16 Creative Ways To Use Graham Crackers
Graham crackers are a humble snack that never seems to rank high on people's list of favorite foods, even though it's used in many obvious ways. S'mores and cheesecake crust are well-known choices, but how about some other fun alternatives? From savory foods to sweet treats to beverages, we have plenty of creative ways to use graham crackers that will not only have you devouring the box in your pantry, but need to buy more. These diverse integrations range from easy peasy to slightly more involved, so you can pick based on your energy level and what ingredients you already have at home.
There are a few graham cracker options out there from the standard ones to cinnamon to chocolate versions. Depending on what you're whipping up, you can mix up the type of graham cracker you're using. If we recommend one over the other, we will specify in the section but the standard graham crackers work for all of these. Whether you want to use them in savory dishes such as chili or meatballs, or you want to jazz up your grazing platter or chocolate bark, there are many ways to incorporate these crunchy delights into your next dish.
Add them to meatballs
When pondering on creative ways to use graham crackers in something other than s'mores, meatballs probably didn't come up very high on your list. But it's a unique way to add something other than breadcrumbs to your meatballs. They add a touch of extra flavor to give your meatballs an edge that will leave your family wondering what the secret ingredient is. You'll want to crush up original or honey graham crackers into a powder for meatballs with a honeyed twist. Do this by Blitzing them in a food processor or placing them in a baggie that seals and whacking at it until the pieces are small.
Use the same ratio of graham crackers as you would breadcrumbs or do a half and half mixture. The crackers not only switch up the taste, but they keep your meatballs moist. Once you form the meatballs, you can pan-fry or bake them however you prefer. Meatballs are known for having sweet additions like grape jelly, so a slightly sweet, mild graham cracker makes sense for a breadcrumb swap.
Integrate some into a boxed cake
Boxed cake should be a pantry staple if it's not already. There are many reasons to celebrate with a slice of cake, but you might not always have the time to mix all the ingredients to make it from scratch. A box cake simplifies the process, allowing you to make your cake and eat it too. The addition of graham crackers can take that boxed cake to the next level by making it into a graham cracker cake or adding texture. It's sweet, slightly nutty, and adds a captivating consistency to the cake.
Whether you pulverize the graham crackers into a powder or opt for larger pieces depends on whether you want to feel the texture difference in your cake. If you enjoy switching things up, a bigger chunk can give depth to a bite much like a piece of coconut would. It's not rock-hard or jarring, but you can notice it as you chew. You can also use the crackers to decorate the cake so it has a two-fold purpose. Any graham cracker flavor can give a boring boxed cake mix a twist, no matter if you add it inside the cake or use it as a decoration.
Throw them into cookies
No-bake cookies are a tasty morsel to add to your regular rotation. You get the same cookie taste without having to turn on the oven, which is particularly useful when it's a hot summer day, and you don't want your entire kitchen or house to turn into a hot mess. Gather your ingredients to create no-bake graham cracker cookies. Since these are no-bake, you won't ruin the baking science by adding other mix-ins. Throw in white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips for flavor and to add a different color. For extra crunch, toss in chopped nuts or cereal. Use original graham crackers or chocolate graham crackers to go with the cocoa powder.
Break away from traditional cookies. Graham cracker pieces pair playfully with oatmeal raisin cookies, especially if you crush them into oat-sized pieces. Make them the star of your confection by baking graham cracker cookies. Use the crackers in conjunction with the flour to act as the dry components of a cookie.
Use it as part of a crust for meat and fish
There are a few well-known ways to give a crust to meat and fish, but there are less common and interesting ways to do it if you're ready to play with flavor profiles. Use original graham crackers or the honey version to make a crust for a variety of proteins. It works well with fish like tilapia, cod, haddock, mahi mahi, or other firm fish. Graham cracker crust is a particularly good option when you want your taste buds to sing and when you want to try something unexpected that somehow pulls a dish together.
For the crust, it's best to blend the textures so it's a combination of fine powder and slightly larger crumbs. Either way, the pieces should still be on the smaller side. You don't want to eat a 1-inch chunk of graham cracker as you're cutting into your fish or taking a bite of your chicken fingers. Give your meat an edge with a graham cracker crust. It's delicious and adds texture depending on how finely you crush the crackers. Use regular graham crackers for most crusts, but a honey graham cracker would be amazing if your dish includes a sweet component like honey butter or applesauce.
Turn them into graham cracker houses
You can find gingerbread house kits at just about any grocery store during the holidays. The houses usually come in a particular design with designated pieces and decorations. Gingerbread is seen as a seasonal spiced delight, whereas graham cracker is used year-round. When you're searching for an activity to involve the entire family, decorating graham cracker houses might be perfect. You don't have to save them for Christmas or the winter holidays. A graham cracker house could be a summer activity or a spring one.
