Graham crackers are one of the most delicious snacks that you can get on the market. They are crunchy and cinnamon (the latter being one of the primary ingredients of these crackers).
But what if you go to the kitchen cupboards and there are none there?
Well, luckily there are plenty of crackers that have a similar flavor and texture to the Graham cracker.
These include animal crackers, honey maids, and cinnamon crackers, all of which taste almost indistinguishable from Grahams.
So where can you find the best Graham cracker substitutes? How do they taste the same and in what ways do they differ? Can you find a decent cracker to put in your recipe?
Well, we have a list of some of the best Graham cracker alternatives that you can find at your local supermarket.
Read more to find out.
Best Graham Cracker Substitutes
Honey Maid Crackers
- Calories: 140
- Total Fat: 2g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 180mg
- Potassium: 65mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 28g
- Dietary Fiber: 2g
- Sugars: 8g
- Protein: 2g
- Substitution ratio: 1:1
Vanilla Wafers (30g)
- Calories: 139
- Total Fat: 5.2g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 1.2g
- Cholesterol: 0.3mg
- Sodium: 121mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 22g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.4g
- Sugars: 9.5g
- Protein: 1.2g
- Substitution ratio: 1:1
Gingersnaps (7g)
- Calories: 29
- Total Fat: 0.7g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 35mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 5.4g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.2g
- Sugars: 1.4g
- Protein: 0.4g
- Substitution ratio: 1:1
Animal Crackers (5g)
- Calories: 23
- Total Fat: 0.7g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 23mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 3.8g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.1g
- Sugars: 1.3g
- Protein: 0.3g
- Substitution ratio: 1:1
Chocolate Graham Crackers (16g)
- Calories: 67
- Total Fat: 2.2g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0.8g
- Cholesterol: 0.3mg
- Sodium: 90mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 11g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.5g
- Sugars: 5.8g
- Protein: 1g
- Substiution ratio: 2:1
Biscuit Crackers (3.3g)
- Calories: 16
- Total Fat: 0.8g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g
- Sodium: 29mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 2.1g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.1g
- Sugars: 0.3g
- Protein: 0.2g
- Substitute Radtio: 1:1
Ice Cream Cones (123g)
- Calories: 274
- Total Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.7g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 3.5g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
- Sodium: 120mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 35g
- Dietary Fiber: 1g
- Sugars: 27g
- Protein: 4.7g
- Substitute ratio: 1:1
Graham Crackers Nutrional Value (15g)
- Calories: 65
- Total Fat: 1.6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 69mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 12g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.5g
- Sugars: 3.7g
- Protein: 1g
What Do Graham Crackers Taste Like?
Graham crackers are very sweet, although you can serve them with a range of sweet condiments.
They are a famous snack in North America, invented in the 1930s, they were part of the healthy snack food movement.
Some of the more popular serving suggestions are jam, peanut butter, butter, and even cheese for that tangy and sweet contrast.
All you need to do is spread them on top of your cracker. They are very durable and will hold up under intense pressure.
You can also use Graham crackers as the main ingredient in other recipes like pie crusts and the biscuit base of cheesecakes.
Graham crackers are made with Graham flour, which is a combination of whole-wheat flour and unbleached wheat flour.
It also contains fresh cinnamon, honey, and brown sugar as sweetening agents. This makes for an unforgettable flavor profile and a crunchy texture.
But what happens if you don’t have any Graham crackers to hand? Well, we have a list of some alternatives that taste and feel very much like Graham crackers.
Some of these have additional flavorings, which might be suitable for anyone who wants to try something different.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get reading!
Best Graham Cracker Substitutes
1. Honey Maid
Honey Maid are wafer snacks that have a very similar texture to Graham crackers, although their flavoring is significantly sweeter.
They come in a few different flavors, which can make some very interesting combinations if you decide to smear them in jam or peanut butter.
This has additional honey in it, which means that they are a lot sweeter than Graham crackers.
If you are going to add them to your pie or cake recipe, then you’ll have to account for the extra sweetness in your base. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
You can even have chocolate-flavored honey maids, which will certainly make your cheesecake taste that little more interesting.
This also comes in a cinnamon flavor, so why not top the Graham cracker with that extra dose of cinnamon?
However, the flavor will not be the same as a Graham cracker due to the extra sweetness, so you might want to amend the amount that you put into your recipe if you want to maintain that classic Graham cracker flavor.
2. Vanilla Wafers
This is another decent substitute for Graham crackers, having almost the same crumbly, wafer-like texture. Vanilla wafer also has that extra creamy consistency that can only come with vanilla flavoring.
These biscuits are also very buttery, which will result in a slightly smoother texture than if you were using a Graham cracker.
Another plus point of using vanilla wafers is that they don’t contain as much sugar as Graham crackers, meaning you can cut down on calories.
