If you’ve never tasted success with a gluten-free graham cracker crust recipe before, you have come to the right place. I’ve figured out simple tricks for making an incredible pie or cheesecake crust that actually holds together, slices beautifully, and will fool your toughest gluten-free critics. Get all the helpful, but super easy, tips right here!
True Story – I’m Now A gluten-free graham cracker crust lover!
When it comes to gluten-free baking, swapping out a speciality GF ingredient in a traditional recipe typically doesn’t yield the best results. Need a gluten-free graham cracker crust? Easy! Just swap out these ridiculously expensive and gritty GF crackers!
Uh. No. Thank. You. We deserve better people!
I have always been seriously disappointed in pre-packaged, “convenient” GF products, which led to my full endorsement of easy and affordable gluten-free pie crust alternatives. (Hello! Did you know making an oatmeal pie crust or almond flour crust is damn tasty and E-A-S-Y!)
A recent shopping trip got me thinking, though. There are a lot of gluten-free graham cracker brands…Surely, they all can’t all be evil. I love a taste-testing challenge, so it was game on.
When creating this recipe I wanted to avoid two pitfalls when it comes to making a gluten-free crust with graham crackers. Number one, using a quality GF cracker that isn’t ricey or gritty tasting. And number two, preparing and baking the crust so it doesn’t make you feel like you’re noshing on a bowl of loose sand.
Turns out making a seriously amazing gluten-free graham cracker crust recipe only took spending a small fortune on different gluten-free graham crackers (better me than you, right?) and adding a little magic ingredient to bind the baked crust beautifully.
It’s time to bring back all the gluten-free desserts we have been missing out on! Personally, I will be using this to make my famous gluten-free key lime pie and as a base for cheesecakes. What about you? Make sure to leave me a comment below and let me know!
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
Okay, this is where the most research came in. Obviously the brand of gluten-free graham crackers is essential, so I will go over that, as well as any additional ingredient modifications.
- Gluten-free graham crackers – See the list below for suggested brands. You will need 180 grams to make a gluten-free graham cracker pie crust recipe, so if two boxes are needed, that is also noted below.
- Butter – Using slightly more butter than other recipes holds the crust together, so be sure to use 5 full tablespoons. If you need a dairy-free crust, this can be swapped out with melted coconut oil or vegan butter.
- Granulated sugar – While other recipes use brown sugar, I find using white sugar makes the crust a little extra crispy because is contains less moisture.
- Binder (where the magic happens!) – Traditional crusts use crumbs, sugar, and butter but a gluten-free recipe needs a smidge of binder to hold the crust for slicing. I tested the recipe using 1 tablespoon of gluten-free flour, cornstarch and rice flour. All work well, so choose whatever floats your boat!
Gluten-free Graham cracker brands
- Nairn’s Oat Grahams – (Recommended) Lightly sweetened, wholesome oat taste, no grittiness, or displeasing texture. It’s great to eat on its own. It will be slightly under what you’ll need, but you could only purchase only one box for the recipe. Or just grab two and eat the extras. They’re delish!
- Schar Gluten-Free Honeygrams – (Recommended) Lighter, more tender like a graham cracker, good taste, but slight grittiness. You would need to purchase one box for the recipe.
- Simple Mills Sweet Thins Honey Cinnamon – Really great tasting to eat on its own, without grittiness. However, it is made with watermelon seed so I don’t think it would bind as well. Also one box contains only 120 grams, therefore two boxes would be needed for the recipe.
- Mary’s Gone Kookies Honey Grahams – Not very sweet, almost savory, so I suggest adding 1-2 tablespoons additional sugar. Also, one box is only 142 grams, so two boxes would need to be purchased.
- Kinnikinnick Graham Crackers – (Not recommended) Really ricey, gritty tasting and texture. They are very thick, which doesn’t work well for s’mores either. This brand also makes ready-to-use gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, but I wouldn’t suggest those either.
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Step 1 – Make the crumbs.
Yet another reason why a food processor makes my life easier. No sweat if you don’t have one, though. Simply place the crumbs in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Just make sure they are very fine!
Step 2 – Throw in the other stuff.
To the food processor add the sugar, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, and melted butter or dairy-free butter. Process to mix everything together well.
Step 3 – Dump, press, and bake.
Dump the mixture in your pie plate or baking dish (more on that below). Spread across the bottom and then press evenly with a measuring cup. As you get towards the edges, the leftover crumbs will push up. Use your hands to press around edges. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes. Cool and fill with whatever your gluten-free bursting heart desires!
Recommended baking pans
Options are good! Use this crust for your favorite pie recipes or bars. It makes enough for a 9 or 10-inch pie pan, tart pan, bottom of a springform pan, or 8X8-inch baking pan.
If using a springform pan or 8-inch baking dish, be sure to just press on the bottom, not up the sides. If using a 10-inch pie, tart, or springform pan, the crust will be slightly thinner so bake for 8-10 minutes.
To Bake or NoT tO Bake
When making a gluten-free pie, a baked graham cracker crust is the only way to go. Since the crackers don’t contain gluten, there is nothing to bind the mixture together. Using a little extra butter, a smidge of flour / cornstarch, and baking is the magic combination!
If you plan on using this for a no-bake pie, such as cheesecake, chocolate pudding, or ice box pies, go ahead and bake the crust then cool completely before adding your filling. Good news! It only needs to go in an oven for 10 minutes, so it’s still quick and easy!
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Magical Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
- 180 grams gluten-free graham crackers (or 1 ½ cups crumbs) Schar or Nairn's Oat Crackers recommended
- 5 tablespoons melted butter or dairy-free butter or melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free all purpose flour or cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. In a food processor add the graham crackers and process until very finely ground, about 1 minute. If you do not have a processor, crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Be sure they are very finely crushed, which helps bind the crust together.180 grams gluten-free graham crackers (or 1 ½ cups crumbs)
- To the crumbs add the butter, sugar, gluten-free flour, and cinnamon. Process again until very well and uniformly mixed. If making without a processor, transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl and stir all the ingredients together.5 tablespoons melted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon gluten-free all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dump the mixture into a 9 or 10-inch pie pan, tart pan, or bottom only of a springform pan. Press down firmly and evenly with the bottom of a measuring cup. As you get towards the edges, the excess crumbs will push up the sides. Use your hands to press around edges. (See how-to images in post.) Bake for 10 minutes and cool completely before filling.
Nutrition
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