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    Home » Budget Recipes

    Sweet Cinnamon Toast Croutons

    Published: Jan 19, 2014 · Modified: Dec 17, 2022 by Jessica Fisher

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    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more details, please see our disclosure policy.
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    Cinnamon Toast is a comfort, isn’t it? Make snacking sweet cinnamon croutons with dry bread for a good cheap eat.

    Love cinnamon? Be sure to try our Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe!

    A close up of a snack jar with cinnamon toast croutons

    At the beginning of the Pantry Challenge, I cleaned out the freezers and inventoried what we had. That amounted to quite a few heels from sandwich bread. Those are generally the last pieces to be eaten around here. I typically make them into bread crumbs or regular croutons or even Garlic Cheese Croutons.

    This time, however, I decided to make Cinnamon Toast Croutons. They were just as easy to make as standard croutons, but they provided us with a crunchy, sweet treat. My husband thought they were weird, but that didn’t stop him from coming back into the kitchen every few minutes or so for another handful.

    He thought I should use fresh white bread. Then they’d be “over the top”, said he.

    They also wouldn’t have as much nutrition as whole wheat bread or as much of a frugal aspect as using up dry bread. Save the fresh bread for a yummy sandwich. You can tell who’s the good cop around here, can’t you?

    This recipe is a great way to use up bread that is too dry for a sandwich or the heels if your family is lukewarm to eating them. FishBoy13 probably ate what his father didn’t get to first. He suggested eating them with milk, like cereal. We haven’t tried that yet. If you do, let us know.

    Can you use dry bread in croutons?

    Making homemade croutons is a great way to use bread that’s no longer great for fresh eating. Or if a loaf of homebaked bread doesn’t turn out as light and fluffy as you’d hoped, morph it into croutons! Waste not, want not.

    I like to make a big batch and then keep them in a airtight container.

    Ingredients for these sweet cinnamon croutons

    • Bread – Use up day old bread and cube it up.
    • Vegetable Oil
    • Sugar
    • Cinnamon 
    • Ginger

    How to make these sweet croutons

    You can watch this video on how to make homemade croutons here. 

    Preheat your oven and prepare your sheet pan.  Preheat the oven to 375°. You can line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
     
    Prepare the croutons. Go ahead and cut the bread up into cues and then toss them in a bowl with oil. Toss them around so they are coated in the oil. 
     
    Toss in cinnamon sugar mixture. In a smaller bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.  Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons (or more, if desired) of the sugar mixture over the bread cubes. Toss to distribute evenly.
     
    Bake the cinnamon croutons. Toast the bread cubes in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until crisp. Sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar if desired.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
    a pile of Cinnamon Toast Croutons

    What do I serve these cinnamon croutons with?

    You can try and serve these over milk. Or snack on them on their own. These would also be a great garnish to serve alongside a butternut squash soup.

    More crouton recipes to try:

    Looking for a few easy recipes for homemade croutons? Check out these yummy recipes:

    • Cheese and Garlic Croutons
    • Plain Croutons
    • Homemade Croutons for Salad or Soup [VIDEO]

    Tools I use to make this recipe EASY:

    • USA sheet pan
    • cooking tongs
    • parchment paper or silicone baking mats
    • large mixing bowl
    this …
    If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
    A close up of a snack jar with cinnamon toast croutons
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    5 from 1 vote

    Cinnamon Toast Croutons

    Cinnamon Toast is a comfort, isn’t it? Make snacking sweet cinnamon croutons with dry bread for a good cheap eat.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time20 minutes mins
    Course: Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 244kcal
    Author: Jessica Fisher
    Cost: $2
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 8 cup bread cubes
    • ¼ cup neutral oil
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    US Customary – Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
    • In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes and oil. Toss to coat.
      8 cup bread cubes, ¼ cup neutral oil
    • In a smaller bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.
      ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    • Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons (or more, if desired) of the sugar mixture over the bread cubes. Toss to distribute evenly.
    • Toast the bread cubes in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until crisp. Sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar if desired.
    • Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

    Notes

    Nutritional values are approximate and are based on ⅛ of the recipe. Cover leftovers tightly and use within 4 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tell us what you think!Your reviews help us develop better recipes and give newcomers the confidence to try your favorites. Scroll down to leave a starred comment.

    You might also like:

    •  4 Ways to Use Dry Bread
    • Garlic Cheese Croutons
    • Plain Croutons
    « Homemade Spicy Turkey Sausage Recipe
    Learn to Like Cooking »
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    Comments

    1. The Frugal Flirter

      January 21, 2014 at 1:28 pm

      Such an original way to use up bread – I’m going to give this a try, I always end up throwing away the end slices on loaves of bread, so it will be great to have something to use them up with, so thanks for the recipe! FF xx

      Reply
    2. Ally

      January 20, 2014 at 7:34 am

      Eating this with milk sounds like something I used to eat as a kid! Have you ever heard of graveyard stew?
      The recipes I see online use salt and pepper, but here’s how we always made it when I was a kid:
      Toast two slices of bread and tear it up into bite-sized pieces, cover it with heated milk and then add cinnamon and sugar. The toast gets all soggy and, while it sounds strange, it was still something I loved and think of with fond memories. I’m not sure where this came from

      Using these croutons to make it would basically just simplify the process and also make for a yummy snack when you eat them by themselves. 🙂

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        January 20, 2014 at 2:12 pm

        In the old days, I think they called it milk toast. I’ve seen it in movies.

        Reply
        • teresa

          January 22, 2014 at 9:29 pm

          In the old days (when I was a little girl – ha) my mom would sometime fix this as a light meal for me or my siblings when we were under the weather. She called it milk toast.

    3. gina

      January 20, 2014 at 7:20 am

      These sounds like a terrific treat! Might be fun to mix them up with pretzels, nuts, for a cinnamon toast snack mix.

      Love this idea. Thanks for posting!

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        January 20, 2014 at 2:13 pm

        Great ideas. Might work with popcorn and dried fruit, too.

        Reply

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