A fabulous low carb guest post from Kim of Low Carb Maven. These grain-free parmesan crackers are sure to please the kids…and the adults!
With school back in session, I’m always looking for new snacks for my kids; either to put in their lunch boxes or to give to them when they come home. Let’s face it. Their little brains are working furiously learning everything we did at that age and more! By the time they get home they need a little snack to help nourish their bodies and re-fuel those brains.
When I was a kid, goldfish crackers were a popular snack cracker. We always had a package in the house. My mother’s favorite was the parmesan cheese flavored goldfish while my brother and I preferred the cheddar cheese variety (see Kim’s Cheddar Cheese Crackers). I remember her pouring each of us a small bowl of crackers and turning on “The Banana Splits” show for us to watch before we got started on our homework and chores. When we were out of goldfish, we resorted to eating oyster or soup crackers or celery with cheese. We didn’t care, all we wanted was an easy, crunchy snack.
Little has changed since then and my own kids prefer a crispy cracker to almost anything else. Sometimes, I purchase snacks from the store, but gluten-free crackers are expensive and grain-free? Fugeddaboudit! I’d rather make the crackers from scratch at home. They take no time to put together and the only “fussy” part is the rolling. An old pro now, it takes me less than 10 minutes to roll and cut the dough. A pizza cutter makes quick work of it. By the time the oven is ready, so am I.
This recipe for low carb Parmesan crackers has an ingredient that produces a texture unlike any other low carb cracker – crispy and flaky just like the real thing. Nutritional yeast, affectionately called “nooch”, is full of b vitamins and has a wonderful “cheesy” or umami flavor. It was the secret ingredient in many vegetarian dishes I used to make back in the day. If you are trying to avoid yeast, you can feel assured knowing that this product is rendered inactive by heat processing. It’s rich cheesy flavor compliments the Parmesan nicely.
Looking for some tasty grain-free, gluten-free cheese crackers? Check out this recipe from Texanerin Baking!
Every time I make these parmesan cheese crackers my kids beg for more. At 3 net carbs per 10 crackers I don’t mind obliging!
Kim develops tasty low carb recipes in her California kitchen. Find more great recipes on her blog Low Carb Maven and follow her on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram.
Low Carb Parmesan Cheese Crackers
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 174 Calories from fat | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 14g | 22% |
| Carbohydrate 5g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 8% |
| Protein 9g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
A fabulous low carb guest post from Kim of Low Carb Maven. These grain-free parmesan crackers are sure to please the kids...and the adults!
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 1/2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk powder (optional - provides tang)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
!Optional Flavorings (variations)
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper (omit salt above)
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and place the rack into the middle position. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the dimensions of your sheet pan. My pan is 18 by 13 inches (or 46 by 33 cm).
- Measure the dry ingredients (the first 8 ingredients) into a medium bowl, stirring thoroughly with a whisk to break up any lumps.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs and olive with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, work the ingredients together to form a ball of dough.
- Place the parchment on the counter and the ball of dough on top. Flatten the dough slightly with your hands. Cut a piece of waxed paper longer than the parchment and spray one side with baking spray. Place it oil-side-down on the dough and begin rolling out the crackers. I roll a few times, then lift and reposition the waxed paper. Cut any dough that goes beyond the parchment and patch it to areas that need more. Continue until the dough is even in thickness and just about to the edges of all sides of the parchment.
- With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut a neat edge around the perimeter of the dough, discarding the extra bits. Then, proceed to cut the dough into 1 inch columns and rows, yielding 90 -100 1 inch x 1 inch squares. I like to cut the short side first, leaving the long side for last - and I use a ruler. This whole process should take about 8 minutes.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully break up the crackers, spread them evenly in the pan, and place them back into the warm oven for 10 minutes to complete baking. Cool completely before enjoying. Store in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator if you prefer.
Recipe Notes
Serves 9 to 10.
Nutritional Information per serving: Calories: 174 Fat: 14 Carbohydrates: 5 Fiber: 2 Protein: 9 Net Carbs: 3
Thanks for letting me guest post. It was fun. I hope everyone enjoys this cracker recipe. It was my favorite one and we have been enjoying it with our soup in the evening.
