Gluten-Free Flax-Oat Crackers — The GlutenFree Camel

Aug 22

Aug 22 Gluten-Free Flax-Oat Crackers

Vegetarian, Vegan, Snacks, Sides, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Savory

Simple ingredients, with a satisfying snap! These gluten-free crackers super easy to make, and can be flavored to your liking. High in whole grain flours and high fiber ground flaxseed, you get all of the crunch without any of the unhealthy preservatives, artificial flavorings, or ingredients you can’t pronounce. Serve with dips at your next dinner party or just keep them in the pantry for an easy snack! Crunchy win-win.

Jump to Recipe ⇣

I have two addictions. Coffee, and crunchy things. After cutting out gluten from my diet to help manage my lupus nearly 10 years ago, I realized that a lot of the foods I loved which I had been consuming that were crunchy, had gluten in them! (Yes I realize a lot of fresh fruits and veggies are crunchy, but that didn’t quite scratch the same itch).

It has become something of a fixation to add an element of crunch into nearly all my recipes. My number one crunch food is popcorn, which is essentially my favorite food. But crackers are not far behind! They are a great snack, easy to portion and pair with a million different dips, guacamole, hummus, salsa, soup, cheese and charcuterie !

Most packaged gluten-free crackers are over-priced, filled with sneaky preservatives, oils and insane amounts of salt. I see no reason why we all can’t make our own crackers at home that taste AMAZING and save us money and feel way better in the body. This recipe will probably be the first of many types of crackers, but it felt like a good place to begin. Packed with high fiber whole grain flours and flax seed, healthy oils from the coconut oil and almond flour, and just a touch of maple syrup to balance it out. Ready for your next dinner party-happy hour-mid afternoon snack attack!

Ingredient Fun Facts + Substitutions

- oat flour: making up the bulk of this cracker, I love the slightly sweet notes of this flour. It has a naturally crumbly texture and is whole-grain without having too much of an earthy taste. Can be substituted with brown rice flour or buckwheat, although I would increase the maple syrup up to 2-2.5 tsp to balance the bitterness
- ground flaxseed: another superstar in this recipe, ground flaxseed is highly absorbant and acts as a high-fiber binder. Flax has a fantastic nutty flavor, and contributes to the “snap” texture of these crackers. There is a not really a substitute for flax, but if you can’t find it ground, buy whole flaxseeds and process them in a blender until a powder forms, then store in the fridge to prevent rancidity and oxidative/free-radical damage
- almond flour: helps to retain moisture in the crackers, and creates a tender texture. Can be replaced by other nut flours such as hazelnut flour or by an additional 2 tbsp/16g of ground flax seed to make them nut-free. Add a little extra water as needed
- millet: with a naturally nutty taste, millet pairs beautifully in this recipe but can easily be replaced by more oat, brown rice or buckwheat flour
- flavors!: this recipe can be dressed up in so many different ways. Get creative! My personal favorite iteration is garlic + onion powder, with lots of black pepper and fresh rosemary, but feel free to run cracker wild!

How to Make Gluten-Free Oat Crackers:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and prepare 2 baking sheets and 2 pieces of parchment paper/silicone mats separately (unless planning to bake one batch at a time).

2. Add all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.

3. Then add the coconut oil, water and maple syrup to the dry mix and incorporate until a crumbly dough forms. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball, and place on one of the prepared parchment papers. Leave the baking sheet to the side, we will transfer onto it before baking.

4. Cut the ball of dough in half, and leave one half in the mixing bowl covered with a clean kitchen towel. Press the other half of the dough onto parchment paper/mat, and roll out gently to 1/8 inch thick. The dough will crack on the edges as you roll, but just patch it as you work.
Hot tip: Try to achieve an even thickness for consistent baking times for all of the crackers. Otherwise you’ll have to take some of the crackers on the edges out before the middle ones are done. The thinner the cracker, the faster it browns. Also, the thicker the cracker the harder to achieve the much sought after “snap” sound!

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into squares, rectangles, or whichever shape of cracker you would like to bake, they will break apart easily after baking. For uniform looking crackers, trim the edges of the rolled out dough. For a rustic look, leave the edges.

6. Repeat steps for the second ball of dough. You can either bake on a second baking sheet simultaneously or wait until the first batch is finished baking.

7. Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet, and bake for 22-28 minutes. Check them at 22 minutes, if the outside crackers are browning faster, remove and let the middle crackers bake for longer, 5-10 minutes approximately. The crackers should feel stiff when handled, if they are still bending they need more time in the oven!

8. Cool on a rack completely before serving or transferring to a storage container. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy with dips, guac, salsa, pâté, cheese or charcuterie!

Gluten-Free Oat Crackers w/ Flax + Almond

Yield: 7 (10 crackers per serving)

Author: Samantha Sterman

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

32g 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
96g 3/4 cup oat flour
30g 1/4 cup millet (or another 1/4 cup of oat flour)
26g 1/4 cup almond flour
4g (1/2 tsp) coarse salt (flaked salt on top)
a little black pepper

Wet Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Optional Seasonings:

- 1/8 tsp onion powder and 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F, prepare 2 baking sheets and pieces of parchment paper/silicone mats separately.
Add all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.
Add the coconut oil, water and maple syrup to the dry mix and incorporate until a crumbly dough forms. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball, and place on a prepared parchment paper.
Cut the dough in half, and leave one half in the mixing bowl covered with a clean kitchen towel. Press the other half of the dough onto parchment paper/mat, and roll out to 1/8 inch thick*.The dough will crack on the edges, but just patch it as you work.
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into squares, rectangles, or whichever shape of cracker you would like to bake, they will break apart easily after baking. For uniform looking crackers, trim the edges of the rolled out dough. For a rustic look, leave the edges.
Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet, and bake for 22-28 minutes. Check them at 22 minutes, if the outside crackers are browning faster, remove and let the middle crackers bake for longer**, 5-10 minutes approximately.
Repeat steps for the second ball of dough. You can either bake on a second baking sheet simultaneously or wait until the first batch is finished baking.
Cool on a rack completely before serving or transferring to a storage container. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy with dips, salsa, pâté, cheese or charcuterie!

Recipe Notes:

*Too thick and the crackers won’t have a firm, “snap” texture **Often the crackers in the middle end up thicker, if this happens, you can remove the outside ones. The thicker crackers don’t brown as easily as the thinner, they may look just barely golden when they are done. They should feel mostly stiff when handled (will continue to stiffen a bit after baking).

Calories

157.19

Fat (grams)

9.80

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.76

Carbs (grams)

13.83

Fiber (grams)

3.19

Net carbs

10.64