Get ready for the ultimate protein-packed snacking treat – homemade high-protein graham crackers! These babies are crispy, perfectly sweetened, and sneakily contain more than double the protein of store-bought graham crackers.
Each cracker contains 60 calories and 2.5 grams of protein, which I admit may not sound like much protein at first. But when you consider most regular graham crackers only have around 1g of protein each, more than doubling that amount is a huge win.
Plus, these homemade healthy graham crackers pack in that extra protein while keeping carbs and calories nicely in check. Each cracker has just 6g carbs and 60 calories, so it’s a perfect snack to grab when you just need a quick bite of something sweet.
These crackers have a great crunch and hold up great as leftovers, so you can make a batch to enjoy throughout the week.
Whether you crave that classic graham cracker taste for smores, dunking in milk, or just munching plain, this recipe delivers.
The crunch factor of these is unreal for a high-protein baked good, and they soak up milk exactly how you’d want them to.
Let’s get into it so you can experience the deliciousness for yourself.
Ingredients Needed for Protein Graham Crackers
Before we get into the baking process, let’s discuss some of the key ingredients that make these protein-packed grahams so delicious.
Whole Wheat Flour – Traditional graham crackers use graham flour, but most of us don’t have easy access to that ingredient. Instead, we’re using whole wheat flour to give us that signature nutty, slightly coarse graham cracker flavor and texture. If you don’t have whole wheat flour, you can substitute regular all-purpose flour, but the flavor won’t be quite as authentic.
Almond Flour – This helps boost the protein content while keeping the crackers nicely tender. If you don’t have almond flour, or can’t enjoy it due to an allergy, you can substitute it with more whole wheat flour.
Protein Powder – A whey/casein blend is ideal for achieving the right texture here. I used PEScience’s snickerdoodle flavor which complemented the cinnamon notes perfectly. Unflavored or vanilla whey should work well too, but I didn’t test plant-based proteins.
Sweeteners – A combo of granular sugar substitute (or regular sugar) and honey gives just the right amount of sweetness. The small amount of honey is key for authentic flavor and texture, so I don’t recommend leaving it out. We’re also adding a touch of molasses to really bring together those signature graham cracker flavors, but you can swap that out for syrup if needed.
Butter – You’ll want to use real butter here, not margarine or light butter substitutes. The higher fat content is what gives these crackers their delightful crunch and richness.
I can’t promise the same results if substitutions are made, but something like graham crackers should be relatively forgiving. However, you risk not achieving the same satisfying crunch if you make changes.
How to Make Protein Graham Crackers
Once you’ve got all your ingredients assembled, just mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
Add melted butter, honey, and molasses to the dry ingredients, and mix everything together until a crumbly mixture forms. To bring it all together to form graham cracker dough, we’re going to add a small amount of milk.
For this recipe, 2 tablespoons of milk is the perfect amount, but you may need slightly less (or more) if you make any substitutions.
From there, simply roll out the dough on a sheet of parchment paper until it’s nice and thin. The thinner you can get it, the crunchier the final crackers will be. Of course, we don’t want these to be paper thin, so you can use your best judgment.
These graham crackers won’t rise much in the oven, so roll out the dough to be whatever thickness you prefer for graham crackers.
Use a pizza cutter or knife to square off the edges, then cut the dough into rectangles to create your graham crackers. We’re going to poke holes in the center of each graham cracker to prevent the center from rising as they bake.
Note: you can also sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the top if you prefer a cinnamon-style graham cracker.
Sizes will vary, and my graham crackers are clearly not perfect, but that is totally fine! We’re not after perfection, we’re after delicious graham crackers.
Take the scraps that you sliced off the dough, and re-roll it out to continue cutting graham crackers from the dough. When all was said-and-done I created 24 crackers.
Place your healthy graham crackers on a baking sheet, leaving some room in between each, and bake for 12 minutes at 350°F. Once they’re lightly golden brown around the edges, pull them out and let them rest on a cooling rack for an hour or so.
This cooling period is crucial – it’s when the crackers transition from slightly soft to that perfect, snappy crunch we all crave in a good graham cracker.
After an hour of patience, you’ll have rows of deliciously crisp, high-protein grahams ready for devouring!
