Garlic and Herb Seasoned Breadcrumbs (Use Up Leftover Bread)

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Making breadcrumbs is one of the easiest ways to use up the end of a loaf of bread that has gone a bit stale. I like to add flavour by adding garlic and herbs and plenty of salt and pepper to season. Breadcrumbs make an excellent topping for a multitude of dishes, my favourites being a macaroni cheese. Here’s how to make garlic and herb season breadcrumbs.

One thing I’m always trying to do it cut down on the amount of food waste we have. Like most people, we love bread, especially a freshly baked loaf bought from the local shop to enjoy over the weekend. While we do usually eat most of it, I do tend to find by Monday, it’s just not quite as fresh. It ends up in the cupboard for a few days before we end up binning it.

Some other food waste recipes you might enjoy.

• Potato Peel Soup
• Healthy Potato Skins
• Southern Spiced Potato Skins
• Pepper and Onion Potato Skins

As I am actively trying to reduce food waste, I’ve started trying a few things to get that odd end of bread used up. One of them is this recipe for seasoned breadcrumbs. I tend to use breadcrumbs to top pasta dishes – especially ones where the sauces are cheese-based as these can sometimes do with a bit more texture adding to them.

There are lots of other dishes breadcrumbs are perfect for including topping fish and breading chicken.

There are two main types of breadcrumbs which are as follows:

Dried Breadcrumbs – Dried breadcrumbs have a much finer texture than fresh breadcrumbs do and are typically used for coating meat and fish. This is the type I make in this recipe.

Fresh Breadcrumbs – Fresh breadcrumbs are soft textured and haven’t been dried out. These are perfect for making dishes such as stuffing, meatballs and treacle tart as they are very absorbent.

Garlic and Herb Seasoned Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

• Approx 80grams of bread (two slices) or any bread that needs using up
• 1TBSP of olive oil
• 1/2 garlic clove
• Salt & Pepper
• A small handful of fresh herbs – I used parsley

While I have listed the ingredients for the amount of breadcrumbs I made, you could easily make more if you have more bread to use up.

Garlic and Herb Seasoned Breadcrumbs: Method

1. Turn the bread into breadcrumbs using either a food processor or using a grater. The bread may need breaking down into smaller pieces to do this.
2. Heat the oil in frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add the bread crumbs and lightly toast until golden. If you’ll be using these for breading fish or chicken lighter toasting may be required to stop them overcooking when they get cooked again.
4. Towards the end of cooking, add the garlic, parsley and seasoning.
5. Remove from the heat and serve. Repeat in batches if needed.
6. The breadcrumbs will keep for a few weeks in a sealed Tupperware tub or glass jar.

Alternative Oven Method:

1. Turn the bread into breadcrumbs using either a food processor or using a grater.
2. Spread the breadcrumbs out on a baking tray, toss in the oil and other ingredients and bake in the oven at 150 degrees c for fifteen minutes or until golden.
3. Check the breadcrumbs halfway through cooking and turn if needed.