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    Home » Recipes » Basic Components

    Homemade Italian Breadcrumbs Recipe (Freezer Friendly)

    Published: Oct 29, 2015 · Modified: Apr 14, 2025. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Recipe Jump to Video
    Italian breadcrumbs pin
    Italian breadcrumbs pin

    Italian breadcrumbs recipe is so simple that you will never buy breadcrumbs in a package. They are used in many dishes; their fresh taste is important for authentic Italian recipes. Made with stale bread, homemade Italian breadcrumbs can be plain or flavored with fresh but simple ingredients, like fresh garlic, basil, or parsley, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. You do not have to buy them in the grocery store to save time, just make a large quantity and freeze them.

    Frozen breadcrumbs and grated parmesan in a bag
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Equipment
    • Instructions
    • Storage and freezing
    • How to use Italian breadcrumbs
    • Top tips
    • Recipes I make with these breadcrumbs
    • 📋 How to make Italian breadcrumbs

    Homemade breadcrumbs are an Italian pantry staple, the base for many traditional Italian recipes.

    When freshly prepared, they will make a huge difference to your final traditional Italian dish.

    They are often used as an additional ingredient to structure a recipe or as a garnish to make a crunchy topping.

    As they are used in many Italian recipes, I like to make a large batch, keep them in the freezer, and, when cooking, defrost just the amount I need.

    An Italian style bread crumbs supply in the freezer saves me a lot of time.

    Other prep ingredients in my freezer are beef stock, chicken stock, fish stock, fish fumet, grated carrot, celery and onion to make a soffritto.

    If you want to see what else I keep in my freezer to speed up my cooking time, you can read the article: Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep

    Once a Month Frozen Meal Prep arranged in the freezer

    Ingredients

    Stale bread: I always keep stale bread to make breadcrumbs; I never throw them away.

    It ties into my dislike of throwing food away unnecessarily. If I’m running low on stale bread, I buy a large baguette from the supermarket and leave it for 2 days before using it.

    I would highly discourage you from using store-bought breadcrumbs or panko bread crumbs as they are too dry, flavorless, and lack structure.

    Old bread, instead, contains some moisture and has a much softer and spongy consistency.

    It can better absorb and retain the flavors of the other ingredients.

    Fresh Italian breadcrumbs in a plate

    Type of bread

    The best breadcrumb is made using soft white bread without added seasonings or herbs like baguettes, ciabatta, rosetta, michetta.

    You can utilize leftover sourdough, whole wheat, and multigrain bread, even if they aren't the most optimal option.

    Since they have a robust flavor and texture, they can overpower delicate dishes.

    Do not use already seasoned bread or loaves of bread that are too soft or sweet, like hamburger or hot dog buns, or sandwich loaves.

    The bread needs a stronger consistency to give that delicate crunch.

    ingredients for Italian breadcrumbs bread garlic parmesan basil

    To flavor the bread I make my own Italian seasoning with fresh ingredients:

    • Fresh Basil or Parsley
    • Fresh Garlic: I never use garlic powder or onion powder. Fresh ingredients are always better and will make a big difference
    • Parmigiano Regiano cheese, Grana Padano cheese or Pecorino cheese

    See recipe card for quantity

    ingredients for Italian breadcrumbs with names

    Equipment

    You can use a food processor with blades or an electrical shredder to grate the fresh breadcrumbs.

    However, if the bread is too hard, it may break the food processor's motor.

    It had happened to me twice with Braun before I learned the lesson.

    KitchenAid has a stronger and more reliable motor, as it is gear driven, while other appliances are belt driven and, therefore, more fragile.

    So I always used its Slicer/Shredder Attachment which worked fine until the pusher broke.

    old kichtenAid shredder with broken pusher

    Unfortunately, I couldn't buy it as a spear part.

    Kitchenaid changed the shape of the new shredded attachment, so I had to buy a new one.

    While I like KitchenAid as a kitchen appliance, I DO NOT recommend buying this Slicer/Shredder Attachment as it is badly built and broke twice.

    kichtenaid shredder attachment you should not buy as it brakes

    So now I use the old KitchenAid shredder and the stale baguette bread as the pusher or cover the hole with a crust of Parmesan.

    Using a stale baguette as a shredder pusher
    Covering the pusher hole with a crust of parmesan

    However, KitchenAid now has a new shredder model that looks much stronger.

