Garlic Herb Cheese Croutons

Rita~'s Note:

Top a salad or soup with these flavorful croutons.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 16

Yield: 4.0 cups

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (mixture of oregano, rosemary, parsley, basil, thyme, and or marjaram)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 4 cups cubed French bread (1/2-inch cubes)
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat oil and butter in pan add garlic to cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add herbs, salt, pepper and pepper flakes.
4. Remove from heat and toss in bread cubes to coat. Sprinkle on cheese. Toss to coat.
5. Coat a cookie sheet pan with cooking spray.
6. Spread cubes on pan in a single layer.
7. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until golden.
8. Check frequently to prevent burning. Cool.

Reviews

[Dotty2]

Love these croutons ! Great flavor. I found the French Bread to work very well . I had never used French bread for croutons before. I found the oil and butter could be increased just a bit but I just sprayed the bread with some extra olive oil. That worked great. Wonderful on Caesar salad. My new favorite crouton recipe. (recipe swap #15)

[evelyn/athens]

Great, flavourful croutons. Really liked them but I would up both the oil and butter slightly to get a better coating on this amount of bread cubes. We snacked on the cubes yesterday and they're all gone - so this is also a wonderful alternative to other, less healthful snacking. Great wsy to use slightly-stale bread.