Italian Seasoned Croutons - using almond meal

Italian Seasoned Croutons – using almond meal

~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~

I already made a wonderful recipe using the almond pulp, which is the leftover remains from making almond milk. Because I don’t always have extra pulp on hand, I thought I would play around and see how they would turn out using almond meal.

Almond meal is ground almonds, not leftover over pulp. There is a difference. You can purchase almond meal these days, or you can simply make it which I recommend because you will have been controlling over the quality of your product.

In the end, I preferred using the almond pulp for the lighter texture. I just wanted you to have an option.

Ingredients:

3 cups almond meal/flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp onion powder

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, water, nutritional yeast, Braggs, Italian seasoning, and onion powder, mix well. I used my hands to make sure it was well incorporated.
Place batter on the teflex sheet that comes with your dehydrator press it out with your hands.
Place a second teflex sheet over the top of the batter, and using a rolling pin, roll out nice and evenly.
- The thickness is whatever you desire.
- Remove the top non-stick sheet after rolling it out and using a pizza cutter or off-set spatula, create small squares.
Dehydrate at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F) and dehydrate until dry.
- Halfway through the dry time, flip the croutons over onto the mesh sheet and peel off the non-stick sheet. Continue drying. By doing this, it will speed up the dry time since the air can evenly flow around the croutons.
Store in a sealed, glass container. I have found over the years that I like to store them in the freezer in an airtight container. They stay fresh, crisp, and I take out what I need.

Culinary Explanations:

Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)? Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
When working with fresh ingredients, it is essential to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do, however honestly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.

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8 thoughts on “Italian Seasoned Croutons – using almond meal”

Christi says:

January 15, 2013 at 2:13 pm

Hi Amie Sue,
I know you list french garden seasoning in a lot of your recipes, but is there a substitue you could suggest?
Thank you.

Reply
- amie-sue says:
  
  January 15, 2013 at 9:54 pm
  
  Hi Christi… the following makes up an “Italian spice mix”
  
  Ingredients:
  1 Tbsp garlic salt
  1 Tbsp onion powder
  1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  2 Tbsp dried oregano
  1 tsp ground black pepper
  1/4 tsp dried thyme
  1 tsp dried basil
  1 Tbsp dried parsley
  1/4 tsp celery salt
  2 Tbsp sea salt
  
  Reply
  - Christi Weiner says:
    
    January 16, 2013 at 10:54 am
    
    That sounds yummy! I will try it. Thanks!
    
    Reply
    - amie-sue says:
      
      January 16, 2013 at 1:45 pm
      
      Your welcome Christi… keep me posted! Have a great day, amie sue
      
      Reply
Robyn says:

September 11, 2013 at 8:07 am

Good morning Amie-Sue :)

I am confused with this recipe as you talk about almond meal but the list of ingredients says almond pulp. I understand the difference but I am wondering what you actually used in this recipe…. meal or pulp? I will be using pulp so just want to be sure the rest of the ingredients and directions reflect that.

Thank you! I am so thankful for your site, your personality that shines through and your heart that goes into it! Bless you ♥ Robyn

Reply
- amie-sue says:
  
  September 11, 2013 at 8:19 am
  
  Sorry for the confusion. I cleaned up the recipe a bit. I did that one a long long time ago and I think I have gotten better at writing out my recipes. :) I used almond meal/flour in the recipe,as a substitute for the almond pulp, Here is the recipe for the one with almond pulp. https://nouveauraw.com/raw-recipies/crackers/italian-seasoned-croutons/
  
  Have a great day Robyn!
  
  Reply
Alicia says:

January 4, 2015 at 9:54 am

Thank you for your blog and recipes!
I am on an anti-yeast diet due to candida. Do you have an advise for those of us who cannot use nutritional yeast as an ingredient? I noticed that many of your recipes call for it and I really wish I could still try them by substituting the nutritional yeast with something.
I already realized that substituting sugar with a product called Lakanto from Body Ecology yields the same results as your recipes that call for sugar (which I can’t use either).
Thanks for any light you can shine this way. I love your blog!

Reply
- amie-sue says:
  
  January 4, 2015 at 10:05 am
  
  Thank you Alicia. :) Nutritional yeast offers a unique “cheesy” flavor to recipes and there really isn’t much to replace it with, unless you go through a fermenting stage with some recipes such as; nut cheeses, yogurts, etc. You an omit the yeast from the recipes just be aware that it won’t taste as I intended, which isn’t a bad thing, just different. Have a great day, amie sue
  
  Reply