It is so easy to make crunchy air fryer croutons using any type of bread you like: sliced or unsliced. Add them to all of the salads!
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Recipe notes
To make these vegan croutons, start by dicing up your bread into ½" pieces. If you have a whole loaf, you want cubes. Obviously, with sliced bread, you can't control the width.
Because you can't control the width with a sliced loaf, you may need to stick to the lower end of the cooking time. Check your croutons frequently, so they don't overcook!
Once you have diced your bread, toss it with spices and olive oil, then air fry until it's browned and crunchy.
Make sure to shake your basket and check on the croutons often! Shaking will help them cook evenly, and frequent checking avoids burnt results.
Once they're fully cooked, serve them over soups or salads for some flavorful crunch.
What kind of bread to use for croutons?
What I love about making my own salad croutons in the air fryer is that it's quick and that I can use basically any bread I have on hand. Anything that will stand up to dicing will work fine -- pre-sliced or unsliced loaves both work.
In the photos and videos for this post, I used sliced bread, because that's what we had in the pantry.
Gluten-free bread is also totally fine, as long as it doesn't fall apart when you dice it into small pieces.
Very thin-sliced pieces will burn very quickly in the air fryer. If your bread is labeled as "thin sliced", your croutons may cook up even faster than four minutes. Keep an eye on them!
Stale bread will definitely be easier to dice, but you can use fresh bread in this recipe.
How to store them
Any leftover croutons will keep for two to three days in an airtight container in the pantry.
Air fryer croutons recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced bread - ½" pieces, see note
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the bread pieces with spices,salt, and oil, then transfer the bread to your air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 400° F for 4-8 minutes, shaking every couple of minutes, to make sure the pieces cook evenly.
Equipment
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Ideas for using salad croutons
Air fryer croutons are lovely on basically any green salad. Here are some ideas for you!
- Fried Tofu Salad
- Taco Salad (I'd substitute chili powder for the rosemary in this case.)
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
They're also delightful on soups. Try them on:
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Yellow Split Pea Soup
- Creamy Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
Have a question? Tried this recipe? Share your thoughts!