    Old kitchenaid shredder

    Instructions

    Plain breadcrumbs

    You can make some plain breadcrumbs and season them only if needed.

    Cut the bread into long sticks
    1. Cut the bread into long sticks so they fit into the housing of the shredder
    Shred the bread
    1. Shred the bread
    1. Use it in the recipe or store it in an airtight container
    breadcrumbs and other ingredients for stuff red peppers

    Seasoning plain breadcrumbs

    1. Blend with an electric blender a cup of plain shredded breadcrumbs with basil or parsley leaves and a garlic clove
    2. Add the grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs
    3. Stir with a fork to remove all the lumps
    4. Use it in the recipe or store it in an airtight container in the fridge
    Flavor the breadcrumbs with basil and parmesan

    Making large quantities to freeze

    Once a month, I make large quantities of breadcrumbs to stock up in my freezer, and I start with freezing grated parmesan cheese.

    Grating the Parmesan cheese first saves you time, as you do not have to wash the shredder or food processor.

    The bread will pick up any residual parmesan left in the shredder

    Grate the parmesan

    Freezing grated parmesan cheese

    You can buy large slices of Parmesan cheese at a fraction of the price in a wholesale shop like Costco.

    Grated Parmesan cheese freezes well and does not solidify, so you can defrost only the amount you need.

    For cooking, you can use Grana Padano instead of Parmigiano Reggiano as the taste is very similar, and the price is much more convenient.

    cut the parmesan cheese into chunks
    1. Cut the Parmesan cheese into chunks so they fit into the housing of the shredder
    Grate the Parmesan
    1. Grate the cheese
    Place the parmesan in a large plastic bag
    1. Place it into a large freezer bag
    tight the top, and freeze it
    1. Remove the excess air, tight the top, and freeze it

    You can also freeze small Parmesan blocks or Parmesan flakes.

    Do not throw away the parmesan's crust; freeze them as well, as they can be added to soups.

    Hint: To make the seasoned Italian breadcrumbs keep some Parmesan aside

    Freeze the Parmesan crust to put in stock or soups

    Grating the breadcrumbs with fresh flavors

    This is how I prepare a big batch of homemade breadcrumbs to freeze.

    I always flavor my breadcrumbs with my own fresh Italian seasoning, never store-bought garlic powder, parsley flakes, or any other dried seasoning.

    Using fresh flavors and your own breadcrumbs makes a huge difference to your recipes.

    Peel garlic cloves
    1. Peel the garlic clove and place it inside the shredder housing
    Wash and dry the fresh basil or parsley leaves and remove the stems
    1. Wash and dry the fresh basil or parsley leaves and remove the stems
    Place them inside the housing
    1. Place them inside the housing
    Cut the bread into long sticks
    1. Cut the bread into sticks that fit the housing
    Grate the bread
    1. Grate the bread pushing the herbs into a large bowl
    Once all the bread is grated, add the Parmesan cheese
    1. Once all the bread is grated, add the Parmesan cheese
    1. Mix them to distribute the flavor uniformly
    Mix them to distribute the flavor uniformly

    Storage and freezing

    For a few days, you can store the fresh bread crumbs in the fridge in an airtight container.

    You can also store them in the freezer for a few months in a large freezer-friendly bag.

    As the bread crumbs do not solidify, you can defrost only the bread crumbs you need for your recipe.

    Once defrosted, you cannot freeze them again.

    Keep them in the fridge and use them within a few days.

    breadcrumbs, parmesan and parmesan crusts sealed into bags ready for the freezer

    How to use Italian breadcrumbs

    Plain breadcrumbs are used to coat complex fried food like Arancini, fried mozzarella, fried custard or baked casseroles like potato pie Gateau, Parmigiana.

    Seasoned bread crumbs with herbs and parmesan add extra flavor to dishes like Italian chicken cutlets or nuggets, fried olive Ascolane, Eggplant or Veal Milanese, stuffed calamari, spiedini, and meat braciole without sauce.

    The principle of Italian cuisine is to use simple ingredients and not waste any food,

    So breadcrumbs are often the main ingredient in many Cucina Povera recipes, food for poor people like bread gnocchi Canederli, Eggplant meatballs, or stuffed red peppers.

