Rosemary Croutons

One thing that I missed when becoming a vegan was croutons. Every brand at my grocery store has dairy and so I have endured eating my salad without.  Recently, I was watching the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network and she made croutons that were easily adaptable for vegans.  So I decided to give it a try!

Ingredients:

Soft Italian bread (make sure it is vegan!)
3-4 tablespoons of EVOO
1 glove of garlic
2 Tablespoons of rosemary
Salt and pepper

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees.  Take a baking sheet and grease it with cooking spray. 

Cut the bread into 1 inch thick cubes and place them into a large bowl.  Add the EVOO, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and toss.  Be sure to coat the bread pieces really well.

Place the coated pieces onto the baking sheet in a single layer and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the croutons begin to harden and get browned.  When I made these, I took them out after 10 minutes and ending up having to cook them longer because they were still soft.  They will harden a little more when you pull them out of the oven, but not much.  Let them cool for about 10-15 minutes.

I served mine over a fresh baby arugula salad with red onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and a some sprouts with a raspberry vinergarette dressing.