vegan | wfpb | gluten-free | grain-free | oil-free | easy | snack | year-round

I am all about homemade crackers now. After years of walking into grocery stores with crackers on my list only to walk out crackerless because I couldn’t find any organic crackers with real ingredients that I was excited about, I finally decided to try making my own. And omg, they’re so much better than even fancy artisanal store-bought crackers! And - bonus - they’re surprisingly easy to make. Just around 15 minutes of hands-on time - and it’s fun! You get to roll out the dough and cut it into shapes - and by using wax paper and the parchment you’ll line your baking sheet with, there’s no sticky mess, no dough stuck to the rolling pin - it’s so easy!

These crackers are not only easy and delicious, they’re packed with nutrition. Oil isn’t necessary with the olives and nuts providing whole-food fats here. Chickpea flour provides far more protein, fiber, and iron than typical all-purpose flour - even more than whole wheat. These crackers are fully plant-powered and contain more nutrition than any cracker I’ve ever found on the shelf.

These crackers could really be any shape you cut out with a cookie cutter around one to two inches. If you want the quick route, though, I recommend using a pizza cutter to cut the dough into quick strips, then crosswise into rectangles, and there you go. I like the rough-cut look artisan crackers can have, so if the ends are uneven - great! After searching high and low for a good pizza cutter, I personally love the Epicurean Pizza Cutter, pictured below with the other helpful tools for this recipe. It’s long enough to reach across a whole pizza or slice a long strip of dough, yet without a sharp metal blade. Plus, it’s very easy to clean - you can even stick it in the dishwasher.

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Helpful tools for this recipe:

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:

The tools recommended here are either used by or are similar to those used by the author, who has hand-picked them for your convenience. Clicking the links will take you to Amazon, where you can learn more and decide whether to purchase. Beautiful Ingredient makes a small commission on sales made through this link at no extra cost to you. Thanks of your support!

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Author’s recommendation for easy ingredient shopping: Thrive Market

Most of the ingredients for this recipe can be found as organic products at Thrive Market, a direct grocery and natural product online market that I often use myself. I find it’s so quick and easy to use, and often ingredients I can’t find at my local grocery store can be found here. Thrive Market’s prices are up to 50% off retail, with free sustainably-packed shipping on orders over $49 (how often do we spend less than $49 at the grocery store?), a free gift with orders over a certain amount, the ability to earn Thrive Cash, and a donated membership to a low-income family, teacher, veteran, or student with each new purchased membership. According to Thrive Market, most members will make back their membership fee in savings within their first two orders. You can find out more through the link below - and if you use the link to join, Beautiful Ingredient will earn a small commission. Thank you for your support!

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Home-Baked Olive Crackers with Rosemary and Pine Nuts recipe

vegan | wfpb | gluten-free | grain-free | oil-free | easy | snack | year-round

PREP TIME: 15 minutes | COOK TIME: 25 minutes | TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

SERVINGS: about 6

Author’s note: Baking these crackers slowly at a lower temperature (300 degrees) for 20 minutes and then turning the heat up (to 325 degrees) for the last few minutes, along with rolling the dough to a very thin cracker, are the keys to making these crackers crisp and golden.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup chickpea flour

• ⅛ cup nutritional yeast

• ⅛ cup flax meal

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ cup pinenuts

• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

• one small garlic clove

• 1 tablespoon pitted olives* (I used kalamata)

• 3 tablespoons water

*sometimes olive pits still find their way into jars of pitted olives, so make sure each olive is pit-free by giving them a squeeze.

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, flax, salt, and baking powder. For the nutritional yeast and flax meal, it’s fine to use a ¼ measuring cup roughly half-filled with each if you don’t have an ⅛ measuring cup.

2. In a mini food processor or nut chopper, chop the pine nuts and rosemary together. Add them to the dry mix, stirring well to incorporate.

3. In the same chopper, chop the olives and garlic together. Add them to the dry mix, using a stand or hand mixer to incorporate.

4. With the mixer running, add the water one tablespoon at a time until the dough becomes sticky crumbles.

5. Turn the oven on to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

6. Turn the dough onto a piece of wax paper. Using your hands, shape the dough into a rectangle. If the dough seems too dry, put it back in the mixer and add a few drops of water until you achieve the sticky crumbly texture throughout. Take your baking sheet parchment piece and place it on top of the dough, then roll the dough out until it’s thin, about an ⅛th of an inch thick. Use a butter knife, cookie cutter, or pizza cutter to cut out your crackers. You can really cut these into any shape, but if you’re after the quickest and easiest way, I find using a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips does the trick. I like cutting the dough into one inch strips and then across to make 1” x 1 ½” pieces.

7. Return the parchment back to the baking sheet. Use a spatula to transfer the pieces onto the lined baking sheet, making sure none of the crackers are touching. If you have dough scraps, continue rolling the dough out by folding the wax paper until they’re all used. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the heat up to 325 degrees and bake another 5 minutes until golden.

8. Let cool about 10 minutes and they’re ready! Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to two weeks.