You don’t have to buy crackers at the store – you can make your own crackers at home with this easy recipe. These healthy crackers have an impressively crunchy texture, making them perfect to pair with soft dips, spreads, or nut butter. They also have a deep, toasty flavor that’s phenomenal with both sweet and savory accompaniments.
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What Makes Homemade Crackers So Good?
Baking crackers at home may sound like a lot of unnecessary work. After all, you can easily purchase crackers in the supermarket. Still, it would be tough to find healthy crackers as delicious as these.
This recipe for crackers has all-natural ingredients, and the crackers are baked to a crispy texture that snaps with every bite! Try them once, and you won’t ever want to store-bought ones again.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
You can crumble crackers into soup or use them as a base to create great snacks, but have you ever stopped to think about what’s in the crackers you’re eating? Many contain ingredients like corn syrup, preservatives, and other chemical additives.
These crackers are all-natural and taste amazing on their own. And unlike other cracker recipes, they are extremely easy to make.
Homemade Cracker Recipe Ingredients
For this recipe, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Vegetable shortening
- Cold water
Chill the vegetable shortening in the fridge for about an hour before you start making the crackers.
Special Equipment
A pasta machine can help you to achieve an even thickness for rolling out the dough. Sometimes, when you use a rolling pin, parts of the dough come out much thicker than others, affecting how they bake.
How to Make Homemade Crackers
To bake these easy homemade crackers:
- In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut in the chilled vegetable shortening using a pastry cutter or your fingers. The dough should have the texture of cornmeal at this point.
- Add the cold water to the flour mixture a little at a time and work it into the dry flour into a dough. Depending on the weather and the flour you use, you may not need to add all the water. It is essential to avoid overworking the dough at this point. The dough should be stiff, but it needs to stay together easily when you form it into a ball.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and stick it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate fully.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Once the cracker dough is rested, roll it out very thinly into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. To make rolling out the cracker dough easier, try running it through a pasta machine.
- Use a bench scraper, pizza cutter, or sharp knife to cut into cracker-sized squares. Poke each cracker several times with the tines of a fork to prevent it from puffing while baking.
- Separate the dough into individual crackers, and place the uncooked crackers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the crackers on the bottom rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Crank the heat up to 450°F and place the tray on the top oven rack to brown slightly.
- Remove the baked golden brown crackers from the oven and place the baking tray on a wire rack. Sprinkle salt on the crackers while they are still hot.
- Allow the crackers to cool before serving.
Recipe Variations
Plain dry crackers are good, but you also have many options to make them fancier. Here are a few suggestions:
- Add half a tablespoon of chopped, dried herbs to the dough. Thyme, oregano, or rosemary would taste amazing in this recipe.
- Sprinkle black pepper, garlic powder, or onion powder on top with the salt.
- Sprinkle a few poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or bagel seasoning on top of the crackers before baking for a bit of added texture.
- A quarter-cup of powdered cheese and a pinch of smoked paprika give these crackers a cheesy flavor.
What to Serve With These Crackers
Use these healthy crackers as usual. Besides just munching on them, you can:
- Turn them into appetizers with a piece of hard salami and a slice of cheese.
- Serve them alongside a charcuterie or cheese board.
- Enjoy them topped with peanut butter or hummus.
- Crumble the crackers on top of your favorite casserole dish.
- Turn them into crumbs to bread a chicken breast for the crunchiest baked chicken you have ever had.
How to Keep Homemade Crackers Crisp
Store crackers in an airtight container at room temperature in the cupboard. Do not refrigerate or freeze.
Believe it or not, you can re-crisp stale crackers by spreading them on a baking tray. Reheat the crackers in a 225°F oven for about ten minutes, turning them halfway through the cooking time. Watch the crackers closely to prevent them from burning.
How Long Do Homemade Crackers Last?
Homemade crackers will stay crispy in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Do not store them in a plastic bag where they can easily break.
Great Dips and Spreads to Serve with Crackers
- Boudin Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Cream Cheese Clam Dip
- Dried Beef Cheese Ball
- Homemade Cream Cheese
- Jezebel Sauce
- Mississippi Sin Dip
- Smoked Gouda Cheese Dip
Great Toasty Bread Recipes to Make
Check out more of my easy bread recipes and the best DIY recipes on CopyKat!
Homemade Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon shortening
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut in the chilled vegetable shortening using a pastry cutter or your fingers. The dough should have the texture of cornmeal at this point.
- Add the cold water to the flour mixture a little at a time and work it into the dry flour into a dough. Depending on the weather and the flour you use, you may not need to add all the water. It is essential to avoid overworking the dough at this point. The dough should be stiff, but it needs to stay together easily when you form it into a ball.
- Turn the dough on a slightly floured surface. Roll with a rolling pin until very thin. Cut into squares and pick several times with a fork.
- Bake on bottom rack in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
- Then remove and place on top rack and increase temperature to 450 degrees to brown the crackers. Immediately salt to taste when removed from oven.
Angel
Sharing with all four of my daughters! Easy and delicious, just right to get the children involved in a recipe for igniting the curious minds! Thank you 🤗
Rollie
Good recipe. I am 10 years old and these turned out good. Made them with my Dad.
Your mom
This looks finger lickin good
Anna
This was an easy 5 ingredient recipe. I did not have lard and used 2 tbsp of unsalted butter. Nice flavor but would cut the salt down to 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. And try olive and seeds next time but easy breezy!
Stephanie
I am glad this recipe worked for you.
DavidaRochelle
Thanks for letting me know that I can use butter instead of lard or vegetable shortening.
Renee
Can we freeze the dough to make at a later time.
Stephanie
I would not do this, I would just make them at another time.
AmityKay
These are wonderful! Quick to make and super tasty! I’ve tried these will herbs mixed in and I’ve also sprinkled them on the top with the salt after cooking. My family eats them quicker than I can make! ???? Thanks for a great recipe, they’ve become a family favorite!
Stephanie
I am happy you have enjoyed the recipe.
Ginette
Like everything made from scratch, so much better than store bought crackers. Super easy and fast recipe. Next time I will try some variations like cracked pepper or rosemary garlic flavour.
Liz Nelson
This sounds easy I’ll have to try it!