How to make Breadcrumbs at Home? (Delicious topping for Pasta)

• Recipe: Breadcrumbs
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

Learn how to create homemade breadcrumbs! Crispy, crispy, and seasoned to perfection, they’re a tasty addition to pasta, salads, and more.

Jack and I didn’t have stale bread in the house very often until recently. We simply weren’t bread eaters. We’d purchase a good crusty loaf now and then to savor with a pot of soup, or Jack would make his bread for a fun weekend activity.

But what about standard sandwich bread? We didn’t have it on hand, to be sure.

But, in the last year or two, instead of going out or ordering in for lunch, Jack has started making sandwiches at home.

As a result, there’s usually a loaf of bread in the kitchen…and I’ve developed a taste for handmade breadcrumbs.

They’re crispy, crunchy, toasted, and rich, and you can season them to your heart’s content. Toss them with a little lemon zest and pecorino cheese for a delicious topping for nearly anything.

Pasta, salads, grain bowls, and so on… The store-bought version isn’t even close to being as good.

Ingredients for Making Homemade Breadcrumbs

Three essential items are used in this recipe:

Of course, there’s bread! I prefer sourdough because of its tart flavor, but any sort of bread will suffice. Because we’ll be toasting these in the oven, stale bread works best, but fresh bread will suffice. It’ll just take a little longer for the crispiness to develop.

Extra-virgin olive oil – It enhances the flavor while also assisting them in becoming toasted and golden in the oven.

Salt – to bring out the toasted, bready flavors!

That’s everything you’ll need to make basic homemade breadcrumbs! If you’re going to use it as a crispy topping for spaghetti, salad, or a casserole, I’d season them a little more. I like to add lemon zest and savory pecorino cheese to mine. Vegan Parmesan, garlic powder, Italian spice, and/or red pepper flakes are other excellent options.

Breadcrumbs Making Instructions

Making breadcrumbs is a breeze my way! This is how it works:

1. Pulse the bread first. Tear the slices of bread into small pieces. Then, in a food processor, pulse the bread pieces until you have the texture you want. Remove the crust of the bread before pulsing it for super fine.
2. Toast the breadcrumbs next. Toss them with olive oil and salt on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread them out evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 10-18 minutes, tossing halfway through. When they’re golden brown and crunchy, they’re done.
3. Season the breadcrumbs after that. This is a completely optional step, however, it is strongly encouraged. Transfer it to a bowl while they’re still heated and combine them with your selected spices. Adjust the seasoning to taste after tossing everything together.
4. That’s it! Season it with salt and pepper and sprinkle them over everything that could use a crispy, crunchy topping. They’re delicious over this cauliflower pasta, and they also work well as a substitute for croutons in a Caesar salad.

Breadcrumbs

Follow this recipe to make homemade breadcrumbs the next time you have a hunk of stale bread on your counter! Seasoned breadcrumbs can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

After that, place them in the freezer and crisp them up again in the oven as needed.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces stale sourdough bread, torn into small pieces (2-3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Seasoned Breadcrumbs:

• ¼ cup grated pecorino cheese or Vegan Parmesan
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• optional additional seasonings:
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse the bread pieces until they are crumbly. Pulse more for fine breadcrumbs and less for coarse.
3. On a baking sheet, spread the crumbs out. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil before baking for 10 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and toasted.
4. In the bottom of a large mixing basin, combine the lemon zest and cheese. Toss them as soon as they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more seasonings if desired.

Notes

Remove the crusts from your bread for fine breadcrumbs.