These Homemade Vegan Gluten Free Graham Crackers taste just like your favorite childhood healthy treat! Made with a combination of gluten-free flours and sweetened with agave, they’re perfect for all your allergy-friendly needs. You’ll love them in s’mores, pie crusts, for snacking, and more!

homemade Vegan and Gluten-Free Graham Crackers in s'mores

Gah, it’s the last full week of summer! I feel one arm clinging desperately to long sun-drenched days and the other reaching for a pumpkin spice latte. So, in the spirit of this transitional season, I’m inviting you to celebrate with homemade vegan gluten-free graham crackers. Okay, I hear you, the recipe name sounds less than exciting, and I can see an inquisitive scrunchy face forming already. But, if you think about it, a well-made graham cracker is the foundation for a parade of deliciousness. We’re talking s’mores, pie crusts, and peanut butter crackers and anything you can dream of!

The perfect allergy-friendly graham cracker doesn’t come in a box, it comes from your kitchen and today we’re going to make the best d*mn graham crackers you’ve ever tasted! They’re just a touch crispy but don’t explode in your lap when you bite into them. They’re lightly sweet with notes of cinnamon and taste like an after-school snack you can’t wait to get home to. The fact that they’re vegan and gluten-free will be our little secret!

Vegan and Gluten-Free Graham Crackers on a tray

Why this recipe works

We all know gluten-free baking can be tricky. Adding vegan to that equation triggers images of dry disappointing flavorless cardboard that in no way resembles the “real thing”. I’ve tasted these tragedies too! So, in my mission to bring you the most delicious recipes possible, I’ve tested the heck out of this one and I promise you can stride into the kitchen with confidence!

It all starts with a blend of gluten-free flours. The combination of oat flour, almond flour, and tapioca flour creates a realistic graham cracker mouth feel and taste.
When you bite into a classic graham cracker the flavor notes that rise to the top are honey and cinnamon. We use agave and cinnamon in this recipe which gives the crackers a lovely golden hue and sentimental taste.
Texture is key. This recipe has just the right ratio of wet to dry ingredients for a cracker that’s sturdy enough to hold up to squishing roasted marshmallows and melting chocolate with a pleasing mouth feel that never tastes tough and dry.
Making graham crackers is very similar to making rolled cookies only you’re cutting them into squares instead of using a cookie cutter. Docking, or pricking the top of the crackers, lets steam escape while baking, preventing bubbles. Press a line down the center and it will look just like you pulled it out of a Honey Made box!

Ingredient Overview

The full list of ingredients and their amounts are listed below and in the recipe card but let’s get familiar with the key players.

Gluten-free oat flour- has a hearty texture similar to graham flour and gives the dough structure.
Superfine almond flour- adds the nutty, toasted, sweet flavor to baked goods that we associate with graham flour.
Tapioca flour- also called tapioca starch helps bind the dough while improving the overall texture.
Cinnamon– for that classic graham cracker flavor you know and love.
Refined coconut oil- is solid at room temperature and then melted before combining with the wet ingredients. Once baked and cooled it adds richness and flexibility to the crackers. I promise you won’t taste the coconut!
Agave- is sweet, thick, and sticky just like honey!
Flaxseed meal- (ground flax seed) when mixed with a liquid, like almond milk, creates a flax egg which helps bind the dough together.

Homemade Vegan and Gluten-Free Graham Crackers

Notes on how to make this recipe

Now that we have our ingredients ready to go, here’s a few notes on putting them all together.

The most time-consuming part is cutting the crackers into squares and then poking holes in the top with a fork. If you’re not fussy about shape, you can eyeball this instead of using a ruler. It will go a lot quicker that way. The perfectionist in me wants them to look like store-bought graham crackers so I’m a fan of using a ruler. See the step-by-step instructions below as a guide.
The easy part is making the dough. If you can make cookies, you can make graham crackers. Start by mixing your wet ingredients in one bowl and your dry ingredients in another. Then pour the wet into the dry and use a wooden spoon to combine the two. The dough will be stiff which is totally normal, and you may have to get your hands in there to work in the last bits of flour.
Next comes the rolling out. Lightly flour your work surface and press the dough into a square-shaped disk. Then roll it out to ⅛ inch thickness, keeping in mind the round edges will be cut away. Cut it into squares, transfer them to a baking sheet, and dock (prick) the top. (See the pictorial guide below.) Then bake!

