Whether you call them soda crackers or saltines, you’ve got to admit that a crispy saltine cracker is the best accompaniment to soup ever created. This homemade recipe is quick, easy, and so unbelievably buttery!
Ok, I’ll admit that I also like the fact that I can make them in any shape I want to. There’s nothing like really pretty crackers to go with a huge, steaming bowl of homemade soup!
Shopping List
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Butter
- Milk
- Coarse salt crystals
- Eggs
You’ll also need a heavy cookie sheet, silpat or parchment, and cutters in any shape or size that you want your homemade crackers to be.
Saltines or Soda Crackers?
Do you call them soda crackers or saltine crackers? My mom called them soda crackers so I always thought it was a Midwest thing (she was born in Michigan) but I’ve read recently that they are saltines in the United States and soda crackers in Great Britain.
Personally I don’t care what they are called, hand me a stick of butter and a plateful of crackers and I’ll be happy. Serious comfort food for me!
A Little Cracker History
Crackers have had a place in history since well before the Israelites headed out of Egypt with all of their earthly goods and a couple of matzahs.
There were variations on that theme for centuries but it was in 1801 that crackers finally got a name.
Josiah Bent of Massachusetts was baking biscuits one day when he got distracted. By the time he returned to his oven the biscuits were crispy.
Josiah did not want to admit he’d screwed up so he called them crackers because of the crackling sound they made. And that, my friends, is how crackers came to be — the result of one man’s pride.
Of course, those crackers of long ago were nothing like their bland namesakes that line the store shelves today. Once you get this recipe down you will never, I repeat never, want to go back. You can vary the flour, herbs, and other ingredients to get unique cracker flavors.
Yum.
FAQs
You can cut these homemade saltine crackers into animal, fish or any shapes you like with small cookie cutters.
…And you might try adding finely grated cheese with your dry ingredients for homemade Goldfish…
These crackers are fabulous, and they will last a long time, but they do require airtight storage or they will lose their crispness. Zipper bags are o.k. but for the best storage get a good quality, air tight food grade storage container.
Are saltines bad for you?
No, actually they are good for settling your stomach if you are nauseated. Of course, if your doctor has asked you to lower your salt intake you may want to stay away from them. Here’s what Medline has to say about it…
Why are there holes in them?
You poke holes in them before baking to keep the crackers from bubbling up – it keeps them crisp.
How do you store homemade crackers?
Store crackers in an airtight bag, or glass or plastic container in a dark, cool pantry. Homemade saltines may get soft and need to be crisped up a few minutes in the oven.
How do you crisp up crackers?
Preheat the oven to 400F and spread the crackers in a single layer on a heavy cookie sheet. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully.
Tips
Looking for some insider tips for making those old fashioned soda crackers you’ve been craving? Here they are –
Experience Level: Intermediate -Some baking experience required
- Use all-purpose flour. Bread flour has too much protein and the texture won’t be right.
- Throw away the scraps of dough after cutting – they will be tough if you re-roll them.
- Cut saltine crackers into uniform shapes so that they cook evenly. A cookie cutter is great for this.
- You don’t have to prick the crackers as much as the store bought ones but a few well placed jabs with a fork or toothpick will help them bake crisp.
- Leave a little room between each cracker when you bake to keep them crispy all over.
- Bake the crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet. There’s enough butter in the crackers to keep them from sticking once they’ve baked completely… or…
- Roll out and bake the crackers on parchment paper.
- Store in an airtight container. Homemade crackers can get soft easier than commercial crackers, so…
- Crisp them up in the oven for a few minutes if necessary.
- A quick brush of egg white wash (egg white + 1/2 teaspoon of water beaten) will help salt and other toppings stick.
- Once the crackers begin to brown watch them carefully!
- They are done when they are a golden brown on the edges and will crisp as they cool.
Step by Step Instructions
- Stir the flour and baking powder together along with any seasonings you’ll be adding.
- Cut in the butter.
- Continue cutting in the butter until it looks pebbly.
- Add milk.
- Stir well to make a dough that holds together.
- Gently knead the dough.
- Roll out in a rectangle.
- Cut and prick with a toothpick or fork.
- Brush with egg and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake, let cool, and enjoy those homemade crackers!!
You May Need
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What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you’ll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness! Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!
I collect vintage cookie cutters. Every time I am at an antique or thrift store and I see one I pick it up.I used a scalloped heart cutter for these. I looked and the closest I could find were these from Wilton.
Wilton 2308-4441 Nesting Heart Cookie Cutters, Set of 4
This pretzel salt works as well on homemade Saltine Crackers as it does on pretzels!
Salt, Pretzel Cut-1Lb-Larger and Lighter Crystals than other Salts
Cracker Recipe? You Need Soup Recipes, Too!
