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Golden Crispies (AKA the Most Fabulous Breadcrumbs You’ll Ever Make)

9 reviews / 5 average

The most magnificent Golden Crispies for all the internet to enjoy! Panko breadcrumbs, crunchy fried onions, fresh herbs, and a bit of seasoning and these crunchy breadcrumbs are ready to grace just about any dish.

It’s possible you might be like….”do I….do I need a recipe for breadcrumbs?” and that answer is: you have no idea how much you need this.

Get ready to find yourself sprinkling these magnificent crispies on every single meal from here on out.

Need a little extra textural somethin’ somethin’ on top of some pasta? These are perfect. Some crunch in your salad but not looking for big hunky croutons? Yep yep. Thinking about sprinkling those on top of a beautifully baked or grilled fish? Ding ding, what a win!

Have we been known to eat these perfectly golden, exquisitely crisped and herby breadcrumbs in a bowl like cereal? YES. SEVERAL TIMES. We cannot be stopped and we will not stop you, and oh my let’s get to it because we want you to already have these in your life.

All You Need For These Breadcrumbs

When testing these in the kitchen, we originally started with Samin Nosrat’s Herby Fried Shallot and Breadcrumb Crunch recipe, which has an amazingly beautiful depth of flavor and is definitely cereal-bowl worthy, but we wanted to make things a little quicker/easier. We had to better align our need for savory, olive oil-drenched crunch-bursts of joy all day every day….with what real days actually look like for us. So, we SOS-ed them up a bit and swapped out some ingredients and prep.

The needs list is pretty short:

  • panko breadcrumbs
  • fresh rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage leaves
  • pre-packaged crunchy fried onions
  • olive oil, salt & garlic powder

How To Make These Golden Crispies

If you have the time to fry up your own shallots and make your own breadcrumbs, Samin’s recipe is worth the journey. If you’re feeling our need to be cradled in the gentle soothing arms of quick and easy recipes as you stumble into this new year, then definitely give these a go and get ’em in a jar for all your crunchy topping needs.

  1. Sizzle up your rosemary and sage leaves in oil. Once they’re fried crisp, pull them out and let them drain on a paper towel.
  2. Add panko to the hot oil and heat until golden & crispy.
  3. Transfer breadcrumbs to a bowl, stir in crunchy onions, and crumble in fried rosemary and sage leaves.
  4. Stir in fresh herbs, garlic powder and salt, and HELLO, YOU’RE IN BUSINESS.

If you’re feeling like you can be out of those cradle arms for just a little extra time, we do include a frying-your-own shallots version in the recipe card if you wanna work that into your repertoire at some point. Because you will now be making these always.

How To Use These Breadcrumbs

We absolutely need you to be ready and have these on hand for a pillowy, saucy, rich and wonderful gnocchi recipe coming your way very soon; these are an absolute CROWN on top. But we really have been sprinkling these on just about anything. They keep super well in a container in the fridge, so once you’ve made a big batch, they are just sort of sitting there for all your topping/snacking needs!

Delicious on top of pasta dishes, as mentioned. Have you had some crispy breadcrumbs on top of a fried egg before? Well, get ready, breakfast is about to become so much more delicious. Obviously great on salads and if you’re thinking about a thick creamy soup that these might be delicious on…you’re probably right!

Because they can hang out for a bit in your fridge, we really encourage you to just try them on all the things whenever you’re cooking and the mood strikes you. And then let us know what amazingly delicious golden crispies concoctions you discover!

Oh, and remember that cereal bowl thing? It will happen. Don’t be alarmed. Just go with it. And then make more.

Golden Crispies: Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store extra golden breadcrumbs?

Store these in a sealed container in the fridge.

How can I make homemade fried shallots?

Instructions can be found in the recipe card notes.

How can I make this recipe gluten-free?

Just use gluten-free breadcrumbs and double-check the crispy fried onions package for gluten.

Print
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Crispy breadcrumbs on a sheet pan with a spoon.

