Easy Seed Crackers

Easy Seed Crackers are light, crispy and delicious.

Grain-free, gluten-free, made with nothing but seeds, water and your chosen seasonings, they’re the perfect crunchy accompaniment to spreads, dips, soups or cheese. Add to lunch boxes or enjoy as a healthy nibble.

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If you’ve seen my post about Homemade Crackers then you’ll know I stopped buying most packaged baked goods like biscuits and crackers, not least because I’m trying to avoid palm oil. I was really surprised to find how simple it was to make a crunchy cream cracker-like biscuit at home.

Incredibly, in this post I’ve got something even easier to share with you. With these Seed Crackers, there’s not even any rolling out to do.

Packed with seeds including sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax, they’re an excellent source of fibre and healthy fats. And if you need a gluten or grain free alternative, Seed Crackers are ideal.

JUST SEEDS

Yes, Seed Crackers are almost entirely made with just seeds.

The only other ingredients you need are water plus whatever seasonings you like. My current favourite is salt, garlic granules and a bit of dried sage, rosemary and oregano. But you can flavour them with pretty much anything. Try spices like cumin or chilli, fennel or celery seeds or maybe onion granules.

So, with no flour or egg, what is it that holds Seed Crackers together?

THE SECRET IS CHIA SEEDS

You can use whatever seeds you like in these crackers, with one stipulation: you must include chia seeds. That’s because they act as the binding agent.

In case you didn’t know, chia seeds have a very special property which makes them perfect for this job. Due to their high soluble fibre content, chia seeds can absorb many times their own weight in water.

This means that when they’re soaked in liquid they become gel-like. This resulting gel is most often used in recipes for chia pudding. In my version of Chia Pudding the seeds are soaked overnight in coconut milk and other flavourings to make a delicious, creamy breakfast.

To make one tray of Seed Crackers, as per the recipe at the end of this post, you’ll need a total of 240 grams of seeds, 50 grams of which should be chia.

EASY METHOD

To make the crackers, all you do is mix together your seeds and seasoning then stir in cold water. You’ll then need to leave the mix for 20 – 30 minutes to let the chia seeds work their magic.

After that time has elapsed, you’ll see that all the water has been absorbed. If you lift up a spoonful of the mix, you should find it now sticks together like this:

To bake the Seed Crackers, you’ll need a shallow baking tray lined with baking parchment or grease proof paper. My trays are approximately 32 x 22 cm which I found just right to make a cracker thick enough to hold together but thin enough to be crunchy all the way through.

Simply spread the seed mixture evenly across the paper, using a rubber spatula or similar. Make sure you go right up to the sides and corners of the tin as the mix will shrink a little as the water evaporates in the oven. And that’s it. Your crackers are ready to bake.

BAKING

The Seed Crackers will need approximately one hour in a lowish oven. I’d have a look after 30 minutes to check they’re not browning too much and turn the oven down if necessary.

Round about the 45 minute mark, you could add a little grated cheese to some or all of the surface. Here, I sprinkled Parmesan, but use a Cheddar type if you want a more melting effect.

Once the hour is up, carefully lift one corner of the sheet of crackers off the paper and have a peep underneath. Does it look dry and fully cooked? If not, return to the oven for another five minutes.

When the crackers are completely dry (or perhaps it should be cracker singular at this point?), put the tray on a wire rack until cool enough to handle. While it’s cooling, you might hear a satisfying crackling sound – rather like that from good crusty homemade bread, just out of the oven. Peel off the paper when completely cold.

When you’re ready to break the sheet into individual crackers, don’t be tempted to cut with a knife. Go down that route and you’ll most likely end up with a pile of seeds and crumbs. I think the crunchy oblong is best broken into pieces with your hands. But if you must have straight lines, your best bet is to score it using a ruler and knife then try to snap along the lines using your hands.

Update thanks to reader Christine who commented that scoring before baking helps when you come to break up the crackers. I’ve tried this and it works.

EATING SEED CRACKERS

For my first batch of Seed Crackers, I couldn’t help just nibbling them on their own. I kept them in an airtight container on the kitchen worktop and just had to sneak a piece whenever I passed by.

But I’ve since managed to be a little more restrained. It helps that I stash them away in the cupboard: out of sight, out of mind.

Now, my favourite way of enjoying them is for lunch or as a snack with different toppings. Yesterday’s leftover hummus was particularly good, topped with a bit of grated carrot and coriander.

For me, the test of a good cracker is whether it’s a winner with cheese. Happily, Seed Crackers passed wonderfully well. Lovely with a chunk of Cheddar, they were great spread with creamy soft cheese too, topped with slices of cucumber and tomato for freshness.

When it’s time again for warming soups, I think Seed Crackers will be just as good an accompaniment. Not only as a bread substitute, but perhaps as crunchy croutons?

As they’re so moreish, I’ve not had a batch of these easy, fantastic crackers last for more than five days. But they were still good and crunchy at that point, so I think that makes them a great contender for packed lunches or a take-to-work snack.

Bake a tray or two at the weekend and you’ll have fibre-packed, healthy and crunchy Seed Crackers throughout the week.

Just pair them with some vegetable crudités and maybe a dip. How about Roasted Beetroot Hummus, Smoked Salmon Paté or Baba Ganoush with Roasted Garlic?

5 from 7 votes

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Easy Seed Crackers

Light, crispy and delicious, grain-free & gluten-free. The perfect crunchy accompaniment to spreads, dips, soups or cheese. Add to lunch boxes or enjoy as a healthy nibble.

Use any combination of seeds you like: just make sure you always included 50g of chia seeds

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Vegetarian, plant-based, gluten-free, grain-free

Keyword crackers, seed crackers

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Soaking time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings 1 tray of crackers

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 65 g pumpkin seeds
• 65 g sunflower seeds
• 50 g chia seeds
• 40 g sesame seeds white, black or a mix
• 20 g flax seed/linseed
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic granules optional
• 1 tsp dried herbs (e.g. rosemary, oregano, sage) optional
• 175 ml cold water

Instructions

1. Take a large bowl and put in all the seeds and seasonings.

   Add all the water and stir well.

   Set aside for 20-30 minutes.

2. While the seeds are soaking:

   Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3

   Take a shallow baking tray approximately 32 x 22 cm and line it with baking parchment or grease proof paper.

3. When the seeds have absorbed all the water and are starting to gel together, stir well then spread the mixture evenly over the lined baking tray.

   Tip: scoring the mix into your chosen cracker shape now will help when it comes to breaking them up later.

4. Put the tray in the oven and bake until the mix is completely set, dry all the way through and lightly browned. This should take 55-65 minutes, but check after 30 min to make sure it isn't browning too quickly; lower the oven temperature if necessary.

5. Put the tray on a wire rack until completely cool.

6. Carefully peel off the paper and, using your hands, break until individual crackers.

   Scoring lines with a knife and ruler, then breaking along the lines will help to make even pieces if you didn't score before baking.

Recipe Notes

Seed Crackers should stay crunchy for at least 5 days if cooled before storing in an airtight container.

Try adding different seasonings to the seed mixture e.g. cumin, chilli, fennel seeds, onion granules etc.

For Cheesy Seed Crackers: sprinkle grated cheese over the top of the part baked crackers (at around the 45 min point).

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