Take Your Salad To The Next Level With Cornbread Croutons

Salad just isn't as appetizing without a handful of something crunchy and crisp on top, like nuts, seeds, raw veggies, or the ever-classic crouton. Croutons make popular additions because they add that much-needed variety in texture to otherwise ho-hum salads. They also bring a buttery, seasoned taste to greens that may be in need of a flavor boost. Whipping croutons up at home is simple, as they can be made with just about any leftover bread — and the more flavorful the bread, the more flavorful the crouton. A perfect example of this is cornbread. Walking the line between savory and sweet, this Southern favorite can be cubed, oiled, and baked golden brown for a crunchy topping that'll elevate even the simplest salads. 

Cornbread is typically made with plenty of butter (and sometimes even bacon fat), which packs in extra flavor and ensures a perfectly browned and toasty finished product. If you have anything left in the skillet or the pan after making it, don't let it go stale — transform it into a salad topping.

Modern cornbread as we know it was born of Native American corn-grinding practices. In the colonial South, wheat was hard to grow, and corn was much more abundant. Drawing on the Aztec and Mayan practice of grinding corn into meal, a process introduced to colonizers by natives, Southerners of the time began using cornmeal to make bread — first using just water, and then with progressively more and more ingredients, such as buttermilk and bacon fat. Now a mainstay on Southern dinner tables, cornbread in all forms pairs exceptionally well with other ingredients popular in Southern cooking — think peaches, collard greens (or kale, which has a similar flavor profile), juicy tomatoes, and buttermilk dressing. 

While cornbread croutons can be sprinkled atop just about any salad, matching complementary flavors always bring a greater sense of cohesion to a dish. The sweet quality of these croutons harmonizes well with the sugary taste of fresh or grilled fruit. It's also a great foil to the bitterness of hearty greens, such as collards or kale.

Though salads are an excellent vessel for the versatile crouton, they're hardly the only place these squares of toasty bread can make their home. Croutons also make excellent soup toppers, adding a touch of crunch and soaking in the rich liquid below. Cornbread croutons tend to go well with thicker, heartier soup recipes, such as creamy butternut squash or ham and bean — again, dishes made from ingredients commonly found on Southern tables.

Cornbread croutons also make an ideal chili topping. Cornbread already stands as a classic pairing for this Southern dish, but toasting the cornbread first provides a little extra crunch that makes a delicious difference. 

At the end of the day, though, cornbread croutons can be about as versatile as you can be creative. Use them as a crisp topping for casseroles, crush them and use them as a breadcrumb substitution — or just munch on them plain.