- Stuffed Pepper Soup gives you all the flavor of classic stuffed peppers but in a hearty soup that you can make on top of the stove or in your slow cooker!
- Gramma’s Potato Soup is an old fashioned favorite. Chunks of tender, buttery potato in a creamy, onion scented base will have the family waiting impatiently at the table, spoons in hand!
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup has all of your favorite Tex-Mex flavors in an easy to make dish that’s almost a stew! This quick dinner idea can be made on top of the stove in about 20 minutes or in the slow cooker where it can simmer all day long.
- Posole Verde is the best ending to a cold, rainy day. Tender chicken, chewy hominy, and plenty of southwestern spices and herbs come together in this spicy, brothy soup to create a mouthful of magic.
- Mexican Street Corn Soup has all of that spicy, tangy, creamy goodness stirred into the best corn chowder you ever tasted!
- Spicy Lentil Soup is yummy comfort food with a kick from chipotle. Lime adds a zap of bright flavor. Easy to make and easy on the budget!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Saltines
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour, (all purpose, bread, whole wheat or a mixture- be creative)
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk
- Salt crystals for sprinkling
- 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon water OR 1 egg white + 1 tablespoon water, , beaten together for egg wash.
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and butter .
- If you are adding seasonings mix those in with the dry ingredients.
- Cut butter into flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk and knead to form a ball.
- Divide in 4 parts and roll out paper thin on a floured surface. The thinner they are the crisper they will be.
- Cut the dough into squares or desired shapes. (a pizza wheel works great for that!)
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and prick all over with a fork.
- Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt (or cracked pepper ..or..)
- Bake at 325 until golden brown..about 15- 20 minutes. (check after 10 minutes)
- Let cool before serving. They crisp as they cool.
Notes
- Use all-purpose flour. Bread flour has too much protein and the texture won’t be right.
- Throw away the scraps of dough after cutting – they will be tough if you re-roll them.
- Cut saltine crackers into uniform shapes so that they cook evenly. A cookie cutter is great for this.
- You don’t have to prick the crackers as much as the store bought ones but a few well placed jabs with a fork or toothpick will help them bake crisp.
- Leave a little room between each cracker when you bake to keep them crispy all over.
- Bake the crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet. There’s enough butter in the crackers to keep them from sticking once they’ve baked completely… or…
- Roll out and bake the crackers on parchment paper.
- Store in an airtight container. Homemade crackers can get soft easier than commercial crackers, so…
- Crisp them up in the oven for a few minutes if necessary.
- A quick brush of egg white wash (egg white + 1/2 teaspoon of water beaten) will help salt and other toppings stick.
- Once the crackers begin to brown watch them carefully!
- They are done when they are a golden brown on the edges and will crisp as they cool.
Nutrition
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We’ll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published February 2012. Last updated February 2020 to add step by step images.
Deanne
I’m excited to stumble upon this recipe. I’m an American ex-pat living in the UK and I miss my saltines. They don’t have them over here under either name (neither saltines nor soda crackers). I look forward to giving this recipe a go. My soups have been so lonely. LOL
Marye Audet
🙂 The only thing I’d be careful of is the humidity? The crackers soak up moisture pretty fast so definitely keep them in an airtight container – you might need to crisp them up in the oven.
Angela
I’ve never understood people that don’t follow the RECIPE, change it up and THEN rate it… You’re rating yourself at that point not the creator of said recipe. At any rate I am making these tonight FOLLOWING the ACTUAL recipe…. I shall return with mine ?
P.s I almost forgot, would parchment change how they bake? Ie… Not allow them to be as crispy? I was going to roll them directly on it for easy transfer to cookie sheet and don’t want to mess up the crispiness by assuming it would be fine. Thank you in advance! ?
Marye Audet
Thanks Angela – LOL! Umm I’ve never tried on parchment but it should work fine.
Tiffany
How long would these last before they go bad (in a container or plastic baggie)?
Marye Audet
They’ve never lasted more than a day or two here before they’re eaten. 🙂
Rachel
I don’t get the comments on here. These are fantastic, easy, and a staple in our household.
Thank you for sharing!
Marye Audet
Thanks so much, Rachel! I am glad you like them!
Cynthia
I should probably know this but when it says serves 36 does that mean 36 crackers? Or how many crackers per person? I am really not OCD just a bit confused on this terminology when reading cracker recipes. 😉
Marye Audet
It depends on how big you make them? If you get 36 crackers then it’s 1 cracker per person. If you cut with a smaller cutter and get 72 crackers then it’s 2 crackers per person.
Cynthia
Thanks for the quick response. I guess I wasn’t clear but I get it now. A serving equals one cracker! Trying these tonight for a neighborhood soup night, will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!
