Toasted breadcrumbs are one of my cooking secrets: I toss them in everything. They just make stuff taste better–they give everything a little bit of crunch, from salads to pastas (yes, that’s right: pastas. This ain’t yer Chef Boyardee supersoft pasta, kids). My crew and I named these breadcrumbs Crumbs Yo! because we’re always yelling to each other in the kitchen, “Pass me some crumbs, yo!”

This recipe is incredibly easy, but the simple move of toasting the breadcrumbs in olive oil makes them taste exponentially better than just plain old ordinary breadcrumbs. You can also flavor Crumbs Yo! with black pepper, herbs, grated citrus zest, grated cheese, bits of bacon or pancetta … trust your instincts about the flavor profile you want to add to that extra crunch. I’ve given you the start-to-finish recipe here, but if you don’t have day-old bread sitting around, panko breadcrumbs will work just as well.