This Low-Carb Garlic Parmesan Crouton recipe adds the perfect crunch and flavor to any salad. These croutons are the perfect choice for a low-carb, Ketogenic, Banting, or Atkins diet. 

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Sometimes salads just aren’t quite as satisfying without crunchy, garlicky croutons. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’ve eaten salad without croutons for around a year now. After being on a low-carb diet for a while, I practically say “, but can I have it without the croutons?” in my sleep. Needless to say, it was about time that I find a suitable crouton alternative. 

Yes, once upon a time I had added nuts or cheese crisps into my salad attempting to claim that they masquerade as croutons, but who was I really kidding? Especially if you’re trying to get your kids to eat healthy. Nuts or cheese crisps in a salad practically scare picky kids from a mile away. To be honest for a long time, I couldn’t quite figure how I could make those extra crispy light croutons that we all love.

Finally, something came to the rescue: the miraculous pork rinds. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me for a minute. My mom was actually the one to get me hooked on pork rinds. For the record- No, they don’t taste like pork and I’ve found that they are perfectly crisp and crunchy. They definitely satisfy that potato chip craving! On top of that, they have zero grams of carbs so you don’t have to worry about going above your carb limit when indulging on them (and believe me, you’ll want to once you’ve tasted them!). Once you add some salt, garlic, cheese, and a few other herbs, you’ve got some serious croutons that only took 5-10 minutes to make! They also make some flavorful mini crackers to snack on.

A few tips for when picking out pork rinds-

• Look for pork rinds that are puffy and light in color. Those are more crisp and easier to chew.
• Avoid flavored pork rinds, even the ‘salt & pepper’ flavor, nearly all contain MSG and other artificial flavors.
• Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer pork rinds, so Walmart is normally the best bet. They have quite a few varieties available. 

Enjoy!

-Harper

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Low-Carb Garlic Parmesan Croutons

These Low-Carb Garlic Parmesan Croutons provide the perfect crunch and flavor to any salad. These croutons are the perfect choice for a low-carb, Ketogenic, Banting, or Atkins diet.

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time 6 minutes

Author Harper Slusher

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz puffy pork rinds broken into ½ inch square pieces.
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder divided
• ½ teaspoon salt divided
• 1 teaspoon parsley finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon parmesan cheese finely shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler. Have a large cookie sheet available.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the pork rinds, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp salt, and parsley until combined.
3. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
4. Once melted, whisk in remaining garlic powder and salt.
5. Pour the butter over the pork rind mixture and toss until all pork rinds are evenly coated.
6. Transfer the pork rinds to prepared cookie sheet and spread evenly across the sheet.
7. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the pork rinds.
8. Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Watch very carefully and adjust cookie sheet as needed to ensure the pork rinds cook evenly and don't burn. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.