Homemade Croutons

One side that I serve my family often is salads! I try to spice things up by offering a variety of dressings and toppings to enhance the flavors. One topping my kiddos love is homemade croutons! They are so easy to make and you only need a few ingredients.

Ingredients:
I often use half a baguette or a half loaf of French bread from my local bakery
(you can also use about 6 slices of white bread if you have that on hand)
olive oil or butter (about 3 TBS, add more if needed)
1 tsp Italian seasoning (add more if needed)
garlic powder (to taste)
1 TBS grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into cubes, if you are using bread slices you can cut the crust off.
In a large mixing bowl add bread cubes and drizzle olive oil or melted butter over bread cubes.
Then add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese. Toss bread cubes with tongs until evenly coated. Taste a bread cube and make sure it is seasoned to your taste!
Add more seasoning as needed. Place bread cubes on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until crispy, dry and golden brown (cooking time may vary). Stir croutons half way through cooking. Serve on a salad, in soup, or just by itself as a snack!

These croutons are an excellent addition to a salad covered in Homemade Ranch Dressing, click here for my recipe!