Looking for plain cracker recipes
You say that crackers have been around since the Israelites left Egypt. Please be advised that the Israelites made quick, unleavened flatbread, matzo, of nothing but flour and water, and both baking powder and eggs are not allowed… and even the unleavened dough itself mustn’t be wet for more than eighteen minutes before it is baked, or it starts rising from natural yeast on the flour (a principle in making sourdough), and wouldn’t be considered kosher for Passover (you did refer to the Israelites fleeing Egypt). And be careful about adding dairy: in Jewish tradition, that would mean these crackers couldn’t be served alongside a meat meal. I’m guessing you’re neither Jewish, nor an informed Gentile. Don’t give up your day job!
Marye Audet
PMS much? All I said was…”Crackers have had a place in history since well before the Israelites headed out of Egypt with all of their earthly goods and a couple of matzahs.” There are all kinds of crackers and I wasn’t planning on giving a lesson in Jewish history or cookery. This is my day job, by the way. 😉 AND you probably don’t want to place any shekels down on that guess.
JJ Johnson
Seriously… Anonymous “Looking for cracker recipes” (couldn’t even put your name, coward) you’re going to take something SO out of context to rattle on about how knowledgeable you are about the Jewish tradition. Congratulations, you made a fool out of yourself for being pompous and arrogant. I took it, after reading Marye’s words, were that that’s where CRACKERS date back from. Not about what’s in them and if they are kosher and on and on and on. Just settle down… Geeez…
BTW Marye… the crackers were wonderful 😉
Marye Audet
Thank you. I am SO glad you liked them. 🙂
Gregg
What an absolute idiot!
Oh, and, this is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing. Too bad we have fools like this idiot out there that can even try a recipe before making some stupid comment!
sam
Made these just today, had some trouble getting it thin enough (very elastic dough) but did better once I worked with smaller portions of dough and rolled with my hands on the center of my rolling pin versus the handles (more weight/pressure applied). I used a frosting piping tip (opposite end) to make little “oyster” crackers. I’d recommend a cookie cutter over a pizza cutter or knife for better consistency (I used the later with varying size crackers that were harder to bake evenly.
They are alright flavor wise, not much flavor but not inedible, I made some with regular table salt and some with coarse sea salt (all I had) the sea salt was the winner, but overall I think next time I will add 2 more tablespoons of butter for a bit more flavor and a softer easier to roll dough. I’m also going to use the whites for the egg wash, I did the yolk and water and got pretty dark results, using a white should leave a lighter color.
Overall it’s a simple recipe, easy to make your own, but tedious ( as cracker making can be haha, “roll-cut-place-poke-wash-salt-repeat!” )
Marye Audet
The dough shouldn’t have been elastic at all – the butter is cut in like in biscuit dough and then gently kneaded until the ball sticks together – only a few strokes. I’m sorry the recipe didn’t come out as good as you expected… but it sounds like you had too much flour and too much handling of the dough.
Angie
I have enjoyed reading your recipe and cracker post. I am looking for a crispy pizza crust. All I have tried seem to be chewy instead of crispy so I am wondering if your cracker recipe might work for crispy pizza crust. Any thought on this?
Marye Audet
I don’t think so because it would absorb moisture from the sauce. I’d suggest making a pizza dough with no oil and using water as the only liquid… then rolling it very thin and baking it in a hot oven, on a preheated pizza stone if you have one. THEN put the sauce and cheese on and bake again at 375 until the cheese is melty.
James Lotz
The secret to a good crispy pizza crust is using low protien flour hydrated at about 50%.
Try this. 16oz all purpose flour, 1/2 Tbsp yeast, 8 oz water, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1 Tbsp oil.
Kneed until smooth (10 minutes) dough will be stiff and dry, put dough in a plastic bag and rest in the fridge for 24 hours. This will develop flavor and further hydrate the dough.
This was the procedure back when I worked at pizza hut years ago.
Jennifer S Dzikowski
Quick question…making these today :). Do you use cold butter? Just softened? Also, do you think they really taste just like saltines?
Marye Audet
I use cold butter and yes I do! Sorry – I was getting my hair done today so wasn’t at the computer. Oh, and yes, if you want to use salted butter that’s fine.
NANCY
This looks like such a fun recipe to try. Thanks, Marye. I surely will try it because I buy the saltines to make cracker candy, which maybe doesn’t sound all that exciting but it is delish not to mention addicting.
Marye Audet
It sounds wonderful!
Tracy Goode
Tried these today. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I could not get them thin enough. I ended up with what my son called “flat, salty biscuits.” Not bad with peanut butter, but not quite what I was looking for. I’ll try again, but still…
Marye Audet
I don’t know, Tracy, did you try flattening them between 2 sheets of waxed paper? That can help.
