Lemon & garlic air fryer croutons (or oven baked)

Crispy air fryer croutons in salad with vegan ranch dressing.

5 from 4 votes

Lemon & garlic air fryer croutons (or oven baked)

Repurpose day-old bread into delicious lemon & garlic air fryer croutons. These flavorful, crisp bites add a delicious crunch to your salad. Air fry them or roast in the oven! (Oven directions are in the notes.)

Makes 2 cups of croutons

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: air fryer, dairy free, side

Servings: people

Calories: 34kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

2 heaping cups cubed baguette or your preferred bread, cut in 1 inch pieces*
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 clove garlic finely grated or ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Instructions

Put cubed baguette into a large mixing bowl. Evenly drizzle extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice across the bread. Then sprinkle on dried oregano, dried basil, garlic granules, salt, and pepper.
Use a spoon or your hands to toss the cubed bread, getting everything evenly coated, and making sure the spices are on the bread instead of stuck on the sides of the bowl.
Put the bread into the air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 4 to 5 minutes, stopping once or twice to shake the basket.
(Air fryers vary in heat output. And if the bread cubes are on the large side, they may take longer to brown. Keep cooking until the cubes have reached your desired level of crispiness.)
Remove the croutons from the air fryer basket and serve on top of your favorite salad.

Notes

*I like to slice the baguette in even one inch slices, and then cut those slices into quarters. That will basically give you the size that you need.

Oven directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Complete steps one and two. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay the cubed bread evenly across it. Bake for 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Remember: For either cooking method, it's good to keep an eye on the croutons during the last couple minutes to make sure they don't get too brown. Depending on the size of cubes, they might need to cook a longer or shorter amount of time.

Nutrition