Croutons originated in France in the 17th century, where they were a "little piece of bread crust served with drinks," according to historical information from FoodTimeLine.com. Today's croutons are served in soups or on salads, where they add a crunchy texture while providing iron, selenium, folate, thiamin and niacin.
Definition
Croutons are made from bite-size pieces of any type of bread -- French, sourdough, rye, white, wheat -- that are at least a day old. They're either coated with butter or olive oil and baked, or fried in oil. Different types of seasonings, such as salt, garlic, thyme, sage or Parmesan cheese, may be added. Nutrition information is from the USDA database as supplied by NutritionData.com. Values provided are for 1 cup of plain croutons weighing 30 g.
Basic Nutrition
One cup of croutons has 122 calories, 3.6 g of protein and 22 g of carbohydrates. Based on a 2000-calorie-a-day diet, these values represent 6 percent of the recommended daily value (DV) for calories and 7 percent of the DV for both protein and carbohydrates. Croutons provide 1.5 g of dietary fiber (6 percent DV).
Fats
Croutons contain 2 g of fat, which includes 0.5 g of saturated fats and 1.3 g of unsaturated fats, as well as heart-healthy essential fatty acids (21 mg of omega-3 and 361 mg of omega-6). For men, this means 1.25 percent of the recommended intake for omega-3 and 1.8 percent for omega-6. Women gain 1.8 percent of omega-3 and 3 percent of omega-6 fatty acids.
Vitamins
According to the USDA Nutrient Database, croutons provide a dietary folate equivalent (DFE) of 63 micrograms (mcg), which is about 15 percent of the recommended intake of 400 mcg a day. Croutons are also a source of the B vitamins thiamin (0.2 mg or 12 percent DV), niacin (1.6 mg or 8 percent DV) and riboflavin (0.1 mg or 5 percent DV).
Minerals
Selenium is a trace mineral that's necessary for proper functioning of antioxidant enzymes. Croutons contain this trace mineral, with 11.2 mcg or 16 percent of the daily value. They contain 1.2 mg of iron and 0.1 mg of manganese, providing a significant 7 percent DV of each. Croutons also supply 2 to 3 percent of the DV for calcium (22.8 mg), magnesium (9.3 mg), phosphorus (34.5 mg), potassium (37.2), zinc (0.3 mg) and copper (0.049 mg). The amount of sodium in one cup is 209 mg, which is 9 percent of the recommended value.
Comparison
The USDA Nutrient Database does not define the ingredients used, but according to their information, the nutritional values of seasoned croutons are higher than for plain croutons. The calories go up to 186, and total fat increases to 7 g (11 percent DV), which includes an increase in all fats. Saturated fat goes up to 2.1 g, and unsaturated fats increase to 4.7 g. The daily values of omega-3 increase to 3.75 percent for men and 5.5 percent for women; omega-6 increases to 5.2 percent for men and 7.4 percent for women. The amount of sodium more than doubles to 495 mg. The amount of riboflavin also doubles, and the seasoned croutons gain vitamins E (0.2 mg or 1 percent DV) and K (3 mcg or 4 percent DV). All other vitamins and minerals increase by 1 to 2 percent of the recommended value.
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