Grain-free crackers. Buttery, light, and paired with the wonderful aroma of garlic and rosemary, these grain-free crackers are the answer to one of my most typical conundrums: What do I do with this lovely paté? You know what I’m talking about, right? So many delicious, nutrient-rich dips and spreads require something equally healthy and nourishing to spread them on. Enter today’s hero: Grain-Free Garlic Rosemary Crackers.
This recipe for grain-free crackers is shared by Shannon Stonger of Nourishing Days, author of the beautiful book Simple Food {For Winter}. Simple Food {For Winter} is the first of four seasonal cookbooks by Shannon that emphasize Real Food and sustainable living. And it’s gorgeous. It contains 30 grain-free recipes, full-color photos, and three highly readable essays on keeping food simple and nourishing during the dark days of winter.
From the book:
My food philosophy is simple: eat God-given food that you could produce in your own backyard. My cooking philosophy is simpler – use what you have. I develop recipes when I am inspired by what I see in my pantry or in my garden or have a basic need for simple food. Using roasted garlic to flavor a squash soup hit me as I looked at our empty garlic beds in November. Bean soups flavored with little more than bacon and onions are born from a need for easy, nourishing, frugal food.
Amen. Keeping food simple is a big part of why these recipes are grain-free. Again, from Shannon’s own words in the book:
I do not believe grains are the cause of all health problems nor do I believe excluding them from the diet is necessary for everyone. I just don’t include them very often when I am cooking. For one, members of our family have avoided grains at various times for health reasons. This has taught me to cook grain-free so that those who want to avoid grains can sit at the table with those who want a big hunk of bread. Secondly, if we are speaking in terms of eating what we preserve, we have yet to attempt growing grains and they can be hard to find locally. These crops are usually grown in very large quantities in some far off place where we can never know if the soil contains its necessary nutrients. And if you’ve ever bought “organic” grains from the bulk bins of your local health food store you may be surprised to know that many of the 50 lb bags they come in are marked “product of China.” I know I was, and it has made me think twice about whether it is something I want to spend our money on.
Thank you, Shannon for sharing this recipe for Grain-Free Garlic Rosemary Crackers and Simple Food {For Winter} with us!
Grain-Free Garlic Rosemary Crackers
Grain-Free Crackers: The Players
- 4 cups almond flour/meal (where to buy almond flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (where to buy real sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chopped, dried rosemary
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter or olive oil (where to find REAL olive oil)
Grain-Free Crackers: The How-To
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking sheet liberally.
2. In a medium-sized bowl stir together almond meal, sea salt, garlic powder, and dried rosemary.
3. In a small bowl beat eggs. Whisk in butter or olive oil.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix well with a fork. Knead a few times in the bowl until dough comes together well. Form the dough into a circle.
5. Liberally butter a baking sheet. Place the dough circle on the cookie sheet and press the dough into the buttered baking sheet, working from the center out. Keep working to spread the dough as thin and evenly as possible. Make peace with the fact that it will not be perfectly even and then finish as well as possible.
6. Once you are satisfied with the job use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares. Then use a fork to poke each cracker twice.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Place on a cooling rack. If your dough wasn’t perfectly thin (and that’s pretty likely) remove the outer (thinner, browner) crackers and place the crackers in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until crisp and firm.
To buy Shannon’s Simple Food {For Winter} book (a steal at just $10!), click here.
(photos by Shannon Stonger)
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Perfect timing! I made my first ever batch of pate a couple of days ago and dipping celery and carrots in it just wasn’t cutting it! 🙂 These sound amazing.
Oh glad you like the book, Kristen, and thanks for sharing this post!
what is a sub for almond flour? my son has a nut allergy
Maybe coconut flour? Although that is quite bitter, so you might want to add some sweetness into the crackers, too.
What about sunflower or shelled pumpkin seeds, if your kiddo can eat seeds? Just grind them up in a food processor to make into a flour.
Awesome!
Yum. Definitely going to try this!
Finally! A grain free cracker that isn’t made of phytoestrogen seeds (flax)! This one I intend to try. Thank you.