    The bread crumbs are often soaked in little milk to soften them in these recipes.

    Bread dumplins canederli served in two plates with chicken broth

    Top tips

    • The best bread for bread crumbs is white bread like baguettes, ciabatta, rosetta, michetta
    • Do not use bread seasoned with herbs, sandwiched sliced bread or sweet bread like brioche hamburger or hot dog rolls
    • If you don't have stale bread, you can buy a baguette and leave it to dry for 2 days
    • If you need it the same day, cut it into smaller pieces and dry it in the oven at 300 F - 150 C for 30 minutes to one hour. It should not be toasted but dried
    • Use fresh herbs, not dried
    • You can use plain breadcrumbs for deep fry coating
    plain breadcrumbs

    Recipes I make with these breadcrumbs

    • Baked Swordfish and Braciolette
    • Scallop, Shrimp, Salmon and Cod Fish Pie with a Mediterranean Twis
    • Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
    • Deep Fried Eggplant Balls
    • Homemade chicken nuggets recipe
    • Baked Breaded Chicken Breast
    • Sicilian beef braciole recipe
    • Vegetarian Eggplant Milanese
    • Rice Arancini
    • Meatballs with vegetable stew

    If you are making these Breadcrumbs, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.

    Italian breadcrumbs recipe

    📋 How to make Italian breadcrumbs

    5 from 1 vote
    Laura Tobin
    Servings 4 cups
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 0 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Print Recipe Save Saved! Pin Recipe
    I use breadcrumbs in so many recipes, and I like them flavoured with garlic, basil and parmesan. So I prepare a large quantity and have them ready in the freezer. It saves me a lot of time.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • KitchenAid Mixer
    • Slicer/Shredder
    • Braun blender

    Ingredients
     

    If you want to freeze grated Parmesan cheese

    • 16 oz Parmigiano Regiano or Grana Padano Optional

    Italian breadcrumbs

    • 1 loaf stale bread 1 large baguette
    • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan from above
    • ½ cup fresh basil leaves or parsley
    • 1 clove peeled garlic cloves

    Instructions
     

    Grating Parmesan cheese

    • Cut the Parmesan cheese into chunks so they fit into the housing of the shredder
    • Grate the Parmesan with the shredder
    • Place it into a large freezer bag
    • Remove the excess air, tight the top, and freeze it

    Grating the breadcrumbs

    • Peel the garlic clove and place it inside the shredder housing
    • Wash and dry the fresh basil or parsley leaves and remove the stems
    • Place them inside the housing
    • Cut the bread into sticks that fit the housing
    • Grate the bread pushing the herbs into a large bowl
    • Once all the bread is grated, add the Parmesan cheese
    • Mix them to distribute the flavor uniformly
    • Remove the excess air, tight the top, and freeze it

    Video

    Notes

    • The best bread for bread crumbs is white bread like baguettes, ciabatta, rosetta, michetta
    • Do not use bread seasoned with herbs, sandwiched sliced bread or sweet bread like brioche hamburger or hot dog rolls
    • If you don't have stale bread, you can buy a baguette and leave it to dry for 2 days
    • If you need it the same day, cut it into smaller pieces and dry it in the oven at 300 F - 150 C for 30 minutes to one hour. It should not be toasted but dried
    • Use fresh herbs, not dried
    • You can use plain breadcrumbs for deep fry coating
    • Remove the excess air, tight the top, and freeze it
    • For a few days, you can store the fresh bread crumbs in the fridge in an airtight container.
    • You can also store them in the freezer for a few months in a large freezer-friendly bag.
    • As the bread crumbs do not solidify, you can defrost only the bread crumbs you need for your recipe.
    • Once defrosted, you cannot freeze them again.
    • Keep them in the fridge and use them within a few days

    Nutrition

    Calories: 51kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 5gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 202mgPotassium: 20mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 256IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 153mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Please consider Leaving a Review!
    important notes on ingredients

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    Comments

    1. GILDA GIUNTA

      February 01, 2020 at 5:37 am

      5 stars
      un'ottima idea di conservarlo pronto all'uso. devo farlo!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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    Laura Giunta Tobin

    Hi, I’m Laura. Welcome to my blog! While many talk about Italian food, I’ve lived it firsthand. Here, I share real Italian home cooking, just as it’s made in Italy. Won’t you join me?

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