Want to make a stuffing, but can’t find plain bread cubes? Make your own with this simple tutorial on how to make bread cubes for stuffing! It’s easier than you think!
Homemade Bread Cubes
If you’re making my sausage stuffing for Thanksgiving this year, you’re going to need some unseasoned bread cubes. Since I can’t always find them in my local grocery store, I thought I’d share my method for making bread cubes for stuffing. It’s so easy!
5 things to know about this recipe:
- Fast: ready in just 25 minutes! Some recipes take hours, mine does not.
- Simple: no complicated tools or ingredients needed.
- Easy: cube your bread and bake until crisp–that’s it!
- Customizable: feel free to get creative with your bread choices (suggestions below).
- No running to the store: if you have a loaf of bread, you can make this.
Note that these dried bread cubes could also be used to make homemade bread crumbs or croutons. If you’d like to see recipes for either of those, let me know in the comments!
What You Need
The only ingredient you need to make these bread cubes is, drumroll please…bread!
You can use any kind; store-bought white bread works well and would probably be my #1 suggestion for stuffing. You could also try using cut up dinner rolls, sourdough bread (actually this would be my personal first pick), challah, or anything else you want to experiment with. Some people have even made stuffing with everything bagels!
That being said, keep in mind that strong flavored breads will obviously change the flavor of your dish (pumpernickel, rye, and honey wheat are just a few examples of these). As a result, if you are using this technique for stuffing, something basic is best.
SAM’S TIP: Kitchen shears can be especially helpful when cutting bread into uniform cubes. If you find that your bread is difficult to cut, let it sit out at room temperature for a few hours so it becomes a bit stale first.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Bread Cubes
- Cut your bread into ½” cubes and scatter over an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake at 300F (150C) for 10 minutes, stir, then bake for another 5 minutes. If your cubes aren’t quite crisp yet, continue baking them in 5-minute intervals until they are. Make sure to let your bread cubes cool before using them!
SAM’S TIP: The bread cubes will shrink during baking, so make more than you think you will need. Typically, 8 cups of bread cubes will reduce to 6 cups after baking in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love using sourdough bread, but really any neutral bread will work fine. White sandwich bread from the grocery store is the most common choice, and it works perfectly here!
If you want to get creative, you can experiment with other flavors (I listed a few more options in the ingredients section above); however, keep in mind that if you want to let the other flavors of your stuffing to shine, you should pick something neutral.
You can either use a sharp serrated bread knife or kitchen shears (or both!). Kitchen shears are a good option for precise slices and can be fun to use too! And remember, if you have a tough time cubing your bread, let it sit to dry out for a few hours before trying to slice. These are the kitchen shears I personally use and love, we use them for cutting everything in the kitchen.
Store your bread cubes in an airtight container where they will last for well over a week (perfect for making ahead of time for Thanksgiving!). You can also freeze them.
Note that if you cut your bread cubes into thicker, heartier pieces, they are perfect for making bread pudding. I may just have a recipe for that coming soon 😉
Enjoy!
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How to Make Bread Cubes for Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of sliced bread
Recommended Equipment
- Serrated bread knife
- Kitchen shears (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F (150C).
- Cut bread into ½” cubes. I find this is easiest if the bead is slightly stale. I cut each slice into strips and then use kitchen shears to cut into neat ½” cubes.1 loaf of sliced bread
- Scatter evenly over an ungreased baking sheet.
- Transfer to center rack of 300F (150C) oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, use a spatula to stir the bread cubes, then return to the oven and bake another 5 minutes. Check the bread cubes after 5 minutes, if they’re not crisp/are still slightly soft, return to the oven in 5 minute intervals until crisp.
- Allow to cool before using as indicated in your recipe.
Notes
Bread
You can use any kind of bread you’d like for this recipe. If the bread is too difficult to cut, it may be helpful to use kitchen shears. You can also let it sit out for several hours to become slightly stale, which will help with cutting it, too.Volume
The bread cubes will shrink in the oven and you will lose volume, so make more cubes than your recipe calls for. 8 cups of bread cubes shrinks up to about 6 after baking.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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