These healthy homemade crackers are made with whole grains, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil. They get their “cheesy” flavor from nutritional yeast and yellow hue from turmeric.
If you would’ve told me a few years ago that I’d become the type of person who makes her own crackers, I probably would’ve had a good laugh. I mean, it seems a little high-maintenance – indulgent even. Especially when there are so many great options made from real, whole foods ingredients available in stores today (Simple Mills and Mary’s Gone Crackers, to name a few).
Nonetheless, making your own crackers lets you control the quality of ingredients and the amount of salt and sugar you use. You also get to concoct your own favorite flavor and earn the satisfaction of having made something from scratch. (Especially if you’re obsessed with all things crunchy like me).
Now, you may be thinking, “Alex, who has the time to make crackers from scratch?!” And I’ll tell you: people who have been snowed in all winter and spent an inordinate number of evenings at home, that’s who. And I’m not saying I’ll never buy packaged crackers again or that we should all be spending our leisure in homemade cracker oblivion, but I am saying it’s a fun project to try. And after you see how easy it is, you may just start making these on the regular.
How to Make Healthy Homemade Crackers
First off, you’ll need a food processor. (A blender will not work here but a Vitamix might, though I haven’t tried it).
This recipe starts with a few dry ingredients, including whole grain oats, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin seeds add a nutty flavor and some good-quality oils, but you can substitute with sunflower seeds, or even almonds or walnuts if that’s what you have.
To bring the dough together, the recipe calls for olive oil, maple syrup, and water. It may seem like it’s not enough liquid for the large volume of dry ingredients, but the dough doesn’t need a ton of moisture to come together.
Flavorings and Variations
Nutritional yeast is essential for giving these vegan, healthy homemade crackers a “cheesy” flavor, while the turmeric adds the yellow hue to match.
While I like to flavor these with rosemary, garlic, and black pepper, I encourage you to experiment with whatever seasonings your heart desires. Some ideas: curry powder, smoked paprika, or za’atar, as well as fennel, coriander, caraway, and/or sesame seeds.
These healthy homemade crackers come pretty darn close to my ideal crunchy snack. They’re salty, savory, toasty, nutty, and actually pretty satiating, thanks to the fiber and protein in the whole grains and seeds. They’re great with guacamole, hummus, or bean dips, or just by themselves as a snack on-the-go.
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Healthy Homemade Crackers
(6 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: About 50 crackers 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These healthy homemade crackers are made with whole grains and seeds. They get their “cheesy” flavor from nutritional yeast and matching yellow hue from turmeric.
Ingredients
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (or oat flour)
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose works too)
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (1-2 sprigs)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a food processor, combine all the ingredients from the rolled oats through the turmeric powder. Process on high speed until the mixture is ground to a fine meal.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, water, and maple syrup. With the food processor motor running, slowly stream in the oil mixture. Stop and scrape down the sides, if needed. Continue to process until the mixture is evenly hydrated and starts to resemble dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and knead a few times to gather it into a ball. Cover the dough with a second sheet of parchment and roll it out into a rectangular-ish shape. Remove the top sheet of parchment and continue to roll until the dough is roughly 10×13” and ⅙”-thick (if the edges start to crack, just press them back together with your fingers). Using a sharp knife, score the dough into 1” squares (cutting almost, but not all the way, through).
- Transfer the dough with the bottom piece of parchment onto a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Gently break the crackers up and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10 crackers
- Calories: 165
- Sodium: 285 mg
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
Keywords: crackers, nutritional yeast, vegan, whole grain, pumpkin seeds