I can’t wait to make them, Kim!
Where can I get that bowl? I love it!!
Oh my, these look just so delicious. I love that you included nutritional yeast in it. I am making these today!
Sounds really interesting I wonder if we added pork rinds would it work and go further i.e. Lower carbs
On holidays at present so not cooking but doing the best I can if I can maintain I will be happy
What is the difference to to yeast for cooking and nutritional yeast ?
Well for one thing, nutritional yeast is not active yeast so it doesn’t cause things to rise and it doesn’t worsen conditions like Candida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast
How do you make the hole in the middle of the cracker?
HI Dee. I used the end of the beater from my hand mixer. They are just there for aesthetics and serve no other purpose. -Kim
I’ve tried making crackers before, and they were kind of soft. Do these get crispy or are they more of a soft cracker?
I haven’t made these, since it’s a guest post from Kim, but my cracker recipes do crisp up. She says these are crispy so I would take her word for it.
Hi Twila. These do crisp up. If they are not crispy when they are completely cooled, then put them back into the oven at 350 for a few more minutes and then let cool completely. These are not as flaky as the cheddar version, but I prefer them because I like adding the chives and other options to them. I also LOVE Parmesan cheese. -Kim
These look amazing!! I love cheese crackers but the thought of buying them have become something of a nightmare because I’d munch away, almost finishing the whole box way before I get home!
Two quick questions:
1. The recipe makes no mention of when to place the crackers on the parchment in the pan. Is this before or after you slice the crackers into squares?
2. What did you use to put the hole in the middle of each square?
Thank you.
Hi Lynne. I picked up the parchment paper after cutting (you can see the picture of it on the marble in Carolyn’s pin). I picked up opposite corners and placed it onto the tray, BUT you can also cut them on the tray. Either way works. I used the back of one of my hand beaters to make the dimples. They are purely decorative. -Kim
So you’re saying that nutritional yeast will not spike my blood sugar?
Do you have to add the yeast?
I don’t think so. My guess is it’s flavouring only.
Hi Sherry. The nutritional yeast is what makes the crackers flaky. With out it, they will still get crisp and taste good, but they wont have the same texture. -Kim
These are by far the very best crackers I’ve made using low carb ingredients!! I love them so much, thank you!
Hi Gina. This is Kim from Low Carb Maven. I’m so glad you like the crackers! I’m thrilled that Carolyn gave me the opportunity to share them with you!
Great crunchy crackers!
I’ve made these twice and both times they came out great and are very crispy. I keep them in a bowl on the counter for about a day to make sure they’re nice and dry and then store them in a cookie tin. They are so good as is so I’m afraid to add any other flavors to them but will somewhere down the road.
I love the size of theses. And the hole in the middle captivated my sisters – four of us ate about 3/4 of a recipe at our last luncheon (and they took the rest home with them). My sisters aren’t low carb like me but did appreciate the crackers being wheat free and delicious. I think all my cracker recipes will be small and have holes in the middle from now on.
How do I keep my crackers crispy days after baking them? They seem to go soft the day after.
I leave mine on the counter in an uncovered container. However, if you live in a humid location, it’s pretty hard to keep them crisp.
I keep mine on the counter in a cookie tin. I live in California where it is dry but they stay crispy until they are eaten. Maybe yours weren’t quite baked enough. If the go soggy, put them back into the oven until they crisp up.
I’ll bet they would be yummy with rosemary too
Kim just made these. They turned out fantastic – even though I couldn’t find my nutritional yeast. Will make these again using the nutritional yeast. Yum!
This is a great recipe as I’ve made it five times already. I like mine thin and crispy and this makes two sheet pans as I roll them out thinner than the recipe and bake for just 10 min. I also use the everything bagel seasoning on them. They are filling as a snack at work. Thank you.
If I missed it, I apologize, but how many carbs per serving? I am on Adkins I need to calculate net carbs. Thank you.
It was down in the recipe notes and the person I had working on putting it into the nutritional card on the side missed it too. It’s actually 5g carbs, 2g fiber and is corrected now.