Today I’m so excited to share with you a delicious recipe for gluten free dairy free graham crackers. Your homemade graham crackers will also be top 9 free, making them super inclusive. This gluten free graham cracker recipe is also vegetarian, so let’s make sure you get allllll of your friends at the campfire.
You will need some specific tools today, and be sure to read over my storage notes. It’s not often that I share recipe with caveats, but this is one of those time. Your homemade gluten-free graham crackers will still be awesome, but they have a string or two attached. Now, let’s get to work.
NOTE: If you came wanting to purchase gluten free dairy free graham crackers, check out the graham cracker section of my Gluten Free Crackers article.
Fun Fact Before You Start: Graham Flour
You’ll notice there’s no graham flour in today’s recipe, and that’s because traditional graham flour is made from wheat. Interestingly, the name isn’t about the type of wheat, but the creator, Sylvester Graham.
To make this type of flour, hard red spring wheat grins (whole grains) are stone ground. From there, you use this coarse flour alongside other flours in your baking. I’ll also add, this is a popular type of flour for some Indian recipes.
However, since we’re gluten free, we won’t be using official graham flour today. If you want to give your GF graham crackers a little boost, you can try mixing in some teff flour or buckwheat flour to your flour blend. Whilst I’ve not personally tested this, if you’re an experimental kind of person, it could be fun to try.
Recipe Video for Gluten Free Dairy Free Graham Crackers
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Alliums, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Berries, Buckwheat, Cane/Refined Sugar, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Citrus, Coconut, Cruciferous, Garlic, Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Oat, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Poultry, Red Meat, Seeds, Squash & Gourd, Stone Fruits, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, GERD, Low Histamine
GERD Reminder: Make sure you have a portion size that’s right for your individual fat limits. If you’re eating a few crackers, the vegan butter content is low, but if you smash the whole batch in one sitting, you may have a problem.
Low Histamine Note: If vanilla extract isn’t tolerated, swap for 1 teaspoon of ground vanilla.
For oat free, nightshade/potato free, grain free, truly corn free, FPIES friendly, Paleo, and vegan graham crackers, use this recipe on my RAISE website instead.
Tools to Make Top 9 Free + Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Here are the specific tools to make this amazing recipe:
- Kitchen Scale
- Food Processor
- Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- Large Baking Sheet (2 large baking trays or 3 medium baking trays)
- Rolling Pin (ideally one like this with a controlled height)
- Cutting Tool (sharp knife, pizza cutter, fancy multi-blade cutting tool, etc.)
Ingredients for Gluten Free Dairy Free Graham Crackers
Part 1 (Dry Ingredients)
- 120g Sorghum Flour, superfine
- 110g Organic Maple Sugar
- 80g Brown Rice Flour, superfine
- 50g Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Oat Flour
- 30g Arrowroot Starch/Powder
- 30g Potato Starch
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Part 2 (Wet Ingredients)
- 100g Dairy Free Butter (cold butter is ideal, but not the end of the world if it isn’t super cold)
- 85g Raw Organic Honey or Honey of Choice
- 2.5 TBSP Water (room temperature)
- 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
Ingredient Notes
This recipe calls for simple ingredients and there are a few swaps that you can make if needed.
Maple Sugar: This granulated sweetener can be swapped for organic coconut sugar, organic light brown sugar, or organic date sugar. Do not use a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, honey, or agave.
Oat Flour: In a pinch, or if you have Celiac Disease and are in the 25% group that can’t have oats, you can swap the gluten-free oat flour for organic tiger nut flour (tuber, not a tree nut). This will alter the taste and texture slightly, but you’ll still have delicious results.
Brown Rice Flour: Do not swap for sweet rice flour, white rice flour, or other types of rice flour. If you can’t have rice, use all sorghum flour, but manage your expectations as this will alter the final results.
Directions (with pictures)
Creating the Gluten Free Dairy Free Graham Cracker Dough
Place your food processor on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add each of the Part 1 Ingredients (dry ingredients), and tare between them. When they’re all in, combine them well by pulsing your food processor.
Now, return the processor to the scale and add the Part 2 Ingredients (wet ingredients). It’s easier if you add the honey straight into the food processor bowl (the joy and beauty of using a kitchen scale).
Once everything is in, put the lid back on and combine. Continue to process until a dough forms. When it’s ready, this dough should remind you of cookie dough.
Note: If your dough doesn’t look like mine (too dry), add water 1 teaspoon at a time whilst the food processor is on until you reach the same type of dough in the photos below.
Rolling & Shaping Your Dairy-Free Graham Crackers
Next, place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Place the dough on top, then cover with another large piece of parchment paper.
