Crouton Salad
Homemade Croutons: The Star of Any Salad
Who doesn’t love homemade croutons? When I was younger, they were probably the only thing I cared about in a salad. But as I grew up, I realized that while croutons aren’t the point of a salad, they can still steal the show when done right.
The best part? They’re ridiculously easy to make, especially when you have some leftover bread lying around. In this case, I had a few slices of hearty whole grain bread hanging out in the fridge. Instead of letting them go to waste, I transformed them into crunchy, garlicky morsels that turned my “use what’s in the fridge” salad into something truly special.
From the freshly roasted garlic to the satisfying crunch, these homemade croutons became the highlight of what would have been an ordinary salad. They’re proof that a little creativity can go a long way—and that sometimes, the best part of the salad is the croutons. 😉
So, next time you’ve got leftover bread, don’t toss it. Turn it into homemade croutons and elevate your salad game. Enjoy! ❤️🥗✨
Crouton Salad
Special Note: This salad is best eaten once freshly made. Do not plan for leftovers. Because of the ‘finishing salt’ on these croutons, once mixed into the salad, the salt draws the moisture out of the vegetables leaving any leftovers watery and mushy.
Ingredients:
3c Lettuce of some kind (I used some romaine and fresh spinach I had on hand)
handful of cherry tomatoes
1/2 english cucumber
11/2c leftover pasta (i used leftover precooked farafelle (bow tie shaped), chopped up)
6 new potatoes (cooked and cooled)
1/4c shaved Parmesan
NOTE: these all happened to be ingredients I had on hand that needed to be used that I believed would go well with croutons and a homemade Caesar-like dressing.
For Croutons: 6 slices leftover stale bread, 1/4c olive oil and 2 medium size heads of garlic
For Caesar-Like Dressing:
1/4c mild olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
3 dashs Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup (to taste, depends on bitterness of the lemon)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
Sprinkle of Kosher salt (remember, kosher salt isn’t as salty tasting as table salt)
Instructions:
Making Croutons: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil and crushed heads of garlic. Whisk to combine.
Slice bread into desired crouton size (we like ours on the smaller side). Add to the bowl, toss to coat with garlic-Olive oil. Sprinkle with Kosher salt.
Spread evenly on a rimmed non-stick cookie sheet. Set aside the mixing bowl that is now seasoned with the garlic and olive oil for making the Caesar like salad dressing.
Place in oven and set timer for 1 minute. These might need a little more time to turn golden brown but it’s better to keep a close eye on them because once the turn from golden to ‘blackened’ (a matter of seconds) they become bitter and inedible.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Making the Caesar-like dressing: Combine all of the dressing ingredients listed above in the set aside mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Assembling the salad: Add all the salad ingredients noted above to the above bowl. Note: many of the ingredients noted above found there way into this salad because I had some odds and ends leftover in my fridge. The sky is the limit on what you add here. Have fun and be creative.
Add the croutons.
Toss to combine and serve immediately.