She says she doesn’t use grains because she doesn’t grow them but then uses almond flour as a substitute. I guess she must have an almond orchard in her back yard.
I can see how that comes across as contradictory, Sherri. When you take into account my earlier comments regarding the health reasons for why we do not eat a lot of grains perhaps that puts it in a better context. And honestly, we don’t eat these or other almond-based baked goods very often. Maybe once every couple of weeks at the most. And finally (phew I am long-winded), in our homestead planning we do plan on planting fruit and nut trees right away and would most likely have these before a crop of grains.
@Sherri — I read that as her talking about how she doesn’t have a local source for grains. I assume that she has one for almonds and almond flour/meal.
I was just thinking crackers again today. thanks
Can I make almond flour by pulsing almonds in my food processor until they are finely ground?
Yes, I’ve done that before.
It is very important to soak the almonds before using(8 hours) to make the nutrients available. Here is the article that explains why: http://www.westonprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/
I actually have a local source for wheat but not for almonds. Still have not been brave enough to ever make crackers.
@ Sherri – I can see how that comes across as contradictory, Sherri. When you take into account my earlier comments regarding the health reasons for why we do not eat a lot of grains perhaps that puts it in a better context. And honestly, we don’t eat these or other almond-based baked goods very often. Maybe once every couple of weeks at the most. And finally (phew I am long-winded), in our homestead planning we do plan on planting fruit and nut trees right away and would most likely have these before a crop of grains.
This is so bookmarked… hopefully I can get them made this weekend!
Showed my husband the recipe last night……actually first saw the photo and got quite excited. Even though almond flour is pricey I’ll definitely have to make these once in a while for him.
I think this recipe would be great switching the seasonings around…for different flavors. Like cinnamon / nutmeg, summer savory / majoram, and so many other combos. I see s’more’s in my hubby’s future!!
Looks very yummy! I’ll try this recipe as soon as I get home 😀
Oh, another gorgeous grain-free cookbook…hurray. That is always good news. I am a cookbook whore and eat mostly grain-free, so this is exciting.
I’m trying to go gluten free but have a serious weakness for bread and pasta. I mostly get alot of mucus and sinus congestion and not so much stomach or intestinal pain.
Every time I look at GF recipes they require large amounts of almond
flour. Isn’t anyone concerned about the large consumption of almonds over a period of time.
I just don’t feel a nut flour should be a sub for a grain. Is every one going to end up with an allergy to almonds after a few years?
I still plan to eliminate wheat, jsut concerned with everyone using so many almonds.
I’m doing a grain free detox myself and have found a few different grain free flours besides Almond.
Coconut flour, chestnut flour, sweet potato flour, tapioca, yucca flour and more. I’ll try the recipe with a mixture of these and experiment until I like the final product. Why not! Where do you get these flours? Bob’s Red Mill is one brand and Zocalo is a new one for the root veg flours. For Chestnut flour the health food store or possibly Italian specialty stores.
@Lori — You’re right that a lot of g-free recipes rely too heavily on nuts. It’s one reason why nut flours only make an appearance in my home about once a week. That said, I think you misunderstand how allergies form. It’s not because of being overexposed to particular foods. It’s because of a poor gut lining being undermined by our Western diet of refined grains, refined sugars, refined oils, denatured foods, non-living foods that used to be full of enzymes or beneficial bacteria but which we now cook or pasteurize, and anti-biotics, anti-microbials, toxins, etc. To end allergies we need to HEAL THE GUT, not just eliminate the foods we’re allergic to. Healing the gut CAN be done (particularly via diets like the GAPS Diet), but it takes patience and hard work.
@ Lori – I agree with the observation that we overuse things like almond flour. In our home baked goods made of almond flour are a treat – an exception, not the rule. I would not recommend eating almond flour baked goods every day. They are very heavy.
am i correct that coconut flour is ‘safe’ to use often?
I would be helped by an answer to Jacinda’s question, too. Although we aren’t GF, we do try to limit grains, and I have been using Coconut Flour for muffins/biscuits when I don’t have time to soak oat flour. Is this okay for use several times a week? or even just once a week? I can’t use nut products b/c my son has a tree-nut allergy. Thanks!
