Julia Child’s tip for better croutons gives Caesar salad a fast, garlicky upgrade.
Julia Child and Jacques Pépin making Caesar salad together is the culinary equivalent of watching two Hall of Famers casually toss a ball around in the backyard. Nothing showy, nothing rushed. Just pure, unbothered excellence.
In one especially charming old video, the pair makes a Caesar salad inspired by the legendary Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico. Julia recalls visiting the famous restaurant as a child, around eight or nine years old, and watching the salad prepared tableside at a time when people weren’t really eating salads yet, so the whole thing felt thrillingly novel.
The recipe itself is classic. But what I loved most was where Julia chooses to begin. Not with the romaine, not with the dressing, but with the croutons.
What is Julia Child’s crouton hack?
In the video, Julia has Jacques mash garlic with salt into a paste, then loosen it with olive oil. But instead of letting that garlic go straight into the salad, Julia has him strain it through a fine sieve, pressing firmly with a spoon so only the infused oil makes it into the pan. The solids stay behind, the flavor doesn’t. Then Julia tosses the croutons into the pan, letting them cook gently in the garlic oil before they ever touch lettuce.
How to Make Garlic Croutons at Home
I used homemade croutons, which I do often—not out of virtue, but because everyone in my house loves bread as much as I do. We always have too much of it, which means I make a lot of croutons. That said, this trick would work every bit as well with store-bought croutons if you want a shortcut.
I cut the bread—half a baguette leftover from the previous night’s dinner—into 1/2-inch cubes, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, then baked them at 425°F for about 12 to 15 minutes, giving them a toss halfway through so they browned evenly.
From there, I followed Julia’s instructions exactly. I mashed garlic with salt, mixed in olive oil, strained it into a saute pan, and warmed it gently before adding the croutons. Within minutes, they took on a deep, rich garlic flavor and fragrance.
Yes, it’s a bit more labor-intensive than shaking croutons out of a bag. But from start to finish, the extra step took less than five minutes. And the payoff—a Caesar salad with warm, garlicky croutons and none of the sharp, raw edge—was absolutely worth it.
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