Lentil Buckwheat Crackers
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These lentil crackers are a great gluten-free recipe that will keep you coming back for more. They’re a crunchy, wholesome, and surprisingly delicious snack your whole family is sure to love.
With their rich, nutty taste, homemade lentil crackers are much more satisfying than the featherweight boxed crackers you’ll find on a gluten-free aisle at the store.
They pack a nutritional wallop as well, with lentils supplying iron, buckwheat adding trace elements like manganese, and flax seeds infusing each bite with healthy omega-3s.
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Why Make Homemade Crackers?
As with making anything else homemade, there are many reasons to make your own homemade crackers.
Healthy Ingredients: It’s hard to find crackers that are as wholesome as these Lentil Crackers. Whole beans (sprouting the beans makes them more nutritious), hearty flours, and other ingredients with no preservatives or additives make these crackers a healthy snack you can feel good about serving and eating.
Control Over Ingredients: Want a completely organic cracker? Use all organic ingredients. Need a totally vegan recipe? You can do it. Avoiding grains? You can do that too.
Save Money: While time of course, is something to consider, ounce for ounce you will save money making your own homemade crackers, especially if you purchase your ingredients in bulk. Store-bought crackers, like most processed foods, are quite expensive when you look at the price per pound of the finished product.
Gram for gram, homemade crackers are a great value, and putting together the dough is not that difficult.
The lentils that form the base of these crackers are not only rich in nutrients, they take less time to prepare than other beans.
You can boil dry lentils straight out of the package or sprout them for a day or two and boost their digestibility further (make sure to de-gas the lentils though!).
I’ve made these homemade crackers with both un-sprouted and sprouted lentils, with similar tasting results. Before making each batch, I cooked more than enough lentils and used the extra portions for making soup and hummus.
The process of rolling out the dough and forming the crackers was similar to making my Swedish Hard Tack Crackers, though lentil crackers rank higher in both nutritional value and allergy friendliness. And once the crackers are baked, they are hearty enough to stand on their own. Or you can opt to add a topping, like dairy-free green pesto, cilantro pesto, olive tapenade, or crab salad. I could happily eat these crackers all summer long. Won’t you join me?
Optional Sprouting Step
The above photo is of lentils that were soaked for 12 hours in spring water, then drained and allowed to sprout in the jar for 24 hours.
Recipe Notes
- Nut-Free Variation: Substitute ½ cup organic brown or organic white rice flour for almond flour and increase coconut oil to 6 tablespoons. Bake at 325 degrees F (160 C).
- Low-Carb Grain-Free Variation: Substitute ½ cup (packed) almond flour for the buckwheat flour. Instead of 6 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, use 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons organic ground chia seed. Reduce coconut oil to 4 tablespoons. The dough will be soft and will not need any water added. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 C).
- De-Gas Beans: Make sure to use de-gassing methods for the lentils if you are not sprouting them.
- Sweetener Alternatives: You can use a pinch of stevia (read this post on how to use it) instead of honey for a lower-carb option.
- Vegan Notes: The debate about whether honey is vegan or not is complicated. I personally think honey qualifies as being vegan, but if you wish to avoid honey for this or any other reason, you can use another sweetener. There isn’t much honey in the recipe so it’s not imperative to follow those directions or use any sweetener at all.
Gluten-free Vegan Lentil Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked whole lentils (sprouted or unsprouted)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour (light or dark)
- 6 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon pure honey (or alternative–see notes)
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
Instructions
- Puree cooked lentils until smooth.
- Combine lentils and flax seed, followed by honey and coconut oil. Stir well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir well to form a crumbly dough.
- Gradually add water by teaspoons until dough is neither too crumbly nor too sticky. Cover dough ball and chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Divide dough into 2 portions. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface or countertop and dust lightly with a little buckwheat flour. Place one portion of dough on the floured parchment and then lay another sheet of parchment on top. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness (about 2 mm).
- To make square crackers, simply score the dough at even increments to form a grid. To make round crackers, use a round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut shapes. Gather scraps of dough and roll out again to form more crackers.
- Carefully transfer each shaped cracker dough piece to a parchment-lined baking sheet. If one breaks, add it to the next portion of dough and try again.
