Cornbread Croutons

This recipe started as a Tiktok that helped me use up some leftovers. But it was such a hit, I just had to make it blog official!

And, they’re so easy to make too. We’ll simply start with a boxed cornbread mix. Chop it into cubes. Bake. And, voila. Croutons!

Let’s talk cornbread. I totally cheated and used a boxed mix for these croutons, and I’m not going to apologize for it. I love the honey butter cornbread mix from Zatarains, so that’s what I used. You could absolutely use your favorite cornbread recipe though.

Here’s the trick to baking the cornbread. We’re going to mix up the batter according to the package directions. But, we’re going to bake it in a bigger pan for less time than called for on the box. In order to get the perfect sized croutons, we don’t want them to be baked in a pan that will make them too thick. And since the pan is bigger, the batter will be more spread out, which means the cook time will be shorter. The other thing we’re going to do that the box doesn’t call for is line our pan with parchment paper before spritzing it with oil so the cornbread is super easy to get out of the pan.

After the cornbread is baked and cooled, we’re going to toss it in the fridge to chill completely. I prefer to let it sit overnight, but it needs at least 4 hours to chill. Resting the cornbread in the fridge serves two purposes. For one, it helps to dry out the cornbread a little bit which is what we want to happen when making croutons. And for two, chilling the bread makes it a little less crumbly which helps when it’s time to cube the bread and toss it around in oil.

Once the cornbread is chilled, we’re going to chop it up into roughly 1 inch cubes. To simplify it, we’ll cut 8 rows of 8; and that’s the perfect size for our croutons. Then, we’ll transfer them to a foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up) that’s been spritzed with a little olive oil cooking spray. And, we’ll toss the bread cubes in some olive oil with a pinch of salt to help them crisp up.

Then, to the oven they go for about 20ish minutes to get nice and golden. But when they come out of the oven, they’ll still feel a little spongy in the center. Don’t panic! We’ll let them rest for at least 10 minutes to finish drying out. And, it’s time to enjoy.

These croutons are all the best parts of savory with a touch of sweet. They’re perfectly crunchy. And, they’re really versatile as far as what kind of salad they can pair with. I love to indulge and have these on a salad with southern style vibes: breaded chicken nuggets, corn, tomatoes, onion, old bay ranch. But, I honestly don’t even need a salad to enjoy these. Sit me down with a bag of them, and let me go to town with my new favorite crunchy bite.

Okie dokes! I can’t wait to hear how you decide to use these cornbread croutons. I know you’re going to love them no matter what you do with them.

I hope you guys enjoy. And, let’s eat!