Fresh Herb Croutons

Back in the day, I hardly remember ever eating a salad without croutons. I always wanted the crunchy little bread cubes flecked with herbs. The half-inch cubes were the most common, although I also loved the larger 1-inch size and even the round ones.

Being a carb, croutons have lost favor in salads outside of things like Caesar Salad where they are an essential ingredient (and there are even a lot of Caesar Salads without croutons these days, like this version with a parmesan crisp).

You can toss the bread cubes with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, but to coat them more evenly (and potentially use less oil), apply the olive oil with an oil sprayer.

Although store-bought croutons can sometimes taste a little stale, homemade croutons are really good and easy to make. Fresh or dried herbs can be used to season them. This time I used fresh thyme from my herb garden. I find garlic powder works better than minced garlic since it adheres better to the oil-coated bread.

Fresh Herb Croutons

White bread, such as sourdough or baguette, crusts removed, bread cut into 1-inch cubes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place bread cubes in a bowl. Drizzle or spray with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt, garlic powder and thyme.

3. Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet in an even layer. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.