These quinoa crackers are a spin on Mary’s Gone Crackers. They are a combination of quinoa and seeds, resulting in a cracker with a rich, earthy flavor and a satisfying crunch. These quinoa crackers are vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), grain-free (gluten-free), soy-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free.
I don’t remember the last time I bought crackers in the store. Healthy crackers are one of those pantry staples I make almost exclusively at home. However, if I’m traveling or just don’t have the energy to make my own (yes, it does happen), I buy Mary’s Gone Crackers.
These crackers have a rich nutty flavor – despite not containing any nuts – and a satisfying crunchy texture. They also contain only a few wholesome ingredients – brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, sesame seeds, tamari, and sea salt. Mary’s Gone Crackers come in different varieties and flavors, but my favorite remains the Original.
These quinoa crackers are inspired by Mary’s Gone Crackers, although they are based entirely on quinoa and seeds. Of course, if you want to use brown rice, you can swap some of the quinoa for brown rice.
Tips for Making Quinoa Crackers
Ingredients
- Quinoa: this quinoa crackers recipe calls for cooked quinoa; no flour. I prefer white quinoa because it has the mildest and the lightest texture, but red quinoa or black quinoa will work too.
- Flax seeds: whole flax seeds serve as a binder here. I use brown flax seeds for a pop of color, but you could also use golden ones.
- Sesame seeds: sesame has a wide range of varieties, but white and black seeds are the most popular. In general, white sesame seeds bring a mild, nutty, slightly sweet, flavor, while black sesame seeds have a bolder flavor and more striking aroma. If you don’t have sesame seeds, hemp seeds or even poppy seeds will work as a substitute.
- Salt: my favorite Mary’s Gone Crackers are the original ones with just salt, so that’s what I’m using in these quinoa crackers. Of course, you could add herbs, spices, or even dried seaweed (one of the Mary’s Gone Crackers varieties does indeed contain seaweed).
How to Make Quinoa Crackers
- Process the quinoa. Add the quinoa and salt into a food processor and process it until a dough begins to form. If the quinoa is too dry and the mixture isn’t coming together, add a little bit of water, 1 Tbsp./15 ml at a time, until the quinoa begins to form a ball. I find that if I use freshly cooked, warm quinoa, I don’t need to add any extra water. If I use cold (refrigerated) quinoa that was cooked the day prior, I need to add up to ¼ cup/60 ml of water.
- Pulse in the seeds. Add the flax seeds and sesame seeds and pulse until well combined.
- Roll out the dough. Divided the dough in half. Place the first half of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Place the center of your rolling pin on the center of the disk. Press firmly into the dough, rolling towards yourself and away from you. Repeat until the dough is about ⅛ inch/3 mm thin. Rolling the dough evenly is particularly important. If the dough is thicker in some places and thinner in others, the crackers will bake unevenly, and some may burn or not quite crisp up.
- Cut out round shapes. Remove the top layer of parchment paper. Using a round cookie cutter – mine is 2 inches/5 cm in diameter, cut out round shapes, cutting shapes as close to one another as possible to prevent extra scraps and extra rerolling. Alternatively, you can just scoop out 1 tsp. amounts of dough, roll it into balls, and press down to form a disc.
- Bake. Using a knife or a thin spatula, carefully transfer each cutout onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them at 325°F/163°C until crispy and golden brown, for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool. Transfer the crackers onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
How to Store Quinoa Crackers
- Storing at room temperature: transfer the crackers into an airtight container and store them in a cool, dry, and dark place for up to 1 week.
- Refrigerating: transfer the crackers into an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 1 month.
- Freezing: transfer the crackers into an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Healthy Crackers Recipes
If you are looking for more healthy crackers recipes, try some of the seed crackers below:
- Flaxseed crackers: these crackers are perhaps the most popular on the blog. They are made entirely from flaxseed meal, so other than being slightly nutty, they are also very neutral in flavor. Flax seeds are a weak binder, but since there are no ingredients to bind (other than the flax seeds themselves), the crackers are quite sturdy.