- Bake crackers in batches at 300 degrees F (150 C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until mostly crisp. (To help them bake evenly, I flipped them half-way through baking.) Allow them to cool on the baking sheet to crisp up further. (Be careful not to over-bake or they will get too dark and taste bitter.)
- Store cooled crackers in a tightly sealed container.
Notes
- Nut-Free Variation: Substitute ½ cup organic brown or organic white rice flour for almond flour and increase coconut oil to 6 tablespoons. Bake at 325 degrees F (160 C).
- Low-Carb Grain-Free Variation: Substitute ½ cup (packed) almond flour for the buckwheat flour. Instead of 6 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, use 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons organic ground chia seed. Reduce coconut oil to 4 tablespoons. The dough will be soft and will not need any water added. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 C).
- De-Gas Beans: Make sure to use de-gassing methods for the lentils if you are not sprouting them.
- Sweetener Alternatives: You can use a pinch of stevia (read this post on how to use it) instead of honey for a lower-carb option.
- Vegan Notes: The debate about whether honey is vegan or not is complicated. I personally think honey qualifies as being vegan, but if you wish to avoid honey for this or any other reason, you can use another sweetener according to the information in this post. There isn’t much honey in the recipe so it’s not imperative to follow those directions or to use any sweetener at all.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
These crackers would be great with either sweet or savory partnerings.
Think cheese (or vegan cheese like this sunflower seed cheese or almond feta), sesame-free hummus, homemade nut butter and jam or honey.
This post was updated with new images in 2019. The following is the original image for reference.
What would you eat these homemade crackers with?
Julia resides in the province of Saskatchewan, where she has inherited a love of Saskatoon berries. Her four children were born in Thailand, Vietnam, Chicago, and Nebraska, respectively. In Oklahoma, she once had the pleasure of meeting Adrienne in person.
Developing recipes with healthy, affordable ingredients is one of her favorite pursuits. At her blog, Swirls and Spice, you’ll find a growing collection of dairy-free recipes.
I flattened them using by using the (small) 1 Tablespoon baller of dough between two parchment papers in a Tortilla press. It makes a predictable 4 inch cracker of uniform thickness. Because of the oil, the parchment paper on one side peels off easily. Once they are baked, I put them into a food dehydrator on a low setting to finish the drying. That way I could put more crackers in the oven and keep baking. Makes about 30, 4 inch crackers.
Hi there 🙂 I just love this recipe idea. I was wondering do you think a dehydrator would work as well, it seems my oven is on the fritz and the idea of using the toaster oven to make these little lovelies just seems to much to tackle. Any idea of dehydrator success?
Fantastic article by the way, I do love your style.
Kristi Linebaugh
I think it should work just fine – we used to do flatbread / cracker type things in the dehydrator. It’s been awhile. Thanks for the kind words. It was a guest post, however (not my writing–this is Adrienne responding), but I appreciate it just the same.
Hi there, I really like the combination of ingredients in your recipes. Your Buckwheat pancakes are great in texture and flavour. So thankyou! My daughter is highly reactive to rice and almonds. If i make a nut/rice version of these crackers could I just substitute the almond flour for more buckwheat flour and still keep the same amount of wet ingredients. Thank you in advance for your advice.
Hi there – I think it should work but just watch the moisture level and add or subtract more if needed. Thanks for the compliment – we just made the buckwheat pancakes yesterday!
I do beg your pardon! I put my glasses on and found the ground flaxseed in the recipe!
In the no-grain option you mention cutting back from 6 Tbsp ground Flaxseed to 3 Tbsp Flaxseed but no where in the recipe do I see the use of ground Flaxseed. Can you clarify?
Cheers,
The name of this recipe needs to change or Stevia/Maple syrup should replace Honey altogether as the sweetening agent. I know it;s kind of knit-picky but honey is just not vegan.
Hi Grace. I’m glad you mentioned this, but not glad that I can’t find a fabulous article on why honey is vegan that I read years ago. There is another one out there but it’s loaded with foul language so not sharing that :).
Anyhow, it seems that the concern is that many bees aren’t being treated right, correct? I wish I could remember the thinking in that other article. Sad that I can’t. But aren’t bees involved in pollinating so many plants? So to say that honey isn’t vegan would mean that vegans shouldn’t eat any plants that bees pollinated, correct? Perhaps that is the argument that I read, but I don’t recall at this point. Let me know what you think.
