Turn Leftover Cornbread Into The Croutons Your Salad Deserves

After the holiday season comes and goes, you might find yourself looking at a ton of leftover cornbread. That, or you're a Southerner who makes savory cornbread any time of year. Either way, if you've got a lot of aging cornbread sitting around, don't fret — it doesn't have to go to waste. There are many creative ways to repurpose day-old cornbread to top salads, mac and cheese, and more.

If you've ever transformed stale bread into croutons, you might not be too surprised to learn that cornbread is just as good for the same recipe. Take cubes of leftover cornbread and toss them in oil and whatever seasonings you like (say, garlic or parmesan, just like this recipe for air-fried croissant croutons), then bake them in the oven to get them nice and toasty.

Of course, the kinds of croutons you get in the end will depend on how you made your cornbread in the first place. You might have already upgraded your boxed cornbread mix with peppers and herbs, which could certainly spice things up.

Your cornbread croutons can go with all sorts of salads, and they are especially welcome on a Caesar salad. This classic Caesar salad recipe will ask you to make your own croutons from scratch, and if you've already toasted up your cornbread, you'll be good to go. Not only that, but these croutons would pair well with the slightly bitter leaves of JJ Johnson's collard greens salad, too.

You don't even have to use the croutons you made as a salad topping, if you're not feeling it. Croutons make a nice, crunchy snack all on their own, and they go especially well with a good soup. French onion is typically the go-to choice, but a tomato bisque, butternut squash, or creamy soup would surely be happy to host some crunchy cornbread.

Don't sleep on stews and chili, either. Cornbread is practically made to be served alongside (or, in this case, on top of) a bowl of some hearty beef chili or Brunswick stew.