjoy on Vegan Caesar Salad.
Sprinkle a few on Strawberry Spinach Salad or Green Salad.
Variations
Sprinkle with Vegan Chicken Seasoning for a unique seasoning.
If you’re using these croutons for a sweet dish, season with cinnamon and sugar before placing them in the air fryer.
You can use any bread you enjoy including sourdough, French bread, baguette, rye bread, or even leftover bagels.
Don’t have an air fryer? Pop them under the broiler for a few minutes or grill them over a medium-hot grill until crispy.
Give the croutons a bit of spice by seasoning with cayenne pepper or spicy cajun seasoning.
Homemade Old Bay seasoning or Middle Eastern Baharat spice blend works well, too!
Storage
Storing: Air-fried croutons can be stored in a zip-top bag or container with room to let the air escape. This will keep any moisture out which keeps them nice and crispy.
Freezing: Croutons do not freeze well as they start to absorb moisture in the fridge, therefore freezing is not recommended.
FAQs
The standard size is about ½ of an inch for croutons, but feel free to experiment with different sizes?
Simply pop the croutons back into the air fryer at 325 degrees F for a few minutes or until they become crispy again.
Air Fryer Recipes
I hope you love making croutons in your air fryer. Be sure to check out these other recipes that you can make in it too!
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups (150g) cubed bread
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian herbs
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or use spray oil
Instructions
- Heat the air fryer to 340 degrees F / 170 degrees C.
- Toss the bread cubes with the garlic powder, salt and herbs, then drizzle with the oil and gently toss again.
- Place into the basket of the air fryer in a single layer (you may need to cook them in batches) and cook for 5 minutes (or until golden), shaking halfway through. Check and cook a little longer if you want them darker.
Notes
- To ensure even seasoning, you can whisk the seasonings into the oil before tossing to make sure everything is coated evenly.
- You’ll need to place the croutons in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- If your air fryer basket is small, cooking in small batches is best.
- No matter what shape you cut your bread into, make sure everything is roughly the same size so it cooks evenly when air-fried.
- Depending on the type of bread and if it's stale, 5 minutes may be too little or too much cooking time.
- Always check a few minutes in, to gauge the additional cooking time.
- Perfect on soup recipes or salad recipes.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Emily Flint
These were perfect for the soup I made. I love that I can make breadcrumbs in the air fryer, now I can have them whenever I need them and not just when I remember to buy them!
Alisa Infanti
So glad I found this recipe. I was out of croutons for a Ceasar and this recipe was a blessing!
Toni
This is such a great idea!! Love how easy you can make it air fryer!
Louise Cayzer
Perfect croutons every time! Just in time for soup season!
Dannii
We love these on homemade soup. So easy to make too