Tracy Goode
I’ll have to try that next time. That would probably also make it easier to move them to the baking sheet.
Marye Audet
It probably will. Good luck!
amy
try your pasta maker
Marye Audet
Great idea!
Natasha
These do not taste like the saltine crackers you can buy, not even a little bit . My daughter is sick and only can stomach crackers. I used Mickey Mouse cookie cutters so the were cute. But they taste not very good to us. The little sicko said “Mommy, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but…”. in all fairness this may be because of the type of flour I used. I grind my flour fresh and used einkorn berries for these “crackers”. The first batch was horrid, and stuck to my non-stick cookie sheet. So I sprayed the pan before the next batch and added extra salt and they were better, came right off the sheet but still didn’t taste as good as the store bought ones (according to my girl, too). The third batch I wanted to try something else because I didn’t think we could eat all of these crackers as they were. So I oiled the pan and sprinkled with salt again, this time I added coconut sugar and cinnamon, and then sprayed a light mist of coconut oil over the top of them. Still not very good. Will not attempt this again. Happy Holidays
Marye Audet
Natasha – I am sorry you didn’t have good luck with them… When they are made according to the recipe they do taste very much like the ones from the store. White, all purpose flour does work the best.
Beckinoz
I can’t believe comments like this! You add your own flavours instead of making it like the recipe says and then say they don’t taste like store bought, why even bother? You really shouldn’t try making these again if you are going to alter the recipe so much.
JJ Johnson
Amen….Beckinoz. I see it on many websites in comments ripping the recipe to shreds and they made the recipe with nothing that resembles ANY of the ingredients. It’s really unfortunate that they don’t have enough common sense to think to themselves “hmmm…I guess MY version with the different flour just didn’t work out right. Next time I’ll try the recipe as WRITTEN” and then decide whether to comment. Just sayin’….;-)
Pats
Hi, Marye, This recipe looks wonderful and I can’t wait to try it. I did notice, though, that it gave calorie counts but no amount to which that count applies. I’m working on losing weight but my method is to…count calories. Can you help?
Thanks!
Pat
Marye Audet
Well, it all depends on what size cutter you use… the entire recipe has 2743 calories so you can divide that by how many crackers you get out of the recipe. This was based on 40 crackers. 🙂
judy
can i do these with milk substitute (soy) and margarine due to dairy allergy?
Marye Audet
That should be fine.
Liluma
These were pretty good hard to roll out so thin but I used my pasta attachment on my Kitchenaid and it was much easier. Just use small batches enough flour so it doesn’t stick. We had them in soup, I have little veggie cutters that I might try to make oyster crackers. Thanks!!!
Marye Audet
That’s odd. It sounds like the dough was too stiff?
Marye Audet
🙂 I love them, too!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
Homemade saltines in heart shapes – what an adorable idea! My husband is addicted to matzo. Bet he’d love these, especially sprinkled with herbs.
Marye Audet
MMM…. that sounds good!
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife
My son loves saltine crackers but I’ve never made them at home. I can’t wait to try this recipe! Can you really use any type of flour? Which is your favorite to use? Thanks!
Marye Audet
you really can, at least everything I’ve tried has worked. It’s a good idea to go 50/50 with white flour though if you are using another flour. Especially the first time. I love the classic white flour ones… also white/whole wheat/rye… about 50/30/20
Sara
What a great idea to make saltines from scratch – it sounds like the perfect project for me to do with the kids!
Marye Audet
Oh it absolutely is!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
This sounds fabulous. I one time had someone make fun of me because I made my own crackers. Doesn’t everyone? LOL I can’t wait to try this. Printing and Pinning.
Marye Audet
Thanks Renee! Let me know what you think.
Ali @ Home & Plate
I have always just store bought because I thought it would be hard to make. Your recipe looks totally doable. Will have to give this a try.
Marye Audet
It is very easy. Let me know what you think. 🙂
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection
Those heart-shaped crackers are adorable!
Jennifer A Stewart
I am digging this recipe because my oldest son eats so many saltine crackers it is not even funny. I loved that they started to package them in the smaller “fresh packs” so you didn’t have to bag up the rest of the sleeve but if I make my own now I won’t have to worry about that. Plus I can control the amount of salt:)
Thanks!
Kristen
I love the idea of homemade crackers; you get to decide what ingredients go into them so they are not only tastier, but better for you! I love the cute shapes you used, too!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet
It never would have occurred to me to make homemade saltines, these are awesome!
Jodee
Do you store them in a covered container in the cupboard after baking? How long will the saltines keep?
marye
You can store them in an airtight container in the pantry. Frankly, they only last a day or so here because they get gobbled up sp I dont know how long they would keep. At least a week.