Jacinda – I think it is slightly less problematic than almond meal in larger doses, but it is extremely high in fiber so should be used cautiously. Maybe a small serving per day wouldn’t be too bad.
One thing about going grain-free is that when you do and don’t try to replace breads and other high-grain foods then you are eating super nutrient-dense with veggies, meats, good fats, etc.
@Food Renegade…..I absolutely concur with you on that about allergies. My husband has Celiac’s and a host of other digestive problems and he even says it’s because of the way he is diet was growing up causing his digestive health to go down hill so badly. He grew up on store bought canned, store frozen highly salted frozen pot pies and jello amongst other things. Nothing that gave his gut a good healthy bacterial flora.
These look so delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
What about the idea that almonds are hard to digest?
They should be soaked and dried first when using whole fresh almonds. I read that the almond flour usually poses less of a digestive issue because the almonds are first blanched.
That being said they ARE very calorie dense and as such should be eaten in small quantities. So, as others have pointed out here, definitely use them as a snack or treat food which you would have only occasionally.
I just made a batch. These are fantastic, thank you!
I had stewed free range chicken with carrtos, celery and fennel in a tomato sauce with a crunchy salad (lettuce, spinach, celery and purple cabbage) and a slice of homemade whole wheat bread.
I have no problem with grains, and since almonds are quite expensive I’ll try half almand + half whole wheat flour. They look great!
The rosemary grain-free crackers sound amazing! I had some anchovies (what was left in the tin), some grain-free granola, homemade soaked peanut butter, and some grass-fed beef stew. We were shooting cooking class videos so I was tasting and eating as we went along. Also tasted my first Root Beer Zero by Virgil’s — all natural, caffeine-free, and sweetened with stevia leaf — I LOVE it!
i JUST made these and they were DELICIOUS 😀 a bit crumbly but i rolled mine pretty thin… 1/2 a batch made about 20 crackers about 2mm thick…
UGH HEAVEN! had em with cheddar n butter! THANK YOU 🙂 🙂
I just made some Paleo hummus last night and was dying for some crackers! Can’t wait to try these today!
Glad I found this… Family is on a gluten free diet, always looking for new things to try. I think the kids will enjoy it as well. Thanks!
Yum! Just made these. This is a keeper unlike some other Paleo crackers I’ve attempted.
I’m thinking it might be easy to make these into a sweeter cracker, rather than savory. I was thinking of using a bit of honey and some cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger as flavoring. I’m always looking for something to give my kids as a treat that is grain free. Convenience foods for toddlers are awful and i’m trying so hard to make everything myself nowadays. If only i could get my daughter to eat anything! I’ll experiment and post back on a sweet “cracker”.
Is the book that includes this recipe by chance included in the winter book sale?
Just made these with ghee and they’re delicious! They have a slightly cheese-y flavour that I love, since I’m dairy intolerant and miss cheese terribly. Can’t wait to try them with some home-made pate. Thank you!
Almond flour is wonderful, but very expensive. Have you tried buckwheat? It’s gluten free and much more cost effective… and delicious. I add sunflower seeds and amaranth to expand upon the nutrition. Need to roll it out directly on the cookie sheet because it breaks apart easily
I’m cutting down on carbs & wonder if these have a lot of carbs
Can’t wait to make these crackers. Would be nice with the Thai coconut soup. 🙂
Susan Cottrell, sounds like a tasty meal to me!
Part of my problem, is that I don’t have any good recipes for dips…..just guac!
Alysia Siegel, problem solved! Check out this new dip recipe: https://www.foodrenegade.com/jalepeno-popper-recipe-imagine-dip/
We prefer to be called “Good White Folks”.
Just saw this link today and will be trying this recipe. I will make my own almond flour since any commercial almond flour is sourced from pasteurized almonds. Due to a salmonella outbreak in 2004, all commercially sold almonds must be pastuerized INCLUDING those labeled oragnic and RAW!! The only way to get truly raw almonds is to buy them directly from the grower or from overseas.
Can I substitute chick pea flour?
Nutrition panel avail?