14 Bread Crumb Substitutes For When You're In A Cooking Emergency (2024)

These are richer in fiber than traditional bread crumbs, but lacking flavor. Pulverize the oats in a blender or food processor first, then add some dried herbs or seasoning before using in your recipe. They work great as a binder, and less so as a crunchy topping or coating.

This cereal is a classic choice for its texture and not-too-sweet taste as a topper or coater. "Toss them in butter or oil with seasoning and toast in a 325 degree oven for five to seven minutes," Xie suggests. Crush them to smithereens for a smoother coating or leave small chunks of cereal if you're breading chicken. You'll get an extra crunch that way.

Like chips, these bring a salty hit to whatever you're baking. They work best when used as a coating (crush them into tiny pieces), but you could process them until fine and use them to bind a mixture together, too.

Use crushed Saltines as a binding agent. "They break down extremely easily and would melt perfectly into meatballs or meatloaf," Xie said. Opt for Ritz when you want to add a sweeter flavor."Ritz works wonders on top of mac and cheese," she continued. "It's buttery and light but still gives you a little bit of crunchy texture."

Your favorite variety—literally any variety—will work, but only as a crunchy coating on something like a fish filet or chicken breast. The high fat content means these can burn easily, so keep an eye on the oven or stovetop.

Chia seeds! Sunflower seeds! Sesame seeds! Flax seeds! Poppy seeds! They're also a super fancy way to dress up veggies or meat that need to be coated and cooked. "They are already small, you don't really need to process them," Xie said.

You could use this to bind any mixture together or to coat a pork chop. Remember, it'll give whatever you're making a slightly sweeter taste.

Pulse it a little in the blender or food processor first, then JUST. GO. CRAZY. Xie recommends air-frying whatever you coat in the parm or making parmesan crisps and crushing them up before coating to prevent extreme melting.

If you don't have actual, packaged bread crumbs in your house, you can make them yourself. I know, I know! Revolutionary! Toast a few slices and blend them up until you've got crumbs. They even taste better than the store-bought stuff and work for any application.

While cooked rice won't work for fried foods since it can't get crispy, both cooked and uncooked rice is great as a binding agent for things like meatloaf, meatballs, or veggie burgers. Don't believe us? Try our porcupine meatballs.

Almond flour has a nutty taste and a course texture, which makes it an easy sub for bread crumbs. It's also gluten-free, so if you have a sensitivity or diet need, this is a great option. "It's used in a lot of keto recipes as a sub for breadcrumbs," Xie said, adding that it'll work as a binder or a topping.

"Croutons are basically big bread crumbs," Xie said. "All you have to do is process them a little bit more and crush them down to size to fit your recipe."

Stuffing mix is really just like super-seasoned bread crumbs, so they work in just about any application. "Sift out the fine stuff and use the finer crumbs in meatballs and meatloaves and the bigger chunks as a coating or topping," Xie said. Just watch the sodium levels, as stuffing mix tends to be already pretty salty.