crouton

American  

[kroo-ton, kroo-ton] / ˈkru tɒn, kruˈtɒn /

noun

croutons plural

1. a small piece of fried or toasted bread, sometimes seasoned, used as a garnish for soups, salads, and other dishes.

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crouton British  

/ ˈkruːtɒn /

noun

1. a small piece of fried or toasted bread, usually served in soup

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• croutons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of crouton

1800–10; < French, equivalent to croûte crust + -on diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crouton croutons

As Walker himself put it to CBS’s “48 Hours:” “I’m a crouton on a real big salad here.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

A crouton, hopefully with some dressing clinging to it, enriches one tiny moment with an accompanying tiny crunch.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

I’ve had strawberry and pecan salads, but none came close to this ensemble: candied pecans, fresh strawberries, pickled shallots and a warm pistachio-and-goat-cheese crouton with an apricot vinaigrette.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

This frees us from the inevitable smaller crumbs that will start to smolder before the rest, and gives us a new crouton paradigm: crispy edges, yes, but also warm, fluffy middles.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2022

Pile them on the crouton, and have ready a tomato sauce to pour over.

From The Belgian Cookbook by Various

Serve as a snack, or use anywhere you’d use croutons, breadcrumbs or a very persuasive little cheese crisp.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026

Give me a salad with croutons, crunchy chickpeas, and crushed potato chips.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2025

Then there’s the “Almost Traditional” Caesar, with croutons toasted just shy of bitter and parmesan dusted like snowfall.

From Salon ● May 19, 2025

It must be said: In a salad, breadcrumbs are a crummy replacement for croutons.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

There’s a bag of kale sitting on a cutting board and a box of croutons on the countertop.

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson