Remember the chia seed crackers that we ate at Chocolatree Café just before hiking up 0.6 miles of rocky mountainside?
ƒHere they are in all their glory.
We kicked some major mountain booty that day and I’d like to think the chia seed crackers had something to do with it. After all, the Aztecs and Mayans used chia seeds (known as a “running food”) for hundreds of years to fuel their long journeys!
As soon as I got home, I knew I had to bust out a version of these in my own kitchen. I was “running” on 3 hours of sleep thanks to a 4am wake-up call and the chocolate I was inhaling wasn’t making me feel any better. The chia crackers came to my rescue!
Endurance Crackers
Yield
22 large crackers
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These Endurance Crackers are extremely light, healthy, and crispy while providing long-lasting energy. I love serving them with hummus (obviously) or smashed avocado and sea salt. Feel free to change up the seasonings and spices as you wish. These crackers are inspired by the ChcolaTree Organic Oasis in Sedona.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pepita seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 cup (250 mL) water
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated on a Microplane
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pepita seeds, and sesame seeds.
- Add the water, garlic, and salt. Stir with a spatula until combined. Allow the mixture to sit for a couple of minutes until the chia seeds absorb the water. After the 2-minute rest, when you stir the mixture, you shouldn’t see a pool of water on the bottom of the bowl.
- With the spatula (and a hand, if necessary), spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in two small rectangles, about 12x7 inches each and 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle additional salt on top.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully flip each rectangle with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes more, until lightly golden around the edges. Watch closely near the end to make sure they don’t burn. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes on the pan and then break the rectangles into crackers and let cool completely on the pan. Store in an airtight container or jar on the counter for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze the crackers in freezer bags for up to 1 month.
Tip:
- * If the crackers soften while storing (this can happen in humid environments), toast them in the oven on a baking sheet at 300ºF (150°C) for 5 to 7 minutes. After cooling, this should return them to their former crispness!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)As I reached for my garlic powder, I thought why not use fresh garlic instead? My mom recently shared a trick with me for mincing garlic: just use a fine grater instead of chopping it. I used my Microplane and it was the perfect consistency for these crackers. Just be careful you don’t saw off the end of your nail like I almost did.
10 seconds flat for fresh garlic!
After grating, I whisked the garlic in a glass with the water (note: I ended up using a full cup of water instead of the 1/2 cup shown here).
Pour the water mixture into the seed mixture and stir well. It will be thick and gel-like in consistency.
Now season as you wish.
I used a mixture of Herbamare, kelp granules, and kosher salt for maximum flavour, but you can really play around with the seasonings any way you like! Add some spices too if you wish. Taste and adjust if necessary.
This picture hates me, clearly.
Spread onto your baking sheet lined with parchment (or a non-stick mat, but you will have to bake them a bit longer). You want to spread the mixture as thin as possible.
After baking for 30 minutes at 300F, remove from the oven and slice crackers with a pizza slicer.
I did a large diamond shape. You can do any size and shape you want, depending on how much ninja power you are looking for!
With a spatula, carefully flip the crackers and bake for another 30 minutes until toasty and golden on the bottom. Mmm.
My new favourite cracker, easily.
Not only are they vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free, nut-free, and sugar free, but they can be made raw if you dehydrate them.
After cooling, they are crispy, chewy, and basically mind blowing ninja fuel perfect for dipping into hummus. Eric said they taste better than the ones at Chocolatree, but he may be biased. I couldn’t get over how light and crispy they are!
The question is: Whose butt do you want to kick this week?
Your boss, tough assignment, killer workout, or midterm exam?
Go make a list of things to butt kick.
Eat these crackers.
Kick some butt, ninja style.
It’s like bird food, but waaaaay better.
Do you ever see a tired bird?
I rest my case.
~~
Many of you ask where you can buy chia seeds. If you are looking for an online retailer in the US, try www.chiaseedsdirect.com. I’ve found both of these businesses to have very competitive prices. You can also purchase chia seeds from bulk food stores like Bulk Barn here in Canada or in natural food stores! Update: More readers also told me Costco sells them (in the supplement section) and even Winners and Homesense! Who knew?
These are delicious! Light and savory and so nutritious. I didn’t even have kelp or herbamare but just used sea salt for seasoning and they came out great. Thanks so much. A good pick-me-up for a very dull and snowy February. Take care.
I make these every week to take to work for lunches! They go great with my kale salads. I’ve even gotten a couple of co-workers hooked! Sometimes I add a bit of cayenne pepper to these, just “amp up” the flavor even more without adding too much heat! Delicious! These are the best cracker I’ve ever eaten!!
Delicious. So versatile and great for friends on different diets. 2nd batch I added grated fresh ginger and tamari for 1/4 of the water. 3rd batch added cinnamon, shredded coconut and maple syrup for 1/4 of the water.
Made these this evening and have to say I am impressed! I completely spaced at the grocery and forgot the sesame seeds so I substituted that half cup with equal parts pumpkin and sunflower seeds. No problems with the final product! Obviously the taste is affected but you still get a crispy cracker.
Thank you!
Easy to make, crunchy, healthy, and taste REALLY good! Thank you!
i just made this… turned out great and tastes even better. i put chill flakes through it and some mixed herbs. silly me i used foil, had to spend time after peeling it all off the crackers :/
I had a brainwave! Instead of just using water, I blended about three cups of fresh spinich and kale I had lying around with about a cup of water. Deelish, and perfect for st pattys
Awesome!!!
Holy crackers, I am in LOVE with these! They are tasty, filling, energizing, and they are so much more fun to eat than just grabbing handfuls of seeds out of a bag. I substituted the Herbamare for an individual packet of Green Superfoods ($1.40 @ Whole Foods) and added some Mrs. Dash seasoning. It worked out great! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I made these last night, and when I first put the water in I was scared the chia seeds weren’t going to soak it all up and that there was too much water. Oh me of little faith. By the time I scoured the comments section to see if anyone else had that problem, they’d sucked it all right up. I don’t feel like I spread these quite thin enough, thus I had to bake them 40 minutes today and they’re still a bit too chewy today. In the future, I’ll definitely make them thinner. Love the super easy SUPER healthy recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! Finding savory snacks can sometimes be a bit more difficult than sweet, so I love this! Also good for getting us off our tortilla chip addiction.
These are fantastic! Instead of putting garlic I added an organic herb salt and a good splash of soy sauce. Really tasty and moorish. I am from the land of plenty (New Zealand) and have found these products easy to source. Thank you so much
I made these yesterday. WOW are they ever good! Very easy to make and so filling. Thanks for sharing.
I made these today – they were delicious… But they were very brittle!
I don’t know why, may you help me..
I used flax seeds instead of chia seeds, do you think this can be the reason?
Or did I put too much water? Or my oven was too hot? Or I baked them too long?
Thank you for your help :)
Hey there, yes they are supposed to be a bit brittle :) As long as the recipe is followed, that’s how they should turn out (unless of course overbaked) maybe try baking for less time next time – oven temps can vary a lot!
Oh thanks for your reply!
I think you are right I probably overbaked them. Next time I will reduce the time!
Thank you and your website is awesome :)
Oh em gee! These are so good! And I love how nutritious they are! My boyfriend likes them too, so they are becoming a staple in our house! Unfortunately, my toddler spit his out, but we’ll keep working on him!
I used two garlic cloves in place of the onion, since I didn’t have it on hand, and just 1/4 tsp Herbamare to season. I love the idea of adding kale to the water, so I will be trying that next time. I thought that I was spreading them thin enough (my baking sheet was full), but they took so long to crisp up that I lost track of time. They were worth it, though!
Unfortunately, not a fan of the kale! I only used 3 leaves, but I had major sticking problems when I tried to flip them over at 30 min (probably should have waited longer) and the taste of the kale really muted the garlic taste that we enjoyed so much with the first batch. I will be sticking with the kale in smoothies and salads from now on.
I’m also going to start making just a half batch at a time, or using two cookie sheets. I still couldn’t get them thin enough on one cookie sheet.
I had the sticking problem even without the kale. Quite frustrating really: had the bottom half never coming out.
I’ve been meaning to try these for ages, and now that I finally did, I really understand what all the hype is about – YUM! Love them so much :) I’ve stored mine in a tupperware: How long do they keep? I’ve also popped a couple in a ziploc in the freezer to take with me on a travel later on. Does the texture stay ok? And, a reader request: I have read suggestions for sweet versions above, and I would really like to see a sweet version at some point on your blog!
Just pulled these out of the oven and wow do these have a lot of flavor. I omitted the kelp and herbamare but added a litte nutritional yeast. These are delish and I can’t wait to take them on a hike. My buddies will be shocked to learn these are homemade. One word to the wise, when she calls for parchment paper don’t think you can use aluminum foil. It will get you where you need to go but it’ll make you work for it haha
I also found the Chocolatree in Sedona. I talked with the owner and she said they use DULCE. I haven’t tried your recipe with dulce yet. I wanted to THANK YOU for this recipe. My husband and I make it regularly and it is truly a tasty treat.
Good health and good fortune to you!
Jillian
Just made these! Overall they are delish! I am defiantly going to make these again :)))
I made these today. They were delicious, but I just wanted to mention that you should NOT USE WAX PAPER. It stuck to the crackers like crazy! Trying to peel it off, I lost a lot of the seeds that refused to “unstick” from the paper.
Same here. Let me know if you find any way to stop them from sticking.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I’ve been on a very restricted diet to heal my gut issues and I’m not allowed to eat any grains. I was starting to get very bored and frustrated with my diet until I found these. I used black sesame seeds and they look and taste gorgeous.
Hi,
I made these crackers and they are awesome. I’ve been sharing your recipe with everyone and I did take a few liberties with adding some things.
My big question is: how can I make them so they aren’t so crumbly and hold their shape for longer. I’m baking at an elevation of 5500 ft so that’s a little different. I know it would take away from the purity of the recipe, but is there a stabilizer of some sort we could add?
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
Hey Brenda, Hmm I’m not sure. Did you let them col completely on the pan before slicing? I haven’t had any issues with crumbling so I’m really not sure what’s going on.
HI Angela,
according to the directions we are to cut the crackers after the first round of baking, flip them over and then bake again. Has there been a change in the baking directions that I missed?
the other thing is that I may be pressing them too thin. Next time I will try to make them just a little thicker.
Brenda