Use a rolling pin to roll your dough out into the desired thickness. Mine are about 1/4″ (0.6cm) thick, and I use the Joseph & Joseph rolling pin that creates an even height. Using large sheets of parchment paper ensures that your dough doesn’t stick to your rolling pin, and that your cleanup is easy.
Once your dough is rolled out, use a sharp knife or other cutting tool to cut into squares (or rectangles etc). Transfer each square on to a large baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper.
Once all of your squares are settled, use a fork to poke holes on top of the dough (called docking). Now, place the whole tray in your refrigerator for at least an hour to chill dough before baking.
After the hour is up, place the tray directly into an oven that’s heated to 350f/175c and bake for 12 – 15 minutes. You can take these out as soon as they’re set, or allow them to bake longer for a deeper colour and better crunch. At the 15 minute mark, you’re pushing the limits and might burn your crackers so watch them like a hawk.
This gluten free graham cracker dough does not spread (it does puff a little), so what you see is what you mostly get. Allow the crackers to cool completely before storing.
These graham crackers are great with milk as a faux cereal, perfect for gluten free s’mores, will taste great with a sorts of different ice cream flavours, wonderful for snacking on, and make for a nice little end of the day treat.
The Cookie/Cheater Edition
If you don’t care about an authentic look, I have an easier method for you. Once the batter has been made, use a medium OXO cookie dough scoop (1.5 TBSP) to portion dough balls. Roll them and press them flat (like you would a cookie). Place on the tray lined with a sheet of parchment paper, dock, and bake.
Mine were a bit too tall, BUT! They turned out amazing. There was a wonderful graham cracker crunch and flavour, and a cookie soft center. The “downside” with this result is that once frozen, if you had a cookie soft center, it will be gone. With this method, my kids still eat them straight from the freezer to maintain the integrity of the crunch.
More Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes
If you follow a strict gluten-free diet (along with other dietary restrictions), I’ve got so many recipes you’re going to love. Here are a few to get you started, and they’re all top 9 free, vegan, and more.
- Gluten Free + Grain Free Power Balls Recipe
- Gluten Free, Dairy Free Double Chocolate Muffins Recipe (this is a great recipe for pairing with a basic mint glaze)
- Sesame Free Chocolate Hummus Recipe
- No-Bake Gluten Free, Dairy Free Cookies Recipe
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Gluten Free Graham Cracker Storage
I tested this recipe several ways to see what the best storage technique would be. If you store your gluten free graham crackers uncovered at room temperature, they will become soft. ALL crunch is lost.
If you store your graham crackers at room temp in a freezer baggie, all is well. They keep their crunch for several days. You can use an airtight container if baggies aren’t your jam.
Whilst these graham crackers freeze and thaw well, once thawed, ALL crunch is lost. I know. You can eat them straight from the freezer and still have crunchy graham crackers, which is what my kids do.
Keep this in mind because you’ll need to decide how much to make. Normally I’d be all for double and triple batching, but for my kids, soft graham crackers are a deal breaker. They want their free-from goods to be as close to the real deal as possible. I encourage you to test this out for yourself. You may be A-OK with it. Two of my kids were fine with the soft version and the others said no thanks. However, they all ate them straight from the freezer with a smile.
Take Your Dairy Free + Gluten Free Graham Crackers to the Next Level
Personally, I love making this simple recipe for my kids, then jazzing it up with all sorts of toppings (and sometimes a recipe tweak). Here are some ideas to get you started:
Add 3 – 4 tsp organic ground cinnamon to your dry ingredients. This can give your graham crackers a little flavour boost you’re sure to enjoy. On that same note, you can mess about with different warming spices including ginger, nutmeg, and even a pinch of cloves.
Serve with a chocolate dipping sauce.
You can make an easy sauce by melting your favourite free-from chocolate chips and calling it day. Alternatively, you can get really fancy and add flavouring agents to your melted chocolate such as espresso extract (or mix in a little ground coffee), drops of organic food grade mint oil, or anything else you like with chocolate.
Make fruity s’mores.
OK, we all know what a classic gluten-free s’mores looks like, but, have you thought about jazzing it up with fruit? You can use a homemade fruit compote, or crushed freeze dried fruit and have a whole new and delicious experiment.
The key is to use fruits that not only pair well with chocolate but combinations that you personally love. There’s no point in trying if you’re going to say, eh. Fruits that pair well with chocolate include orange, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and bandanna. You can get each of these as a freeze dried fruit powder, and you’ll drizzle melted chocolate on top of your s’more, then add the fruit so it sticks.
Make homemade peanut butter graham crackers.