Cooking times

If you enjoy soft graham crackers, reduce the baking time to 10 minutes. I find that 12 minutes at 350° F /177° C in my electric oven gives the “just right” amount of crispness. Feel free to bake them longer if you like, keeping in mind they crisp up as they cool down.

Top tips for making the best vegan gluten-free graham crackers

Use refined coconut oil which has only a hint of coconut flavor that is indistinguishable after baking.
Use a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. If you don’t have one, use the scoop and level method: Spoon flour into a measuring cup and scrape away the excess with the flat end of a knife. This helps get the exact amount of flour.
Mix the dough together with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. It will become fairly stiff and you want the flour mixture to absorb all of the liquid ingredients.
Slide a long thin spatula under your dough as you roll it out to prevent it from sticking to your work surface.
Switch your baking sheets halfway through the cooking time for even browning.

Here’s everything you need to make this recipe

Ingredients for vegan gluten free graham crackers

Ingredients / Makes 24 crackers

Wet Ingredients:

¼ cup (60 ml) of refined coconut oil, melted
¼ (60 ml) cup of agave
1 tablespoon of almond milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons (3.5g) of flaxseed meal

Dry Ingredients:

1½ cups (135 g) of gluten-free oat flour
1¼ cups (120 g) of superfine almond flour (from blanched whole almonds)
5 tablespoons (38 g) of tapioca flour
2 tablespoons (30 g) of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of fine sea salt
½ teaspoon of baking soda

All-purpose gluten-free flour for rolling out the dough

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350° F /177° C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix the wet ingredients- First add all your wet ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk until well incorporated.

3. Mix the dry ingredients- Next, add all the dry ingredients to a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk them all together.

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4. Combine- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix it all together. Have patience, the dough will become stiff, and you may need to finish working the last bits of flour in with your hands. Gather the dough into a tidy ball.

5. Lightly flour your work surface with all-purpose gluten-free flour. Flatten the ball of dough into a square-shaped disk with your hands.

6. Roll out the dough- Using a French rolling pin, carefully roll the dough (to avoid cracks) into a rectangle that is ⅛ inch thick, sliding a spatula under the dough now and then to see that it’s not sticking. Add a sprinkle of four to the work surface as needed. It can be challenging to roll out a perfect rectangle, so just do your best, keeping in mind the round edges will be trimmed away.

7. Cut the dough into squares- Use a knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper to cut the crackers into 2½ x 2½” squares. Save the scraps to bake along with the crackers. They make great crumbs for pie crust.

8. Transfer squares to your baking sheets and dock the tops- Carefully transfer the crackers to prepared baking sheets, leaving ½” between each cracker. Press a line down the middle and then prick the tops in 2 neat rows lightly with a fork. This is called docking which lets steam escape, preventing air bubbles.

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9. Bake at 350° F /177° C for 12 minutes, switching the trays halfway through for even baking. Once they’re out of the oven, let the crackers cool directly on the baking sheets.

Storage:

Let cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Serving suggestions:

Make s’mores, the irresistible toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwich.
Layer with peanut butter for the best after-school healthy treat.
Use the baked scraps in a gluten-free graham cracker pie crust.

We recently added a fire pit to our backyard, and I’ve been obsessed with cooking over an open flame. Last weekend ended with a s’mores-making sesh that seemed like a very fitting way to celebrate summer’s end. I’m not giving up on summer quite yet and plan to break out the roasting sticks a few more times. How about you? What’s your favorite way to enjoy graham crackers? Let me know in the comments below!

Big love from little Port Angeles,

Carol