Vegan graham crackers with an easy-to-open dough: it is possible! Made with a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, these crackers are perfect for s’mores and make the most amazing vegan pie crust.
Yes, I know: there are a lot of brands that offer delicious, vegan-friendly and ready to eat vegan graham crackers. So why bake them?
- You can control the ingredients;
- You know exactly what’s in your crackers;
- Nothing beats homemade!
I guarantee you, the best, sweet, crispy, crunchy graham crackers are homemade ones! They make your house smell amazing and leave you yearning for just one more.
Also, baking your own vegan graham crackers is not as difficult as you might think: this recipe makes a dough that’s super easy to open!
What’s a graham cracker?
A graham cracker is a sweet cracker, first made in the United States in the beginning of 1880. The first recipes were made using graham flour, oil, salt and molasses.
If you’re asking what’s graham flour, it’s simply a coarse ground whole wheat flour. But don’t worry: for this recipe, we’re using regular whole wheat flour.
A bit more of history: graham flour has its name because of reverend Sylvester Graham. Among the things he believed were that being vegetarian and following a diet using a homemade coarsely ground wheat could keep you healthy.
Graham flour, graham crackers, and graham bread were created by his followers.
The first graham crackers recipes didn’t have milk or any dairy among the ingredients. This graham cracker recipe is vegan, free of any dairy ingredient.
Ingredient substitutions
Molasses. You can substitute for agave (it will make a slightly sweeter cracker), coconut or maple syrup (the flavor will be more subtle).
You can also use my vegan honey if you’re looking for a honey graham cracker recipe that’s free of animal ingredients.
Whole wheat and all purpose flour. This recipe calls for a mix of these 2 flours. You CAN make it with all-purpose white flour only, but the crackers will miss the nutty flavor that whole wheat gives them.
If using all-purpose flour only, add 3 tablespoons more to the dough.
Coconut oil. Use refined coconut oil so your cracker won’t have a coconut taste. You can also use canola or avocado oil.
I don’t recommend any other substitution for this recipe. If you did it with any other ingredient than the ones listed here, let me know how it went!
How to make it
This dough has no cooling time, so after getting the ingredients ready, you can already preheat the oven to 375°F. We’re using the rack on the middle shelf.
- Add dry ingredients to food processor (1a). Pulse 3-4 times to combine (1b).
- Add wet ingredients (2a). Pulse 6 to 8 times to mix, 2 more times if dough is still not formed (2b).
- Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces (3). I find 4 pieces easier to work with. Store the remaining dough inside the fridge, covered with a kitchen towel.
- Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it open until very thin (4 a and b). Check the video and the photo below to see how thin I open my dough.
- Trim the dough to get a rectangle (5).
- Cut the dough into rectangles using a pizza slicer, a knife or something sharp (6). Do not separate them.
- Poke each cracker 4 times with a fork (7). That’s super important! Poking your crackers will assure you they won’t puff up while baking.
Bake crackers for 13 to 15 minutes. They’re good when slightly crispy and light brown in the edges.
These crackers won’t come out from the oven fully hard, but will harden as they cool. Be careful not to overbake them!
Tips for the best crackers
These crackers are easier to open than most graham crackers recipes. The dough is a bit more hydrated than most, and that really helps when rolling open.
That can also give a push for the gluten to develop faster if you’re not careful. So let’s make sure you do everything right so your cracker is crunchy and crispy the way it should be.
Use cold ingredients. It’s not essential, but it can be an extra help. Mix the dry ingredients and store in the fridge for an hour. You can do the same with all wet ingredients but coconut oil.
Do not knead the dough. It will come together when pulsing in the processor.
Don’t overwork the dough. Handle it as little as you can: open it fast and try to open in a rectangle so you don’t have to trim much dough off.
Leave the dough you’re not working with inside the fridge. Cold helps to prevent gluten formation, and the less gluten, the lighter and tender the crackers.
Roll the dough really thin. Roll open the dough until as thin as you can see in the photo/video. A thicker dough will give you soft crackers. The dough needs to be thin for your cracker to be crispy.
Variations of this recipe
- Cinnamon Graham Crackers. Add a full teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dough. Combine ¼ cup of granulated sugar with another teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle the crackers with the mixture just before baking.
- Vegan Honey Graham Crackers. Substitute molasses for my vegan honey and have a delicious, homemade vegan honey graham cracker.
- Chocolate Graham Crackers. Substitute 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour for cocoa powder.
How to store graham crackers
After cooled, store crackers in an airtight container, away from sunlight.
They’re good for up to 3 weeks.
What to have with them
You can have these crackers on their own, or use them for delicious desserts.
Graham crackers are amazing for making sweet pie or cheesecake crusts, and one of the essential ingredients for s’mores.
Spread berry jam over it for a sweet snack, or have it along with a glass of oat milk for a quick breakfast.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Graham Crackers (with Coconut Oil)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour 230g
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour 110g
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 4g
- ½ teaspoon salt 3g
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1.5g
- 6 tablespoon refined coconut oil or canola oil 80g
- 7 tablespoon cold water 103g
- 3 tablespoon molasses 60g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5g
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle shelf and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Add whole wheat and all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt and ground cinnamon to a food processor. Pulse 3 to 4 times to combine.
- Add coconut oil (or canola oil), cold water, molasses and vanilla extract. Pulse about 6 to 10 times, just until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces. Keep the remaining dough inside the fridge, covered with a kitchen towel.
- Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it open until very thin (check the video to see how thin I open my dough).
- Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and trim the dough into a rectangle, using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Cut the dough into smaller rectangles. Do not separate them.
- Poke each cracker 4 times with a fork. Do not skip this step! Poking your crackers will assure you they won’t puff up while baking.
- Place shaped crackers still on parchment paper into a baking sheet. Bake crackers for 13 to 15 minutes, or until edges look firm and golden brown. They won’t come out from the oven fully hard, but will harden as they cool. Be careful not to overbake them.
- Let graham crackers cool onto a cooling rack, still on parchment paper, for about 15 minutes.
- After cooled, remove from parchment paper and break them apart. Store in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight.
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