You can take this simple recipe and rather than go with a classic graham cracker look, make little rounds. Once they’ve cooled, add a micro scoop of peanut butter, then top with another round. Talk about a tasty snack! You can also use nut butter such as almond or pistachio, or a seed butter if you need something top 9 free.
Oh!! You should make my free-from nutella recipe (dairy-free, nut-free, top 9 free, vegan) and use that! Oh man, talk about a tasty little treat that you can have as a snack or even as part of a dessert. Orrrr… you could also use this to decorate a cake with. Think sandwich cookies, but different. OK, sky’s the limit on this one, so have fun running with this idea.
Make ice cream sandwiches.
Homemade free-from ice cream sandwiches with wholesome ingredients? Yes please and thank you! To make these, allow your gluten free graham crackers to cool completely. Then, scoop semi-soft ice cream onto a cracker, then top with another. This is a basic ice cream sandwich, but we can do better, right?
From there, dip half of the sandwich into melted free-from chocolate, then top with crushed freeze dried fruit. Now we’ve got an epic ice cream sandwich, and honestly, it doesn’t require a lot of extra work.
Here’s a recipe for dairy free vanilla ice cream if you’d like to make it yourself at home.
Answering Your Questions About These Dairy Free Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Can I use this recipe to make a pie crust?
Yes! You can use this gluten free graham cracker recipe and get the perfect crust. Follow a trusted recipe for graham cracker crust and use your cooled crackers as a 1:1 substitute.
I’ve used these graham crackers to make graham cracker crusts for regular pies as well as no bake free-from desserts. I combine the crackers with melted dairy free butter and sometimes something else to give it a little oomph like cinnamon, nutmeg, or even molasses. If you jazz up the crust, choose flavouring agents that match the filling.
Is it OK to cool the graham crackers on a cooling rack?
No. Let crackers cool on the tray, rather than cool on a wire rack, for the best results. Often times in free-from baking, carryover cooking is part of the process. The extra time on the hot tray allows your graham crackers to finish cooking, without burning.
If you were to cool on a wire rack, all of that open air would stop the cooking process. Now, once the graham crackers are cooled, if you need to use a stacked wire rack to save space or something, that’s fine.
I only need dairy free. Can I use whole wheat flour in this recipe?
Personally, I’ve not worked with whole wheat flour since I have a kiddo allergic to wheat. In theory, when making these graham crackers, you could swap my gluten free flour blend with AP flour. I’d hesitate giving you a green light on whole wheat flour since it can behave differently.
Since you don’t need to make your graham crackers gluten-free, I’d almost want to tell you to follow a standard recipe instead, that uses your flour of choice, then swap the milk components as a 1:1 (vegan butter is a 1:1 swap for cow’s milk butter). Usually a recipe would only call for butter (no milk, cream, etc.).
Either way, enjoy your graham crackers!
How can I make these vegan graham crackers?
You can substitute the honey with organic maple syrup to have vegan graham crackers. Just be sure to manage your expectations and know that they’ll taste a little different. It won’t be bad, just different.
Alternatively, you can follow this grain free, truly corn free vegan graham cracker recipe I have on my RAISE membership website.
Do these function like traditional graham crackers?
You know me, I’m always transparent about recipes. Yes and no. When it comes to a traditional graham cracker, they’re a lot thinner than what you’ll get with a homemade gluten free dairy free graham cracker recipe. Additionally, the crisp/crunch factor will be different.
However, these have a fantastic graham cracker flavor, have a satisfying crunch, can be used to make gluten-free graham cracker crust, you can use use it for a gluten free allergy friendly gingerbread house, and so on.
I’d liken this to gluten free bread. Is it just like traditional bread? No. We don’t have gluten and it’s a pretty magical component (think: gluten window). We’ll never get that free-from. Yet! gluten free bread can be just as delicious, doesn’t have to be tiny, can be made in all sorts of flavours, and so on.
So, different, but still delicious gluten-free graham crackers.
Should I use a gluten free all purpose flour with xanthan gum?
Fun fact: I’ve never worked with those types of gluten-free flour blends due to my severe corn allergy. 99.99% of xanthan is corn derived, so it’s not an option over here. What I can tell you is that gluten-free flour blends with xanthan can have a better texture in the long run, but that’s IF you don’t know how to properly blend gluten free flours.
In my case, the recipe I’m sharing today is properly blended, so you don’t need xanthan to make things better. However, if you plan on baking a lot, and don’t want to flour blend each time, you should give it a try and compare it to an AP flour without gum, like the one from Better Batter.
Ultimately, it’s not a question of should you, it’s a question of do YOU like it??
