Air fryer croutons homemade with bread and your favorite seasonings are the bomb! Best crispy salad topping that is cheap and full of flavor. You can even crush them and make homemade seasoned breadcrumbs too!
If you love salads for lunch or dinner, you’ll love making your own crunchy air fryer croutons now! So much better than bagged from the store and only takes 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Made with everytihng bagel seasoning this easy air fryer recipe is great with soups too. (affiliate links present)
Ninja Air Fryer Croutons
I have to admit I have 3 different hot air machines at home. This white one lives on my countertop all the time but I also have a Cosori and Foodi tucked away. Many times I will use more than one to make dinner, my oven hasn’t been used in quite some time now.
After we made a few mini loaves of air fryer bread this thought came to mind. Once they were “day old” they’d be better seasoned and made into these babies. They turned out great.
If you love easy air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite Air Fryer is a Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more easy air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- If you are active on Facebook we have a page specifically for sharing easy air fryer recipes.
- This is the best air fryer cookbook. It’s important to know and remember how to preheat air fryer for best results.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
- Then join our Facebook page below where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love.
How to Make Croutons in Air fryer
You really can use any kind of loaf but French bread is best. Day old is better. Just a little bit stale in the center but not so hard it is difficult to slice is just right. Always use a sharpened serrated knife so you don’t smash your pieces. 3/4 of an inch for each cubed piece is the best size I found.
Beyond that you just need some oil and seasonings of your choice. Toss everything together and you’re set to go. A lot easier than heating up your oven, lining a baking sheet and baking.
- Loaf of bread cubes with crust left on for sure
- Olive oil or avocado oil is fantastic, I’ve never used melted butter but I imagine that would work too
- Seasonings of your choice but everything bagel mix is great, Italian seasoning would be good too
You’ll want a mixing bowl to coat all the pieces too and a spoon or just toss it y’all, it will work. 😉
Garlic Croutons
Love this flavor?? You can really do them well this way. You will still need the oil so everything sticks but you could add diced air fryer garlic into the mix with 1 tbsp garlic salt and onion powder or garlic powder. A sprinkle of regular salt and pepper never hurt these either.
Since salad is typically a bit bland you really need to amp it up with something(s). You can use any sort of bread you want to as well. Gluten free works, cubed leftover cornbread or Sourdough Croutons have an added tang.
You can really use anything but a loaf of French, Italian or Sourdough is best. The thicker the pieces and crust the better. Using a sharp serrated knife will allow you to slice the cubes into squares and not pull on each piece.
These are not just great on top of salads though. If you love any or all of our Ninja Foodi soup recipes I love them on top of those as well. Adds a bit of texture to each bite, and flavor too.
Texas Toast Croutons
You know that delicious sliced and already made garlic bread in the freezer section of your grocery store? You can totally use that too! That makes things super fast and easy. The only prep to that is allowing it to defrost and slicing. That is it!! Then follow our directions for cooking below.
- Cut your bread of choice into 3/4 inch cubes. Add into bowl and preheat air fryer to 370 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Drizzle olive oil on bread and toss together with your seasonings.
- Pour seasoned bread into air fryer basket and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss halfway thru until as crispy air fried as you’d like.
Serve on top of salad and soups and enjoy my friends.
Homemade Croutons Recipe
5 minute cooking time is all you really need. Of course there is a slight variance to this depending on how large each piece is, the amount of oil on each cube and how much you’re making. You could easily double or triple this but don’t overload the basket with each load.
You don’t want them to overlap too much but a little is okay. Make sure you toss them so every piece gets really crisp on all the edges. If you just want a little crunch aim for 4 minutes instead. You get my drift.
There is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post with nutritional information listed. Specific calories, saturated fat, etc. will vary depending on the bread you choose.
How long do bread croutons last?
If you keep them in an airtight container they will stay crunchy for a good 2 weeks. Make sure all the air is eliminated out of the bag every time you take some out or they may get stale. Keep them out of the refrigerator too or the condensation will make them moist and won’t last more than a day.
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Air Fryer Croutons
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 c bread cubed
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 tbsp everything bagel seasoning
Instructions
- French bread is ideal but you could use thick sliced sandwich bread. Cut into 3/4" cubes. Add into a bowl and preheat air fryer to 370 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Drizzle oil on bread and toss together with seasoning.
- Pour bread into basket and cook for about 5 minutes tossing halfway thru until as crispy as you'd like.
- Serve on top of salad and soups.