These crispy golden herby croutons are made in the air fryer in just 15 minutes! They freeze well, so you can make a big batch to keep on hand for salads.
We have a big salad for lunch or dinner at least once a week, and these herby croutons are usually the star of the show! They add crunch, herbiness, and a lot of flavor for just a little bit of effort!
The croutons are cooked in the air fryer in just 15 minutes. They're tossed with rosemary, thyme, olive oil, and salt. It's a simple recipe, but you'll never want to buy store bought croutons again after making these!
Serve these herby croutons on a Kale Chickpea Salad or Arugula Salad.
Croutons freeze well
This recipe makes roughly 5 cups of croutons. If that's more than you need, the good news is that croutons freeze well!
In fact, I usually make a double batch with the entire loaf of French bread and freeze most of the croutons.
Serve the croutons right out of the freezer, no thawing required!
Ingredients
- Bakery bread: While I think that most varieties of bakery bread work with this crouton method, I've specifically tested it with French bread, sourdough, and ciabatta, all of which work very well. I don't recommend using a standard loaf of sandwich bread, as that's better for something like stuffing.
- Dry rosemary and thyme: Choose the dry herbs in leaf form, not powdered. I'm sure that fresh would work just as well, I just usually stick to dry for convenience sake.
- Olive oil: A few glugs of good olive oil makes a world of different for the flavor of croutons. You can use any standard oil here, but note that olive oil imparts flavor to the croutons.
- Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my savory recipes. It's half as salty by volume as standard salt, so increase as needed if using standard table salt.
Step-by-step instructions
I use the Instant Vortex air fryer and love it. In the past I used a Cuisinart toast oven/air fryer combo and had similar results. The verdict: this recipe should work in most air fryers.
- Slice a French loaf into roughly 1-inch slices. Slice each piece into roughly 1-inch cubes. It's okay if you're not exact, as the cook time can be increased or decreased depending on bread cube size.
- Toss with oil, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. The bread cubes shouldn't be saturated with oil; the oil is used mostly to improve browning and to add flavor.
- Air fry at 325F for 12 minutes, shaking halfway through. Add 2-3 minutes for extra golden croutons, or if your croutons are on the larger side.
- Let cool or enjoy immediately. The croutons should be crisp, crunchy, and golden brown.
FAQ
To make these in the oven, preheat it to 350F. Spread the cubed and seasoned bread out on a half sheet pan. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Storage and freezing
- Store herby croutons in an airtight container at room temp for up to a week.
- Keep leftovers frozen for up to 3 months. I've found that they don't need to be reheated before serving. If you prefer warm croutons, just pop them in the air fryer at 300F for 1 minute.
More air fryer staples
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Recipe
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Herby Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
- 1 air fryer I test all of my recipes in an Instant Vortex 6-quart Plus air fryer
Ingredients
- ½ medium loaf day old French bread see note #1
- 1 tablespoon olive oil more as needed
- 1 teaspoon dry rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the French bread into roughly 1-inch slices. Slice each piece into 1-inch cubes. A standard air fryer basket will hold about 4 heaping cups of cubed bread, or half a loaf of French bread. To use the entire loaf of bread just double the recipe and air fry in two batches.
- Preheat the air fryer to 325F. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, drizzle the cubed bread with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon dry rosemary, ½ teaspoon dry thyme, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Toss to combine.
- Transfer the bread to the preheated air fryer. Air fry at 325F for 12 minutes, shaking halfway through. Check the croutons, adding 2-3 more minutes to make them extra crisp.
- Keep croutons in a closed container for up to a week, or store in the freezer or up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
- French bread: This will vary in size based on where you buy the bread, so I just recommend measuring out 4-5 cups of cubed French bread per batch of croutons.
- This recipe also works with sourdough, ciabatta, really any type of bakery bread.
- Day old bread tends to be drier and staler. This isn't required, but note that it results in slightly crisper croutons than very fresh and moist bread.
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