Golden Crispies (AKA Fabulous Breadcrumbs)


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 9 reviews

  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Description

The most magnificent Golden Crispies for all the internet to enjoy! Panko breadcrumbs, crunchy fried onions, fresh herbs, and a bit of seasoning and these crunchy breadcrumbs are ready to grace just about any dish. 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 4 sage leaves
  • 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 3/4 cup crunchy fried onions, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. 
  2. Add the sage and rosemary sprigs to the oil. The leaves should sizzle once they hit the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Then transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
  3. Next, add the breadcrumbs to the skillet and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasty. 
  4. Add the breadcrumbs to a bowl. Stir in the crunchy fried onions.
  5. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem. Then, crumble the rosemary and sage with your fingers and add it to the breadcrumb mixture. 
  6. Add in the parsley, thyme, garlic powder and salt and give everything a stir.
  7. Sprinkle on pasta dishes, salads, soups, or any dish that could use a crispy, crunchy topping.

Notes

When testing this recipe, we originally made a version with homemade fried shallots instead of the pre-packaged crunchy fried onions (that’s what you’ll see in the photo, and that’s how Samin does it). If you’d like to fry your own shallots, thinly slice 4 shallots. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a skillet, and add the shallots to the oil. Fry the shallots until golden brown. We recommend doing this in 2 batches. Then, remove from the shallots with a slotted spoon and transfer to a sheet pan or plate lined with paper towel. For the final version we went with the store-bought onions because we thought it tasted just as good and took much less time.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Pan Fry
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: homemade breadcrumbs, breadcrumb recipe, golden breadcrumbs

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32 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Love this! We made Samin’s herb crunch at Thanksgiving and, boy, did it elevate our leftovers. Everyone raved about it. I am interested in trying your simplified recipe!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    My family and I are loving your site!! Wonderful, creative and delicious recipes!! Loving the videos and ease of direction. We used to utilize mail order food services, now we just visit your site and voila we have our game plan for the week!!

    Keep up the great work!!

    Thanks,
    Michael

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Wow!! These are so simple and so good! I used dried herbs since that’s what I had on hand…delicious!! I made them for the millionaire gnocchi but I keep sneaking bites of just breadcrumbs…shhhh.

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        So glad you’ve been enjoying the crispies on meals and as a snack ☺️ Thanks for the comment, Carli!

      2. Pinch of Yum Logo

        I don’t have fresh herbs, can I use dried herbs and if so how much? And do I use them the same as the fresh?

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          Hi Cassandra! Great question. I’d use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of each herb and stir them into the pan with the breadcrumbs.

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Pasta with some burrata and breadcrumbs like this is one of my favorite comfort meals. Now I can jazz up my breadcrumbs so it’s even better!

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I used this recipe, in turn, as inspiration for my own even-more-low-effort crispy shallot breadcrumbs 😂😂. Thanks so much for the great idea!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Think I will try with shallots. Not a fan of the crunchy friend onions you can buy. Love shallots. Thanks for the recipe. Sounds good.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Loving the thought of sourdough crispies! Great idea! Thanks for the comment!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Holy cow. Thank you so much for this wonderful dish! It was fabulous! I could only find sweet potato gnocchi, but I don’t think it made any difference. A definite keeper and will be in regular rotation!

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    These crunchy things are unbelievable, addictive and simply out of this world. There is no end to the creative ways you can incorporate these tasty tiny morsels! Thanks again, Pinch of Yum!!!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Toasted breadcrumbs always take pasta to the next level, but these level up breadcrumbs. Had them on the millionaire gnocchi and sooo good. Definitely thinking of how I can use them on other things. Completely worth the effort.

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Made these last night and used them to top a wedge salad with a simple yogurt ranch. The fried herbs were so good in these. Everyone agreed these were a 10/10, the extras were used to top everything else on the plate!

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made these for a pasta topping, then added to salad, and honestly ate a spoonful or two. So good. It was fun to use the rosemary and thyme that I planted this year before winter took over. I didn’t have parsley, but it was still delicious. Thank you.

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    How do you store these if you don’t use them all at once, and how long do they stay fresh/ crispy in that case?