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Satisfy your kids’ snack cravings with this healthy cracker recipe! This easy whole wheat cracker recipe has real cheese and delicious sweet potato for natural sweetness. They’re so easy and use wholesome ingredients you probably already have in your own kitchen!
Healthy Sweet Potato Crackers
With a little roasted sweet potato, these easy homemade crackers are healthier than the highly processed store-bought crackers that kids tend to love from the store.
They’re also naturally low sodium yet are full of flavour, and almost taste like Cheez-it crackers!
With their vibrant orange hue and cheesy flavour, you can’t go wrong with this healthy cracker recipe!
Why We Love This Healthy Cracker Recipe
- So easy: This homemade cracker recipe is so much easier than you’d expect. If you can mix a few simple ingredients together and roll them out, you can make these healthy crackers!
- Sneak in some vegetables: Although I don’t typically recommend hiding vegetables from your kids, it’s a good practice to just include as many veggies as possible for the extra nutrition and fibre.
- Delicious: My kids wouldn’t devour these if they weren’t good; these little crackers are a big hit in my house. You can make them into fun shapes too!
Sweet Potato Crackers
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Ingredient Notes
- Mashed sweet potato: This is a great way to add nutrients and moisture to this easy recipe while also using less flour.
- Finely grated parmesan cheese: There’s no fake cheese here, only real Parmesan cheese for a salty, savoury flavor.
- White whole wheat flour: Although you can certainly use all purpose flour, whole grains have more fibre to help regulate your kids’ digestive systems and keep them full for longer too.
- Olive oil: Choose a mild tasting olive oil, coconut oil, or softened butter to get that perfect crunchy texture.
- Salt: This is optional, but it helps draw out the flavour of the ingredients.
How to Make Homemade Crackers – Step-by-Step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the mashed sweet potato, grated parmesan, flour, oil and salt (if using) to a large bowl. Mix with a spoon and then when small pieces of dough start to form, knead with your hands until a ball of dough is formed.
- Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a sheet of parchment paper, then place the ball of cracker dough on top. Add the top piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll the dough between the two pieces of parchment paper using a rolling pin until it’s roughly 1/8 of an inch thick (or thinner for extra crispy crackers). Add more flour as needed so that the dough doesn’t stick.
- Use a pizza cutter, pastry scraper or a knife to slice the dough into rectangular or square cracker shapes (or use small cookie cutters instead). Transfer the parchment paper with the crackers onto a baking sheet. Separate the crackers on the parchment paper so that there’s space between them. Prick each cracker with a fork to prevent them from rising too much when baking.
- Bake the crackers on the baking sheet for 10-20 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. The amount of baking time required will vary depending on the thickness of the crackers, so check on the crackers at the 8-10-minute mark and add more time as needed.
- Let the crackers cool completely before serving. They will continue to harden as they cool.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
TIPS FOR THE BEST HOMEMADE CRACKERS:
- I like to roast up a sweet potato ahead of time so that I have the mashed sweet potato puree all ready to go. That way you just have to combine the dough, cut the shapes and bake!
- Keep a very close eye on these crackers as they are baking so that they don’t burn. The baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the crackers, so check on them after several minutes.
- The crackers will seem soft when they first come out of the oven but will firm up and get more crispy as they cool. They will be more crunchy in texture the thinner the dough is rolled out. If you want more of a pillowy biscuit-like texture, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch. For a crunchier cracker, try to roll the dough out as thin as possible
- Sometimes, instead of cutting the dough into rectangles, I’ll also use a small star shaped cookie cutter (or other fun shapes) to cut the dough into stars. My kids love the fun shapes and call them “twinkle twinkle little star crackers.” If you choose to do this, the crackers will probably bake in a shorter amount of time. Mine were done at about the 8-10 minute mark, so watch them carefully!
- Feel free to add in more spices and seasonings to taste. Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or rosemary would all work well!