You will have to heat these wafers in the oven before you use them. We would suggest that you put the heat up to 350 degrees and bake them for around 10 minutes.
Once you remove them, let them cool for a few minutes and then incorporate them into your recipe.
Again, these wafers will not taste like Graham crackers exactly, so if you are looking to completely replicate them, then we would suggest that you either try making your own versions or find a different cracker substitution.
3. Gingersnaps
This is a more leftfield option, as the taste is much bolder than Graham crackers, as the primary ingredient is the super-strong ginger.
However, these do make an effective substitute for Graham crackers, especially in the base of biscuits and cakes.
If you don’t want to taste too much ginger in your cake, then you can find other varieties of gingersnaps that contain a lower dose of this spice.
If you do have some Graham crackers, then you can also mix this in with your gingersnaps to lessen the flavor.
Gingersnaps are also very easy to work with.
All you have to do is break up your snaps with your hands into a bowl and mix them in with your other ingredients in much the same way as you would with Graham crackers.
4. Animal Crackers
If you are looking for a cracker that is more durable and sweeter than a Graham cracker, then we would certainly nudge you in the direction of an animal cracker.
These are another great option if you are trying to construct a solid biscuit base.
The great thing about animal crackers is their availability.
You can get them from most grocery stores, so if you are pushed for time, then you can make a quick trip to the nearest Walmart and pick them up within 5 minutes.
You’ll need to make sure that the texture of animal crackers matches those of the Graham crackers that you would normally use in your recipe.
You might notice that there is a lighter crust if you use animal crackers, which is only important if presentation matters to you.
Bear in mind that these crackers are also sweeter than Graham crackers, so they will affect the final taste of your cake or pastry.
You might have to amend the number of animal crackers that you put in if you want it to be less sweet.
5. Chocolate Graham Crackers
This next choice might appeal to those who want that inimitable Graham cracker texture but with a radically different flavor.
Chocolate makes a great pairing with vanilla cheesecake, so try constructing a chocolate biscuit layer.
This has a much bolder flavor and will be a lot sweeter than most wafers, so you’ll want to make sure that you can really handle the extra sweetness.
This also means more sugar, so it might not be the ideal option if you are trying to cut down on calories.
However, these are still crackers that come with a lot of the nutritional properties of Graham crackers, including a healthy dose of fiber that will aid digestion.
They are also very buttery, giving you a nice texture for your cheesecake.
6. Biscuit Crackers
If you do want a softer texture than Graham crackers (which can be very hard on sensitive teeth), then you might want to switch them out for biscuit crackers.
These are much more malleable and softer, which is perfect if you are making a cake for younger children.
If you want to make them resemble Graham crackers in terms of flavor, then you can add a little touch of cinnamon and sugar before mixing them with butter and adding them to your baking tin.
You can also eat these biscuit crackers as they are, although they are not as sweet as Graham crackers. But you can always add your own spread like jam, peanut butter, or honey.
This means you’ll only be getting a single dose of sweetness from your condiment rather than the biscuit itself.
There are different flavors of biscuit crackers too, so why not try chocolate or even mint for that biscuit base that really packs a punch?
Mint would go well with vanilla cheesecake without really overwhelming the vanilla taste.
7. Ice Cream Cones
This might not be an idea that you will have ever considered, but we can assure you that it works.
If you think about it, these wafers are designed to pair with dairy, so they would make the perfect substitute for crackers.
These are slightly softer wafers than Graham crackers, so you might have to use more of them.
They also have a very plain flavor, which is probably very handy for people who don’t like their cakes too sweet. However, you can always add your own brown or white sugar.
All you need to do is crush your ice cream cones in much the same way as you would your Graham crackers.
This won’t overwhelm the flavor of your pie or cake and is durable. You could even dip your cone in jam or honey, although it might be too flimsy to scoop out thick peanut butter.
These cones are also extremely cheap and widely available in stores around the world.
The chances are that you already have some spare cones in the back of the kitchen cupboard. So, use them in your biscuit base to get rid of the surplus.
Popular Recipes That Call For Graham Crackers
Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls
This recipe is both smooth and crunchy, containing chocolate and delicious peanut butter with that extra bite of crushed-up graham crackers.
Philadelphia Cheesecake
This cheesecake uses crushed graham crackers as the base, resulting in a buttery and flavorsome dessert. This also contains vanilla and cream cheese and you can make it in 3 steps.
Graham Cracker Toffee
This comes with all the best sweet flavors: rich toffee, crunchy graham crackers, bitter chocolate. You can break this one into pieces and serve it with coffee or tea.
Conclusion
Graham crackers are one-of-a-kind, and you might be scratching your head trying to find a replacement, but hopefully, some of the Graham cracker substitutes we have listed above have given you a little inspiration.
