Sourdough Breadcrumbs That Work Every Time

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Homemade sourdough breadcrumbs are an easy (and delicious) way to use up your leftover or stale sourdough bread. Toasted for more flavor, they will elevate fried chicken and other recipes that call for breadcrumbs. Not only do they taste better than store-bought breadcrumbs, they are cheaper, too.

Even though making sourdough bread (video tutorial) isn’t difficult, it does require time. After all of the stretch and folds, shaping, and baking it to perfection, I just can’t bring myself to throw away my leftover sourdough bread, even if it is stale.

Using up leftover bread for sourdough breadcrumbs is one of my favorite ways to add scratch-made ingredients to my pantry. Plus, not only are they better than store-bought breadcrumbs, they taste way better, too.

I’ve tried a number of homemade breadcrumb methods, and though all of them worked, none of them worked consistently. Through a little practice and experimenting, I have whittled down an easy method for how to make sourdough breadcrumbs successfully each and every time.

Why you will love this recipe

• Reduces food waste. Though food waste is never a great option, at the time of writing this in 2024, grocery prices are astronomical. Throwing away food is the same as throwing away money. Couple that with the fact that your homemade sourdough bread was made with your hands and love–it’s a huge waste to throw it away. By using up your leftover bread, you are making the most of your time, effort, and money.
• Only about 10 minutes of hands-on time. Making homemade breadcrumbs requires almost no hands-on time. Other than cubing the bread, the food processor, oven, and blender do all of the heavy lifting.
• Easy pantry restock. I take great pleasure in opening the pantry and seeing beautiful jars of scratch-made ingredients. Sourdough breadcrumbs can last up to 3 months in the pantry (and indefinitely in the freezer). As such, you can stock up your pantry with pretty jars of homemade breadcrumbs and use them to elevate your everyday meals.
• They are delicious. Homemade sourdough breadcrumbs are much more satisfying to the tastebuds. Store-bought breadcrumbs get the job done, but they lack the texture and depth of flavor that homemade breadcrumbs have.

Tips for Making Sourdough Breadcrumbs

Use bread that is, at least, a day old.

I have made the mistake of using bread that is too fresh. Not only did it get gummy when I ran it through the food processor before baking, it turned into cubes of cement when I toasted it. The best option is to use bread that has a touch of stale-ness to it. It will toast and blend better, giving you a better final product.

Cube your bread into one-inch pieces first.

The larger you cube your bread, the harder it will be to run them through the food processor. And consequently, that will make it harder to thoroughly toast your bread.

Use any bread you have.

This recipe uses sourdough bread. But you can use any bread you have, including no-knead sourdough, same-day sourdough (video), brioche, and even store-bought bread. Don’t forget to save the crusts, too. The crust makes really flavorful homemade breadcrumbs.

How to blend sourdough bread crumbs

I’ve tried a variety of methods for making sourdough breadcrumbs. All of them worked–sometimes.

Some methods have you pulverize the bread before toasting. But I had inconsistent results with that. I couldn’t always get the bread fine enough for useable breadcrumbs. Other recipes suggest cubing and toasting the bread before blending it into crumbs. I’ve also had inconsistent results with that because the large toasted pieces struggled in the blender.

What has consistently worked the best for me is a hybrid approach. Here is how I’ve successfully made sourdough breadcrumbs with consistent success:

1. Cube the bread into 1-inch pieces.
2. In small batches, run them through a food processor. I have that found a food processor works better than a blender for this step. Process them until they are as fine as you can make them, but don’t worry if you have a few larger pieces.
3. Toast them in the oven. Then, allow them to completely cool.
4. Put them in a blender and pulverize until they are fine enough for your liking. To pulverize the toasted bread into crumbs, I have found that a high-powered blender works better than a food processor.

Food processor vs. blender for making homemade breadcrumbs.

I am always an advocate for using what you have. If you have only a food processor or a blender, that’s totally fine.

But I have found that using both–in different ways–has the best results. So if you have a food processor and a blender, I definitely recommend busting both of them out for this recipe.

• Using a food processor for sourdough breadcrumbs. Before toasting, run your cubed bread through a food processor, and chop your bread into smaller, crumb-like pieces. It’s totally fine if there are some larger pieces. But doing this will make your bread toast more quickly and evenly. As a result, it will be easier to turn them into crumbs. In my experience, the blender doesn’t work as well with un-toasted bread.
• Using a blender for sourdough breadcrumbs. Once your bread has toasted and cooled, run them through the blender to create finer crumbs. I have found that the food processor doesn’t create a consistent texture and leaves larger pieces that would be unusable in most recipes. However, the blender has worked like a charm.

What do you do with sourdough breadcrumbs?

Homemade sourdough breadcrumbs can be used for any recipe or dish that calls for breadcrumbs. Some of my favorite ways to use them are:

• Breading for sourdough fried chicken (video)
• Topping for macaroni and cheese or casseroles
• Filling for homemade meatloaf
• Homemade fried green tomatoes
• Breaded vegetables
• Fried onion rings

How to use bread scraps for homemade sourdough breadcrumbs

One of my best tips for making homemade sourdough breadcrumbs is to freeze your scraps. Got a toddler who won’t eat the crust? Bottom of your sourdough a little too tough? Have a leftover bread bowl?

Throw them in a freezer bag and toss it right into your freezer. Each time you have scraps, toss them in the bag.

When you are ready to make homemade breadcrumbs, just add your bag of scraps to the recipe. It’s a great way to reduce food waste!

How to store sourdough breadcrumbs

• As long as they are completely dry, sourdough breadcrumbs can store in an air-tight container for up to three months.
• You can also store them indefinitely in the freezer.

How to season homemade sourdough breadcrumbs

I actually don’t season my breadcrumbs because I want to add seasoning as I use them for different recipes. But you can definitely season them once they are toasted and blended.

Season sourdough breadcrumb ideas

• Italian seasoning: sprinkle in a pre-made Italian seasoning or create your own Italian seasoning with basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.
• Spicy seasoning: add your favorite heat like cayenne pepper, chili powder, or other spices.
• Cheese: mix in pecorino or parmesan cheese (this will need to be stored in the freezer)
• Garlic herb: toss in dried garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper

Tools You Will Need

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• Food processor
• Blender
• Baking sheet
• Jar or air-tight container

Sourdough Breadcrumb Ingredients

1 loaf of sourdough bread, cubed into 1″ pieces
Seasonings (optional)

How to Make Sourdough Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Working in small-ish batches, place cubed bread into a food processor and process until the bread is as fine as you can get it. Don’t worry if there are larger pieces at this point.
3. Spread the processed bread on a baking sheet (I really like using stoneware for this because it gets nice and toasty). Make sure it’s an even layer and that there isn’t overlapping.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir.
5. From this point, the bake time will depend on how big your breadcrumbs are, how many are on the sheet, how stale it is, etc. As such, continue to bake in 10 minute increments, stirring each time you check on them. Mine usually take 20-30 minutes total.
6. Once the crumbs are completely toasted and dry, remove them from the oven and allow to completely cool.
7. Working in small batches again, run the toasted bread through a high-powered blender until they are as fine as you prefer.
8. Mix in optional seasonings.
9. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 months or indefinitely in the freezer.

Other Recipes to Try

• Chocolate Sourdough Bread
• Cheddar Broccoli and Potato Soup
• Garden Vegetable Soup
• Double Chocolate Sourdough Babka

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