Learn how to make homemade breadcrumbs in this easy tutorial! Never buy breadcrumbs again at the grocery store. Use your food processor to make them yourself.
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Ever find yourself in the kitchen making a meal and you realize that you’re out of a key ingredient? Yikes! Do you really have to go to the store? Now? In the middle of the recipe?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Turns out that there are lots of commercial ingredients that you can make yourself. True story.
Whipped cream? Yep.
Cream of chicken soup? You betcha.
Breadcrumbs? You know it!
Breadcrumbs are an essential ingredient to meatloaves, meatballs, breaded chicken, and other great dishes, like Cheesy Potatoes. Breadcrumbs add crunch to pasta dishes. They add body to Apple Strudel and a crispy lid to casseroles.
My husband’s even used toasted breadcrumbs to make faux fried fish. Just toast them lightly with butter and sprinkle generously over a grilled fillet.
Clearly, breadcrumbs are necessary to life, so you don’t want to run out!
Good thing is you don’t ever have to run out of breadcrumbs when you know how to make them homemade. Bonus: they taste better than the commercial ones anyway.
Packaged breadcrumbs are quite costly to buy and usually full of sodium and preservatives.
The amazing thing is that they’re actually quite inexpensive and easy to make yourself. After all, it’s just dried bread!
How do I make homemade breadcrumbs in the food processor?
Making your own bread crumbs is as easy as using your food processor. Tear bread into chunks (about 1 inch to 2 inch pieces) and place in the bowl of food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Pulse until you have the consistency you’d like. Store in the freezer in an airtight container or ziptop bag.
You can also make homemade breadcrumbs in a blender.
Can I make homemade breadcrumbs by hand?
What if you don’t have a food processor or a blender? Well, you can make homemade breadcrumbs by hand.
Toast the bread until very very dry. In this way it will crumble more easily. Place the toasted bread in a sealable plastic bag and then use a rolling pin to roll/smash them into crumbs.
How long do homemade breadcrumbs last?
You can store homemade breadcrumbs in a covered container in your refrigerator for up to 1 week or store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How do I make panko-style breadcrumbs?
To make panko-style bread crumbs, be sure not to process too finely. Toast the crumbs on a lined baking sheet for 7 minutes at 300 degrees. Cool completely before packaging and storing in the freezer.
How to make breadcrumbs inexpensively
All of my recipes are affordable to begin with, but there are some steps you can take to make sure you’re spending your grocery money well. Making homemade breadcrumbs is one of those things you can do to save! When you do so, you’re choosing a more affordable option over an expensive convenience food item.
Using bread that is already too dry for sandwiches to make homemade breadcrumbs is a great way to stretch your dollar further and to avoid waste.
Take your savings to another level by purchasing your bread on sale or on clearance. Often grocery store bakeries will sell the day-old bread for up to 75% off. Take advantage of this! It may or may not be soft enough for fresh eating, but it will be perfect for breadcrumbs and croutons.
Tools I use to make breadcrumbs easily:
- Pyrex bowl with lid– This set is great for storing breadcrumbs in the freezer. Since you want to refrigerate or freeze the crumbs, the 1- and 2-cup bowls with lids are perfect storage vessels.
- Food processor – An ideal tool for making breadcrumbs at home!
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!
Homemade Breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Tear bread into chunks (about 1 inch to 2 inch pieces) and place in the bowl of food processor or blender fitted with a metal blade.
- Pulse until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs that you’d like.
- Store the breadcrumbs in the freezer in an airtight container or ziptop bag for up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Kerrie
I just whizzed a batch of white bread into breadcrumbs but the crumbs seems really soft. Should I lightly toast them before using?
Jessica Fisher
You can if you want a crispier texture, like if you’re breading chicken or something. Fresh breadcrumbs will absorb liquid and act as a binder in meatballs and meatloaves just as well as dry breadcrumbs (what you buy in the store). It’s really up to you.
Jo
I think this advice is going to be ace. I just tried some Panko breadcrumbs for roasting some chicken thighs but they were awful! I’d previously dipped them in just plain bread crumbs (I blitz all my stale bread and freeze it) but that wasn’t very good either. So I shall take your advice, Jessica and blitz my breadcrumbs for ages before I toast them in the oven! I think that only doing a small quantity each time and leaving the rest in the freezer would be a good idea, don’t you?
Jessica Fisher
Yep. Sounds like a good plan.
Deborah Jennings
Jessica, I dry my bread before making crumbs out of it. I either lay it out on a cooling rack covered with a cloth, or pit it in the oven as low as it will go, or put it in the dehydrator.
I have added Italian seasoning to my bread crumbs, too.
Jessica
@Deborah Jennings, that’s a great idea. Thanks.
Annie
I was just wondering how to dry my bread. Lots of half-eaten bags of buns and bread tossed into my freezer around here. And I wanted to take some of my Udi GF bread and make my own batch of meatballs.
Deborah
The way I dry mine is to turn the oven on as low as it will go. Place bread on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Turn over after about 10 minutes. Dry until crisp.
My mother used to take stale bread cut it in points, 4 triangles per slice. She would put a little garlic butter on the bread points before baking. She made a cheese dip that had no tomatoes. It had Velveta cheese, real mayonnaise, and chopped jalapeño peppers in it. You need either a food processor, or a blender to make this. In a blender, mix small amounts at a time. In a food processor, you can do larger amounts. For the big size of Velveta, she used a pint of mayo. Jalapeños, as many as desired. We don’t like it real not. Oh, and use the pickled peppers. Add a little of the pepper juice if too thick. This is great and when refrigerated, will last a long time due to the vinegar in the pepper liquid.
Jessica Fisher
I pulled out all those random bags of ends today and am making a ginormous batch of croutons. Might make them cinnamon sugar. Then they’ll be gone in about ten minutes.