Get a couple of boxes of crackers, but buy more if you have more people who want to participate. Get a mix of original, honey, cinnamon, chocolate, or whatever flavors you can find. Spend time together and decorate them with a range of goodies to bring joy into your home. Customize them with colorful gummies and sprinkles. Keep everything together by using anything from icing to peanut butter to frosting. It's a whimsical and merry activity for all ages. This simple twist on a gingerbread house turns it from a holiday tradition to an anytime one.
Channel s'mores but in a different form
S'mores evoke memories of sticky fingers, marshmallows catching on fire, and melted chocolate dripping onto your pants. Reimagine how you eat this treat with one of the alternate forms that you can enjoy with your hands or on a plate with a fork. For a cozy cold night, make a round of s'mores hot cocoas for your family. Make your average cocoa then top with mini marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and crushed graham crackers.
S'mores pie is a baked version of s'mores that produces the same gooeyness without as much chaos. It still has the familiar melt factor, but you're not hunched over a camp chair trying to wash the goo off your fingers. You can eat this pie as an after-dinner dessert with a fork and napkin in the convenience of your home. For a cold confection, put together a s'mores ice cream cake to cool down on a sweltering day. Make s'mores in different formats to give it a purpose other than a campfire dessert.
Not just for cheesecake, give desserts a crusty boost
Graham crackers are essential for cheesecake crust, but cheesecake doesn't have to be the only thing to get a graham cracker crust. Give the bottom of your cake a tasty crust with graham crackers. Line the bottom of your pan or baking dish with crushed graham crackers to give it a crust-adjacent vibe without the need to add butter like a regular crust. The moisture from the cake helps everything stick together.
You could apply the same technique when making store-bought cinnamon rolls. Try this version with cinnamon graham crackers for a complementary taste. No matter which flavor of graham cracker you have in your pantry, you can upgrade the flavor with coconut sugar, cocoa powder, or spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. A graham cracker crust can go with many types of desserts since it works with the flavor without overwhelming it like a cookie crust might.
Rim your cocktail with crushed graham crackers
There are plenty of interesting ways to rim your cocktails to embellish the taste and texture. A graham cracker rim works especially well with dessert-inspired drinks or cocktails with chocolate or a cream element. Try it with eggnog, a white Russian, or a pumpkin pie martini. If you're using a cocktail that has simple syrup or flavored syrup already in it, use the same syrup to act as the glue to your graham crackers. It adds a crunch factor with each sip.
Graham crackers provide a complementary flavor to certain cocktails such as key lime pie martini. Rub the glass in lime juice and then coat it with graham cracker crumbs. Crushed graham crackers make a subtle addition to a decadent mudslide. Dip your glass in chocolate syrup and then dunk it in crushed graham crackers or better yet, chocolate graham crackers to go with the chocolatey theme. Mix finely chopped nuts with the graham crackers for even more texture.
Include graham crackers on a dessert charcuterie board
A grazing board is a great excuse to snack on some of your favorite items. When you make a sweet version, stay amused as you compose varying textures and flavors. It's like a little puzzle as you fill in the gaps and decide what goes where. Break the graham crackers in half so they're in square pieces, they will act as a piece of bread. Add any sweet treat to a dessert charcuterie board, from fruit to cookies to candy to dark chocolate.
Wet add-ons like jam or raspberries can go in little containers or small bowls to keep them from getting the graham crackers soggy. Sliced green apples, fig jam, or roasted almonds can even out the sweetness of everything else on the board. You might also want to place some with cheese like a sharp cheddar or gouda. At the very least, cheese with graham crackers will be a conversation starter.
Layer them into pudding cups or a parfait
Crushed cookies often get added to pudding cups and granola is a popular addition in parfaits. Channel a similar texture by adding graham crackers to pudding cups or parfaits to transform them into a captivating sweet. Gather your vessel of choice and begin layering in your pudding or yogurt. For a pudding cup decide what pudding flavor you want, whether you choose chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, pistachio, or something else is up to you.
Do a layer of pistachio pudding, chopped pistachios, another layer of pudding, sprinkle graham cracker crumbles, and a last pudding layer. Try making dirt pudding with chocolate graham crackers instead of Oreos. Mix in a handful of crushed graham crackers with your granola, so they work in harmony to create a complex flavor and captivating crunch for your parfait. Build a better parfait by layering ingredients and toppings that work well with your base flavor such as vanilla yogurt with honey, honey grahams, and candied pecans. Puddings and parfaits are quick desserts that you can assemble or do as a family activity.
Incorporate graham crackers in dessert nachos
When you have a few guests at your house or you want to partake in a family evening together, dessert nachos are a crowd-pleasing, engaging way to spend time around one another. Break your graham crackers in half so it's a square, then use a knife to cut it diagonally to make two triangles. You want larger pieces so they have some sturdiness to them. Once you cut all your pieces, put them on a plate and you can drizzle things like chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, or peanut butter, and then add toppings.