Can I use cassava flour in place of the gluten free flour mix?
No. In this recipe, cassava flour will not work as a 1:1 swap for my gluten free flour blend. If you need to use cassava flour, please use this truly corn free, grain free graham cracker recipe instead on my RAISE Membership website.
Could I swap the arrowroot starch for corn starch?
When you make these GF graham crackers, in theory, you should be able to use corn starch, tapioca starch, or potato starch in place of the arrowroot starch. However, I’ve not personally tested this swap, so make it at your own risk.
I’m also deathly allergic to corn and have never baked with it, so again, in theory you’ll have free-from success.
Can I use white sugar in place of the maple sugar?
Technically, yes, you could use white sugar (personally I’d use caster sugar), however, you’ll lose some flavour if you make that swap. Sugars like maple, date, and coconut have more depth, which helps in the long run. The same is true of light brown sugar due to its molasses content.
However, in the case of light brown sugar, if you were to make that swap, you’d no longer have the right amount of sweetness in your gluten free graham crackers because cane sugar reads as SWEET when compared to unrefined sweeteners. The same will be true of white sugar. So, the function will be there, but the taste and sweetness will be off.
Only make this swap if you absolutely must, and also adjust your expectations.
Would coconut oil work in place of the dairy free butter?
This isn’t something I’ve personally tested, however, this isn’t the worst swap idea either when it comes to butter substitutes. Since coconut oil and dairy free butter are both solid at room temperature, in theory, you can make that swap. However, coconut oil has a real taste, so if you’re not a huge fan, I don’t think you’ll like it.
For the best results, I’d suggest cutting the recipe in half and trying it first, so you don’t waste your expensive ingredients (in case you don’t like it). In terms of function though, you should be able to get away with this substitution.
Can I use these in a cheesecake crust like store-bought graham crackers?
This is the perfect recipe for that! Just last week I was thinking about using leftover gluten free dairy free graham crackers for a no-bake cheesecake crust. You’ll want to follow a typical graham cracker crust recipe, and use these instead. Do the whole, melted butter, shaping the crust process, and the end results will be fabulous. And delicious.
Could I shape the graham crackers with a cookie cutter?
Like sugar cookie dough and holiday shortbread cookies, these graham crackers can totally be shaped. You’ll want to roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, remove the top piece, then use your cookie cutters. Personally, I’d remove the dough from around the shape, rather than try to lift a cutout.
I’d also chill dough that’s been shaped before baking so the final result is as close to the cutout as possible. I’d also recommend avoiding tiny shapes, or cookie cutters with thin sticks (like an elephant’s trunk or unicorn’s horn).
Can I use almond flour in place of the oat flour?
When it comes to the gluten-free flour in this particular recipe, I don’t suggest that swap. Almond flour has a very specific behaviour that’s not been accounted for.
Now, if that’s your only option, I’d advise cutting the recipe in half and trying the swap. Test bake two graham crackers to make sure you don’t need more almond flour, and go from there. Just remember, you’re making this swap at your own risk as it’s not one I would personally make. If I were in that boat, I’d start with a graham cracker recipe that was designed for almond flour, rather than adapt.
Can I bake these on a cookie sheet?
So, technically, no, you shouldn’t bake these gluten free dairy free graham crackers on a cookie sheet. Most people use the terms baking sheet, baking tray, and cookie sheet interchangeably. However, baking tray and baking sheet are pretty much the same thing whilst official cookie sheets have little holes in them to promote better airflow. This in turn alters the final texture of your delicious cookies.
So, in this case, we want a solid large baking tray, not a sheet with tiny holes all over.
Could I make this recipe in my stand mixer?
Personally, I’ve not tested this recipe in a stand mixer, so I’m going to err on the side of maybe. Anytime you use cold butter in a recipe, it’s usually better to use your food processor because it cuts it into your flour mixture.
However, you could do this by hand with a pastry cutter and a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, if you have the pastry attachment for your stand mixer, I think it’s worth trying at least once. Happy baking!
Will this recipe work for graham cracker crumbs?
Yes! After you’ve made your gluten free dairy free graham crackers, allow them to cool completely. From there, you can blitz them in your food processor to get the desired size crumb. Anytime you’re doing something like that, make sure you pulse. If you full on process, you may have dust really quickly when in reality you wanted crumbs.
Can I use dairy free milk instead of water in the wet ingredients?
Sure, you can use any kind of dairy free milk (oat milk, almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, etc.) in place of the water. However, it’s not necessary, and it isn’t going to make your gluten free dairy free graham crackers suddenly taste so much better that you’re like… I can hear the angels singing.