Hi Adrienne,
You definitely have an understandable point, but it is my belief that vegans only eat plants, which I’m sure is quite a common consensus among vegans. I do know people who are vegan except for the consumption of honey, but every one of them acknowledges that honey is not vegan. It just simply isn’t. As a 15 year vegan and vegan cafe owner, I feel our opinion on this is very well informed. That being said, however, we do not judge those who choose to make different choices from us.
I appreciate your input and concerns. I so wish I could find that other article. Oh well. I wonder what happened to it? Take care.
This is my third time following the low carb grain free version all the attempts I used sprouted buckwheat groats rather than buckwheat flour used more chia and added sunflower and pumkin seeds and they came out delicious when adding raw garlic and spices, only issue i have had is the legnth of time in oven the batter is amazingly easy to work with however it took very long time to dry at 300 degrees about 40 minuets causing them to burn slightly. Today I took out the hot spices and left them in 265 degree oven for 70 minuets did not burn but are a bit more bitter when eaten on their own. I wonder if I got dehydrator whether I would avoid the bitterness. Thankyou for sharing! Buckwheat is my new love I have been making gluten free grain free with the base of raw fermented buckwheat groats which has the most amazing texture, surprised no one is marketing it as it is far superior to most gluten free breads that rely on grains and or eggs or gums. So wonderful a world of possibilties THANKYOU
So glad you liked them! I have these on my site too: https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/gluten-free-wraps-buckwheat-galettes-buckwheat-pancakes-vegan/ Enjoy! Oh, and this too: https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/gluten-free-granola-buckwheat-cereal-buckwheat-granola/
These are pretty good! Used coconut “flour” (actually just blended up some grated dried coconut until it was like flour texture) instead of the almond/rice flour as I had neither. Delish!
Great to hear!!
Hi
Do I need to cook the lentils at all after sprouting or are they good to go?
Hi there. The recipe says to use cooked lentils. Thanks and hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for this great recipe! I’m planning to try a variation of it this week.
So hope you like it!
Hi – great recipe. Any chance you could use white rice flour instead of brown rice flour? We are mostly paleo but egg and nut free, and do eat white rice and lentils and buckwheat – so this recipe is perfect!
Yes, you can! I will add that option to the recipe – great idea!!!
I absolutely love using lentils as a “grain” for baking! These crackers look yummy! I wonder if you have any ideas for replacing the buckwheat for those who are sensitive to it? Thanks!
Oh I see your almond flour substitution now! Sorry!
No problem :).
I just saw this and am amazed – what a great idea! Thank you for sharing! I’ll be sharing this link soon on FB. Just pinned it! 🙂
Is the 1 cup lentil measurement presoaking or post soaking? Thanks!
I measured after pureeing the lentils.
Thanks for this! Question – I am trying to increase my folate intake in preparation for getting pregnant. Lentils have a good amount but I am wondering if soaking or baking them decreases the folate?
Recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it. Silly question, but I’ve never sprouted anything before. Do I just cook the sprouted lentils like I would if I hadn’t sprouted them? Or are they ok to eat once they’ve been sprouted? Thanks!
I think most people steam or boil lentils after sprouting. They are softer and much easier to digest when cooked. I boiled mine.
What a super cool idea! I would have never thought to use lentils–man, have I been hiding in a cave or what?: 😉 Great recipe!
Well, lentils were not my first thought either, actually. But I found they worked better than chickpeas.
I clicked on your link from Real Food Wednesday because your picture of the crackers looked so good. I didn’t think I had time to comment, but I then saw you are also from Saskatchewan and a Saskatoon lover. I’m looking forward to trying these!
Thanks for your kind comment! I was happy to find local lentils from Saskatchewan to make these crackers. I think you will enjoy them too!
yummy! and healthy too..gonna to try this recipe.i add butter insteaed of coconut oil
I think that should work fine. Let us know how they turn out.
These sound great! Do you think it would work to use a dehydrator rather than the oven?
It’s definitely worth trying. The dough tastes good even before baking, so it would likely work fine. I’ve seen other cracker recipes that use dehydration as an alternate finishing method.