Crushed cookies, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, chopped nuts such as peanuts or walnuts, and other items to taste. A sprinkle of cinnamon and clove can give it a spaced kick that warms the soul. Add crushed cookies, toffee bits, raspberries, or sprinkles to give it a hint of color. To round things out you can top it with crushed chocolate graham crackers. The graham crackers serve as chips so you can use them to scoop things up. This is fun to bring to a party or get-together. Just be sure to bring everything on the side and assemble it at the gather so the graham crackers don't get soggy.
Top your ice cream with the crumbles
There are a couple of creative ways to use graham crackers for your ice cream. The first is to use it as a topping like you would use little cookie dough bites, mini chocolate chips, brownie bites, etc. For a full-on pulverized graham cracker, blend them in a food processor. Crumble them by hand to create slightly larger pieces that will give your ice cream a little crunch. Another way to use the crackers is to dip them on your cone.
Melt chocolate or white chocolate and then roll the cone in crushed graham crackers to create an interesting addition to your waffle cones. Chocolate graham crackers make a scrumptious pairing with chocolate-dipped cones, but you can use any kind. Add some hot fudge, fresh fruit, and whipped cream for a hot fudge sundae. Whether you whip up an involved Blizzard-inspired sundae or do a simple scoop of ice cream in a bowl, graham crackers make a delicious topping.
Put crushed graham crackers in your chili
Cornbread is a classic chili mix-in since it's a divine combination of sweet and savory. The cornbread practically melts in your mouth and works to balance any spices in the chili. Channel the same idea and perk up chili with graham crackers. Don't crush them too finely since they will immediately fall apart. You want larger pieces so you know they're there but they don't overpower the chill. Add bigger chunks as a topping or stir smaller bits into your stew to thicken it up.
This partnership tastes scrumptious with a tomato-based chili; the acidity of the tomatoes and the hints of sweetness from the graham cracker mesh together for a satisfying pairing. Use a standard graham cracker for this particular hack unless you are one to add cinnamon or other warming spices. If that's your secret ingredient, a cinnamon graham cracker would work.
Dunk them in a sweet dip
Graham crackers are the perfect vehicle to get your dip on. They offer a satisfying crunch with each bit but not overly crisp to where you end up scraping the roof of your mouth. They're firm enough to dip without crumbling under pressure. These treats are great items to dip into peanut butter, hazelnut spread, sweetened yogurt, and more. You could even use cocoa powder and sugar to boost the flavor of store-bought hummus.
Cheesecake usually calls for graham cracker crust, so a caramel pecan cheesecake dip would make a scrumptious pairing. The cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, vanilla yogurt, and caramel sauce taste rich and sweet, but you can customize the sweetness level and how much to spoon onto your crackers. Load it up or keep it lighter. Instead of chips and salsa, graham crackers and dip are a playful option to have on the nights when you stay at home enjoying a movie marathon.
Infuse them in your milk
Easily infuse your milk to make it into a campfire smore's latte. To do so, gather your milk and crushed graham crackers. Mix them and let it sit for at least 20 minutes but the longer you leave it the better it'll taste. The graham crackers should be super soggy if not completely disintegrated. Then it's time to strain since you don't have any residue as you sip your beverage. You'll be left with a tasty and distinctive milk that makes a great base for coffees, lattes, hot chocolates, or milky black tea.
This infusion method is simple and easy, but it can elevate your milk. For an extra touch, infuse milk with the graham crackers and cinnamon sticks for a slightly spiced version. Pair it with other flavors like peanut butter and chocolate chips or hazelnut spread for a nutty chocolatey combination. This comforting treat can be made into a hot drink, but you could make an iced latte, too. Pour your coffee or espresso over ice, then add in your desired amount of milk.
Sprinkle it onto yogurt or chocolate bark
Yogurt or chocolate bark is a wonderful way to use up items from your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Reserve refrigerated or perishable items to use on yogurt bark since that will be frozen whereas chocolate bark doesn't need to be refrigerated. Grab a baking tray or pan and line it with parchment paper for both chocolate bark and frozen yogurt bark. Spread your favorite yogurt onto the parchment paper, whether you prefer unflavored, vanilla, strawberry, or something else. You can't go wrong with a classic vanilla yogurt since it'll go with basically any topping. Place your graham cracker crumbles on top as well as any other goodies like fresh blueberries, chopped walnuts, or peanut butter.
For chocolate bark, you need to melt the chocolate and spread it onto parchment paper, then add your toppings. Use white, milk, or dark chocolate. Any type of graham cracker would make a crunchy addition to your chocolate bark. Sprinkle on nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, or mini marshmallows. The different add-ons create a nice texture that you can customize. Break both the yogurt bark and chocolate bark into pieces to serve and snack on. Freeze any leftover yogurt bark or put chocolate bark in an air-tight container.