Air Fryer Garlic Croutons with Olive Oil

Name: Air Fryer Garlic Croutons with Olive Oil
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 6 min
Ingredients: 3 cups bread cut into cubes; 2 tablespoons olive oil ((can sub avocado, canola or vegetable oil)); 1 teaspoon garlic powder; salt and pepper to taste

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These Homemade Air Fryer Croutons are made with olive oil. They are healthy, crispy and full of garlic flavor! These easy croutons are dairy free and even vegan! You'll never buy prepackaged croutons again!

Crispy browned air fryer garlic croutons in a small glass bowl with a salad in the background. — Air Fryer Garlic Croutons with Olive Oil

We make these mouth watering garlic croutons in an air fryer. We love the Ninja Foodi Grill that can be used as a grill, air fryer and much more! The Ninja Foodi Air Fryer and Grill makes bread into croutons in just 6 minutes!

Try using your own Homemade Sandwich Bread to make croutons. You can cut it to the perfect thickness. After our bread is about 5-7 days old we like to slice it up for croutons.

Air Fryer Potato Puffs are the perfect easy side dish for a weeknight meal!

We also love using the air fryer to make these Air Fryer Frozen Soft Pretzels. They are a great after school snack!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

First of all this recipe is so easy. It only take a few minutes to throw together!
Homemade bread croutons are a great way to use your leftover bread that needs to be used quickly.
Adding air fried croutons to your salad will make you want to eat even more healthy salad!
Sometimes store bought croutons are too strong in their flavor to enjoy them. They can also be super hard and almost inedible. Air Fryer Croutons are soft, but still very crispy. Making these at home you can customize them and adjust the salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste preference.

Recipe Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make the best air fryer croutons.

Bread: Although this recipe will work with normal sandwich bread, we find that using a thicker cut or homemade bread cut into thicker slices produce the best sized croutons.

Garlic Powder: First, make sure you are using garlic powder and NOT garlic salt. Second, you can really adjust this ingredient to your liking.

Oil: These croutons are only cooked for 6 minutes so we like to use olive oil. Usually when using my air fryer, we like to use an oil with a high smoke point. We prefer to use avocado oil and sometimes we use canola oil too. This EVO oil sprayer to make sure that all the cubes of bread get a small coat of oil on them.

How to Make Easy Air Fryer Croutons

Watch how easy these croutons are! The recipe video is below! Subscribe to us on YouTube so you don't miss new cooking videos!

Recipe Tips & Tricks

To be honest, this recipe is very easy. There aren't many tips or tricks to give.

For a denser and harder crouton, use a dense bread. If you make your own bread, don't let it rise as long as you normally do. In contrast, if you like a lighter, not going to break your teeth crouton, use a fluffier bread. These croutons are soft, but still crunchy!
Cooking times between air fryers may vary slightly. Keep an eye on your croutons. I use the Ninja Foodi Grill Air Crisp option and it takes us 6 minutes to make them.
A sharp bread knife like this KitchenAid Bread Knife will help you to cut the bread into cubes without smashing it.

Storage and Reheating

Storage: Store these crunchy homemade croutons in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheating: You may need to throw them back in the air fryer to crisp them back up.

Additions and Substitutions

Garlic Powder: You can substitute garlic powder for onion powder or your other favorite seasonings. The taste will be changed, but you may have just made your new favorite flavored crouton!

Variations

Omit the garlic powder and drizzle a balsamic glaze on them before putting them in the oven. Add them to a sweet salad such as this Apple and Blue Cheese Salad.
Add them on top of your favorite soup such as this Tuscan White Bean Soup or Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup.

A green salad with homemade air fryer garlic croutons, cucumber and peppers with knife and fork next to it. — Air Fryer Garlic Croutons with Olive Oil

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do homemade croutons last?

Air fryer croutons can be stored in an airtight container for about 4 days. Just throw them in the air fryer to crisp them back up if needed.

What salads do you serve these croutons with?

I prefer serving these croutons on salads that do not have sweet dressings and fruit. They are great with caesar, Italian, and traditional chef salads.

What type of bread can you use to make homemade croutons?

You can use a thick white sandwich bread, a french baguette, an Italian bread or a sourdough loaf. Just note that some breads are denser and have a thicker crust and that will affect the crunch of the crouton. Using homemade bread allows you to slice the bread thicker for homemade air fryer croutons.

What temperature do you cook air fryer croutons?

In the Ninja Foodi Grill Air Fryer they cook at 390 degrees. The temperature can vary based on your model of air fryer.

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