Recipe FAQs
Since the sweet potato in this homemade crackers recipe helps you use less oil and flour, it’s a great way to lighten up the crackers while increasing nutrients like vitamin A, C, potassium and fibre. Plus, these crackers taste delicious so your kids will actually want to eat them!
Since the only source of gluten in this healthy crackers recipe comes from the whole wheat flour, you’ll want to use a flour alternative if making them gluten-free. You could try almond flour as an alternative for a more cornmeal-like texture or use a 1:1 measure for measure gluten-free flour.
Absolutely! Although there are some healthy crackers available in stores, many are loaded with sodium, sugar, preservatives, and other additives. If you make them yourself, you can control exactly which ingredients are going into them, making for a much more nutritious option. This healthy cracker recipe is a healthy snack (that still tastes delicious) that your kids will love!
STORAGE GUIDELINES
- Store these healthy crackers in an airtight container at room temperature. They will usually stay crispy for 4-5 days.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve these homemade cheese crackers with your favorite dips, like homemade hummus (try this high protein hummus recipe) or ranch dip.
They’re also great with a few slices of cheese, peanut butter, or roasted meat for a little protein.
Or add them to a kid-friendly charcuterie board for an easy snack!
RECIPE VARIATIONS
- Add seeds: Try adding a few sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, or sunflower seeds for crunch and healthy fats.
- Switch out the veggies: Try using pumpkin puree instead of sweet potatoes!
- Sprinkle with salt: For a treat like the crunchy crackers your kids love from the store, sprinkle a little extra sea salt on top.
- Use cheddar cheese: Since the cheese cooks down, it’s more about adding a subtle cheesiness than an in-your-face cheesy flavour. You can certainly substitute aged cheddar or another firm cheese.
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Healthy Sweet Potato Cracker Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup cooked mashed sweet potato
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon mild tasting olive oil (or sub in softened butter)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the mashed sweet potato, grated parmesan, flour, oil and salt (if using) to a large bowl. Mix with a spoon and then when small pieces of dough start to form, knead with your hands until a ball of dough is formed.
- Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a sheet of parchment paper, then place the ball of dough on top.
- Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll the dough between the two pieces of parchment paper until it's roughly 1/8 of an inch thick (or thinner for extra crispy crackers). Add more flour as needed so that the dough doesn’t stick.
- Use a pizza cutter, pastry scraper or a knife to slice the dough into rectangular or square cracker shapes (or use small cookie cutters instead). Transfer the parchment paper with the cut crackers onto a baking sheet
- Next, separate the crackers on the parchment paper so that there’s space between them. Prick each cracker with a fork to prevent them from rising too much when baking.
- Bake the crackers for 10-20 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. The amount of baking time required will vary depending on the thickness of the crackers, so check on the crackers at the 8-10-minute mark and add more time as needed.
- Let the crackers cool completely before serving. They will continue to harden as they cool.
Notes
- I like to roast up a sweet potato ahead of time so that I have the mashed sweet potato puree all ready to go. That way you just have to combine the dough, cut the shapes and bake!
- Keep a very close eye on these crackers as they are baking so that they don’t burn. The baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the crackers, so check on them after several minutes.
- The crackers will seem soft when they first come out of the oven but will firm up and get more crispy as they cool. They will be more crunchy in texture the thinner the dough is rolled out. If you want more of a pillowy biscuit-like texture, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch. For a crunchier cracker, try to roll the dough out as thin as possible
- Sometimes, instead of cutting the dough into rectangles, I’ll also use a small star shaped cookie cutter (or other fun shapes) to cut the dough into stars. My kids love the fun shapes and call them “twinkle twinkle little star crackers.” If you choose to do this, the crackers will probably bake in a shorter amount of time. Mine were done at about the 8-10 minute mark, so watch them carefully.
- Feel free to add in more spices and seasonings to taste. Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or rosemary would all work well!
I really want to make these but my daughter is dairy-free. Any suggestions of what to substitute for the parmesan cheese?
You could try a vegan parmesan cheese like this one or try adding some nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor. I haven’t tested the recipe with either, so please keep me posted if you decide to test it out!