Panko Breadcrumbs Easy Homemade

Japanese panko breadcrumbs are known for their light, airy and crispy texture. A pantry staple, I often choose panko vs traditional breadcrumbs for breading and toppings in my favorite recipes. As a breading it creates an exceptionally crispy and light coating for fried foods like chicken and fish. It also bakes up crispy in the oven and air-fryer. As a topping it adds a delightful crunch to casseroles, mac ‘n cheese, gratins and even desserts like cherry pie. Try sprinkling this versatile ingredient on a salad or garnish a soup for a lovely texture and visual appeal.

If you don’t have panko on hand, there are a variety of substitutes depending on whether you need a binder for something like a meatball or a crispy coating for a fried fish or croquette.

Panko substitutes for crispy coating and crispy topping

• Traditional breadcrumbs: blitz stale bread in the food processor.
• Crushed cereal: place corn flakes or rice krispies in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.
• Crushed potato chips, tortilla chips, cracker crumbs or pretzels adds a salty burst of flavor..
• Croutons: crush store-bought or homemade in the food processor.
• Chopped nuts and seeds like almonds, pecans, sesame and sunflower for a crunchy gluten-free option. 
• Crushed pork rinds are an excellent low-carb and keto diet option for crunchy texture.

Panko substitute for binders

• Regular dry bread crumbs work well at absorbing moisture.
• Uncooked whole or quick-cooking oats add fiber and work well to bind meat mixtures.
• Cooked rice or wild rice not only extends the meat but also tastes great in burgers.
• Crushed crackers are a good option for absorbing moisture.
• Dry stuffing mix works great as a binder adding additional flavor.
• Almond flour and wheat flour can act as binders, but add no texture.

When choosing the best substitute, consider the dish you are making and the flavor and texture you want to achieve. Be aware that there are key differences between panko breadcrumbs and the above substitutions.

Panko vs traditional breadcrumbs

• Panko originated in Japan and literally translates to “pan” meaning bread and “ko” meaning crumbs. Panko become well-known during World War II when baking bread on a metal plate using an electric current was invented. This process produced crustless loaves.
• Unlike finely processed traditional breadcrumbs that have a uniform shape, panko is processed into larger irregular flakes and thoroughly dried.
• When it comes to texture panko crumbs are larger, flakier and have more air products than the denser regular breadcrumbs. They are lighter and fry up crispier as they absorb less oil.
• While regular breadcrumbs can vary in color and taste panko is typically very pale and white and neutral in flavor. This is due to its lack of a crust.

Homemade Panko Style Crispy Breadcrumbs

What happens when your recipe calls for panko and your pantry is bare? No worries. You can absolutely make your own and often for a lot less money than the popular store-bought brand.

I often find a loaf of white Italian bread on the "day old bread" sale rack at the grocery store. I can't resist it as it is the perfect size for my food processor opening. A whole loaf costs 57 cents vs $5.00 for a container of panko. I am my mother's daughter. Frugal as all hell. I will make my own panko. It is so easy to do.

Making your own panko isn’t just about convenience it is also a very satisfying way to repurpose stale bread. All you need is some day-old white bread to make a fresh and tasty panko. Any white bread with a soft crust will work. This recipe is the perfect substitute.

Panko Breadcrumbs: Easy Homemade

Lisa Keys

All you need is a stale loaf of white bread to make these tasty, light and airy breadcrumbs.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Freezer time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course main

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4

Calories 140 kcal

Equipment

• 1 food processor shredding blade

Ingredients

  

• 1 loaf of white bread, crusts removed

Instructions

 

• Slice your bread to fit the size of your food processor opening.
• Freeze bread (uncovered) for 2 hours or as long as overnight.
• Fit food processor with shredder blade or use the large holes on a box grater if you prefer to grate by hand.
• Process the bread creating large irregular flakes. Do not over process.
• Spread the breadcrumbs out on a baking sheet in a thin layer.
• Bake crumbs in a low oven (275F) for 10 to 20 minutes or until dry but not toasted. The crumbs should be pale in color and not golden brown.
• Cool completely.

Notes

Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

You can use a dehydrator instead of an over to dry out the crumbs. Time is about 2 hours.

Grating by hand on the large holes of a box grater can be used instead of a food processor.

Crustless white bread is preferred to maintain the uniform pale color.

 

Keyword bread crumbs, breadcrumbs, homemade, ingredient substitution