I love enjoying these plain as a healthyish snack. When I want a quick bite of something sweet, a 60-calorie graham cracker works perfectly.
But they’re also incredible crumbled over yogurt, made into smores, or topped with peanut butter.
Leftovers will hold up great throughout the week, so you can happily enjoy these as a quick snack or lunch companion.
More High-Protein Cinnamon Recipes
Graham crackers are one of my favorite cinnamony treats, but they are far from the only one. In fact, I have a ton of other high-protein treats here on the blog that I bet you’re going to love:
- Protein Snickerdoodle Cookies
- High-Protein Cinnamon Cereal
- Protein Cinnamon Rolls
- Low-Calorie Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Protein Gingerbread Cookies
High-Protein & Low-Carb Graham Crackers
Whether you want to build s'mores, dip them in milk, or enjoy them as-is, these high-protein graham crackers are a delicious way to sneak some extra protein into your diet without the extra calories or sugar.
Ingredients
- 120g (1 Cup) Whole Wheat Flour
- 28g (1/4 Cup) Almond Flour (can we subbed for more whole wheat flour)
- 46g (1.5 Scoops) Whey/Casein Blend Protein Powder (I used PEScience Snickerdoodle flavor)
- 30g Granular Sugar Substitute (or regular sugar)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- Dash of Salt
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Molasses
- 56g (4 Tbsp) Melted Butter (Use full-fat butter or oil for best crunch)
- 2 Tbsp Milk of Choice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients for your protein graham crackers.
- Melt your butter in the microwave, then add the butter to your dry ingredients along with the honey and molasses. Mix everything until a crumble forms.
- Add your 2 tablespoons of milk and mix until it comes together to form a dough. If you make any substitutions, the exact amount of milk you need will vary, so I recommend adding one tablespoon at a time. If you follow the recipe as-is, 2 tablespoons will be perfect.
- Break your dough into 2 pieces to make it easier to roll out. Place one dough ball on a sheet of parchment paper (or a clean surface) and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out thin. The exact thickness is up to you, but thinner will yield crunchier graham crackers (see photos above this recipe card for reference).
- Square off the edges with a pizza cutter or butter knife, then slice the dough into as many graham crackers as you'd like to make. Form any excess dough back into a ball and roll it out to cut more crackers. Continue until you have used up all of your dough. In my case, I ended up with 24 graham crackers.
- Transfer your cut graham crackers onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving a small amount of space between them to allow them to fully bake and crisp up. Use a fork to poke holes in the center of each graham cracker to prevent them from puffing up as they bake. (Note: you can sprinkle cinnamon sugar over your graham crackers for added flavor and crunch as well)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. You can get away with a few extra minutes if you choose to make thicker graham crackers.
- Remove the graham crackers from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. The graham crackers will crisp up as they cool, so let them sit for about one hour.
- Enjoy your graham crackers with peanut butter, as s'mores, or dunked into milk. Store leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy throughout the week.
Notes
- Graham crackers traditionally use graham flour, which is a coarser version of whole wheat flour. To get a similar flavor, we're using regular whole wheat flour here. If you don't have whole wheat flour, you can use regular all-purpose flour, but the flavor won't be as authentic.
- For a gluten-free option, you can swap the flour for the same amount of oat flour.
- You may be tempted to skip the honey to save some calories, but I highly recommend leaving it in. The honey gives these graham crackers an authentic flavor, and the small amount of sugar helps the final texture.
- I only tested this recipe with a whey/casein protein blend. Whey protein should work just fine, but I did not test plant-based protein. I highly recommend PEScience's Snickerdoodle protein powder, because the flavor complements these very well.
- You'll want to use full-fat butter here for the best crunch. If you swap it out for a lighter alternative, such as margarine (AKA light butter) you won't get the same crunch.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1 Graham CrackerAmount Per Serving Calories 60Total Fat 2.5gCarbohydrates 6gFiber 0.5gSugar 2gProtein 2.5g
Richard
Tuesday 9th of April 2024
These are pretty! Think these can be crumbled up to form a crust for your protein cheesecake recipe?
Richard
Saturday 13th of April 2024
@Matt Rosenman, Let us know how it works if ever by chance you try it :)
Matt Rosenman
Friday 12th of April 2024
Now there is aamazing idea, I definitely think that would work. Might need to try it myself soon!