Crumb Mixture for Breading
This crumb mixture is great for chicken tenders, fried mushrooms, or adding to meatloaf or meatballs. It keeps well in the fridge, reduces food waste, and can be made quickly by nearly all skill levels.
Cooking Confidence Scale Score
High 1 to Low 2 - this recipe does not involve any cooking. Skills required are tearing bread, measuring spices, stirring, and using a blender.
Time Commitment
- Prep time: 5-10 minutes depending on bread to tear
- Blender time: 1-3 minutes per batch
Total time: 15 minutes
To reduce food waste, make these bread crumbs from otherwise unused bread.
If you cut crusts, save them. If you don't eat bread heels, save them. Bread saved in a refrigerator or freezer will last a long time so you can save bread trimmings for weeks or months between batches of crumbs. I like to save up bread heels in the refrigerator, as I find that crusts make better crumbs. However you can also make these crumbs with 3-5 slices of fresh bread.
Tools
- 1 cup measuring cup
- 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon
- Medium bowl
- Blender
Optional: a spoon for stirring in seasoning
I use a small bullet-style blender for this recipe, but any blender will do
Ingredients
- 2 cups bread heels (torn into coin-sized pieces)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
Preparation Instructions
If you are using a large countertop blender that will easily hold two cups, you can simply add all of the ingredients to the blender; because I use a smaller blender I make breadcrumbs in 1-cup batches and the instructions below are for that method.
- Tear your bread into coin-sized pieces, measure two cups, and place the pieces in a medium bowl
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thouroughly, until spices are evenly distributed with the torn pieces
- Add one cup of the mixture at a time to your blender (if there are spices remaining at the bottom of the bowl with the last batch, add the spices to the blender)
- Blend the mixture in short bursts until it has become fine crumbs. This may require shaking or agitating the blender to get larger pieces of bread to fall into the blades.
- If you made the mixture in multiple batches, combine and mix the batches to ensure even seasoning (you can mix them in a bowl or put them in your storage solution of choice and shake them up)
Storing
These breadcrumbs will keep well in the refrigerator for up to a month after blending. Store in an airtight container and keep away from moisture. For longer storage, freeze in portions OR dry breadcrumbs in the oven before storing. Breadcrumbs can be dried by spreading them evenly over a cookie sheet and placing them in an oven set to 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Variations
You can add whatever flavors you want to your breadcrumbs; different flavor profiles work better with different foods. If you're making mozzarella sticks you might want to add some basil and oregano; if you're making pakora you are probably going to want to add some turmeric, ginger, and cumin but take out the paprika. Experiment as you make this recipe to see what blends work best with the meals you're preparing.