- Flackers: crackers made entirely from whole flax seeds. They are nutty and incredibly crunchy – similar to sesame brittle but without the sweetness.
- Nut & seed crackers: my absolute favorite seed crackers. Nutty, crunchy, and because the main binder is psyllium – a strong binder – the crackers are also very sturdy.
- Seed crackers: the flavor of these crackers is very similar to these nut & seed crackers – neutral and slightly nutty. However, the texture is very different – these seed crackers are light and delicate (while nut & seed crackers are quite sturdy).
- Chia seed crackers: if you’re looking for seed crackers with a bread-like texture, this recipe is it! These crackers have a slightly sweet, nutty flavor and a crunchy, bread-like texture. They are also sturdy enough to scoop up the thickest dip.
If you try any of these recipes, please, leave a comment and rate the recipe below. It always means a lot when you do.
Quinoa Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- salt , to taste
Instructions
- Process the quinoa. Add the quinoa and salt into a food processor and process it until a dough begins to form. If the quinoa is too dry and the mixture isn't coming together, add a little bit of water, 1 Tbsp./15 ml at a time, until the quinoa begins to form a ball.
- Pulse in the seeds. Add the flax seeds and sesame seeds and pulse until well combined.
- Roll out the dough. Divided the dough in half. Place the first half of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Place the center of your rolling pin on the center of the disk. Press firmly into the dough, rolling towards yourself and away from you. Repeat until the dough is about ⅛ inch/3 mm thin. Rolling the dough evenly is particularly important. If the dough is thicker in some places and thinner in others, the crackers will bake unevenly, and some may burn or not quite crisp up.
- Cut out round shapes. Remove the top layer of parchment paper. Using a round cookie cutter - mine was 2 inches/15 cm in diameter - cut out round shapes. Cut the shapes as close to one another as possible to prevent extra scraps and extra rerolling.
- Bake. Using a knife or a thin spatula, carefully transfer each cutout onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them at 325°F/163°C until crispy and golden brown, for ...
- Cool. Transfer the crackers onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
- Store. Leftover crackers keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. For longer-term storage, refrigerate the crackers in an airtight container for up to 1 month or freeze them for up to 3 months.
hello Petra,
thank you for this recipe, just what we need right now! Is it possible for me to use chia seed instead of the flax? And if so, I saw you mentioned on another cracker post that chia is almost 3 times stronger than flax seeds. Should I reduce the 1/4 cup flax seeds by a third if using chia?
Thank you for your help
Hi Tash – yes, you can use chia seeds instead. Since the crackers contain such a small amount of water, you can just use 1/4 cup of chia seeds. I know exactly what you are referring to, though. If the dough contained more water, I would tell you to reduce the amount of chia seeds, but in this case, it is fine to use the same amount of chia seeds as flax seeds.
Hello Petra,
Thank you for your help regarding the chia seed supplementation. I used the 1/4 cup chia seeds instead of the flax and they turned out wonderfully!
Next time I will also add some spices and or herbs to see how they go as well.
Thank you so much Petra, much appreciated!
Awesome! So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
Very yummy and super easy!
Thank you so much for the great feedback, Amy!
Hi Petra, Is there any way to make this without a food processor? I don’ have one here in
Ecuador..
Hi Peggy – I have never tried it, but if I had to make this recipe without a food processor, I would cook the quinoa a little longer (so it breaks down easier) and then use a potato masher/my hands to break it down completely. I am not sure if you can get it to a dough-like consistency without a food processor though. Please, let me know how it goes if you try it.
Hello Petra,
These came out good but I think I rolled them too thin they are delicious, super crispy but fragile. To boost the flavor I blended in fresh coriander. Even rolled out so thinly, they still took quite a while to dry out. Next time I might try making them thicker, but I expect thicker ones would take even longer to bake through?
Hi Emilye – yes, thicker ones would take longer to bake, but you can definitely make them thicker. I typically aim for the same thickness as Mary’s Gone Crackers 🙂