Reduce Food Waste Croutons

I usually preserve my bread in the freezer, but when I was cleaning out my kitchen yesterday, I discovered half a loaf of challah that was sitting on my counter for a few days too long 😮 .

My first thought was that I should turn the Jewish bread typically eaten on the Sabbath into French toast. Well, actually, my real first thought was that my mom would be sad to see all of this challah go to waste, since she makes it from scratch (It’s sooo good! 🙂 ). Then I thought of French toast.

While I love French toast, we already had SO MUCH food in the fridge from my overboard meal-prep last week (I get a little too into meal-prep sometimes :/ lol #futureRDproblems), so making more wouldn’t exactly have helped the situation.

Additionally, after having oatmeal for breakfast and brown rice for lunch, I knew that my body wouldn’t appreciate a carb-heavy meal and would instead feel better about one rich in vegetables (Note: Carbs aren’t “bad,” and if you think they are, read this. Eating sufficient carbs is SO necessary that I won’t even go into that here because I will dig myself into a hole lol. It’s just that, in the grand scheme of yesterday, a carb-heavy meal wouldn’t have been best for me at that point in time.).

Anyways…

I was looking for something that would complement the foods that I already had in the fridge. It had to be something quick and easy (of course, like everything on this blog lol) but also something practical that I would actually eat and not waste.

That’s why I decided to make croutons.

These savory and crunchy bread bits are perfect for sprinkling on soups and salads. They pair so nicely with my Red Lentil Soup! You can also eat them plain (No judgement! I totally ate a few plain – I had to after smelling them!).

However you eat these little bites of crispiness, I hope you enjoy!
<3 Dena

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Reduce Food Waste Croutons

These croutons are so savory, crunchy and fresh! After making these, you'll never want to buy croutons again.

Course: Grain, Salad, Soup

Keyword: Reduce food waste croutons

Author: Dena Don

Ingredients

• About half a loaf of stale challah or bread, cut into large, even pieces (can use whole wheat or white bread, or a mix)
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon onion salt blend from Trader Joe’s
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix olive oil, onion salt blend, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl with a spatula. Add bread bits. Mix well.
• Arrange bread bits on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 20 minutes total, tossing after 10 minutes. Sprinkle croutons on soups and salads.

Notes

Did you make this recipe? Please rate and comment below. I’d love to hear how it went for you!