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?
How long would one dehydrate these for??
Yum! I make these with a 1/2 cup of LSC (ground linseed sunflour chia) instead of sesame which made them less tough as the ground stuff filled in the gaps, and use garlic powder and paprika. I think its just making sure you use the correct quantity of chia as a binder you can vary the other 1.5 cups of seeds. I Vac packed mine to keep them crispy and fresh. I just had one after a month and still yum. Makes me not miss bread! Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Leyla!
My college aged son loved these when he came home for Thanksgiving, and a number of his friends did, too. I just made a sweet version- leaving out the garlic and seasoning, and covering with dark chocolate pieces as soon as it came out of the oven. And I just made up several packages of the seeds and seasonings ( a variety of seasonings) so he can just add water and bake, as a Christmas present. I better make sure he owns a cookie sheet.
Those are such great ideas, Rebecca! I’m sure he’ll love the gift.
I am anxious to try this recipe! it sounds delicious!
I hope you enjoy it when you give it a try, Mary Beth! It’s one of my go-tos. :)
I am so excited to try this recipe!
Just one question – could the chia seeds be substituted for any other seed? Poppy perhaps? – any other ideas?
I only ask because chia seeds are SO expensive here in South Africa and it would be nice to know if they can be substituted :)
Thank you so much for such a great recipe!
Hi Sally, as the chia seeds absorb the water and help everything hold together, I’m not sure there’s anything that would work well as a substitute. Sorry!
You can use flax seeds – also super absorbent! I don’t love the flavor of flax, so I usually use half and half. Alternatively, you could experiment with psyllium husk powder, but I don’t know about the measurements (maybe 2 TBS?)
Angela- these are a serious home run. I have made them at least two dozen times. This weekend I tried two new things. I cut two sheets into cracker shapes after the first flip when they’re still a bit pliable. Worked like a charm!
I also tried a batch with 1t cinnamon and the same amount of vanilla extract with coconut sugar sprinkled on top. It was a winner.
Thanks again for all of your work!
this looked like a great recipe lovely seeds, very simple what could go wrong – the taste was awful, yes they came out crispy, but i think it was too many chia seeds, i made another batch with 1/4 chia seeds that you used, and added in some ground almonds and almond flour and halved the water – the taste was much more crackery – sorry to cast a down note
Love these! I have made them 3-4 times now. The last time I made them I stuck them in a dehydrator for about 10 hours after baking them. I loved the crispier texture. These are perfect for on the go snacks, taking on trips etc.
Thanks for the love, Stacy! And thanks, too, for sharing the great tip about using the dehydrator!
I’m about to make my 2nd batch today and they are AMAZING!! I anticipated brittleness/loose seeds so processed half of the mixture to create a dough to hold the seeds together better. I also baked 1/2 tbsp portions in a mini muffin top pan or u cud use a muffin tin to create uniform rounds (approx 2″) that are easy to stack and store. I travel a lot and this is my go-to snack on planes along w my Paleo Low Carb Cauliflower Hummus recipe I found on website ibreatheimhungry.com. Thank u to ALL of u bloggers who generously share ur work to make our healthcare journey so much easier!! :-)
Love these crackers. My favorite.
I’ve been using your OSG Everyday cookbook since I went back to being vegan about a month ago. Today I’m trying this recipe, but I didn’t have any garlic left, so I used garlic powder. From licking my fingers after spreading the goop, I suspect these are going to be very garlicky crackers! Wish me luck! Also, is a microplaner the same as a zester? Otherwise, I haven’t a clue, when I make these with real garlic.
Yes it sure is! I hope the crackers turn out well for you. I find the garlic flavours tend to mute a little after baking.
Thanks so much! You are a true treasure and the crackers came out fine! Only problem is that I ate them all!
Hi,
In the recipe you state that the oven needs to preheat at 300 but in your text you state that it cooks at 325. Is one of these temperatures incorrect?
Hi Shawna, Thanks for your question! The temperature stated in the recipe is the correct one, so please follow that, cooking at 300F. The recipe’s been revised since it was originally posted, which is why there’s a discrepancy between it and the surrounding text; I’ll try to update the text soon!
Hi Anegla!
I made this recipe today using your second cookbook! The crackers are delicious! I didn’t have sesame seeds, so I used hemp seeds instead and the crackers are perfect! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing, Tiffany! I’m glad to know that swap worked out so well for you and that you’re loving the crackers. Enjoy!
Well, I think this is my very first comment ever under some recipe but I just had to tell you that crackers are perfect! :) I can’t wait my family to come home and try them because it will be something I’ll be making every single week. I’m sure. :)
Thank you. You just got a big fan from Croatia ;)
Thank you so much for leaving this comment, Mima! I’m thrilled to hear you’re loving the crackers.
I’m a little confused. I don’t see sweet onion under the ingredients list, or in the instructions, but you do mention it in the follow up notes in your blog post. However, I seem to be the only one who is questioning this (I read every comment) so what am I missing? Or can you just tell me how much sweet onion you use?
Hey Candace, Apologies for the confusion! My original recipe contained minced onion, but in my revision of this recipe I decided not to include it to simplify things a bit. When I do add fresh minced onion though, it’s usually only about a teaspoon or so. I hope this helps!
Thank you! I actually ended up going rogue and adding some garlic powder, onion powder, nooch, and smoked paprika. We’re hitting a 16 mile loop with 4500′ elevation gain/loss tomorrow and these sounded perfect. They are very tasty and hopefully will help us with that endurance we’re going to need!
Do you have the nutrition information for these crackers? I made them and loved them but I need to track my macros.
Hi Barbara, You can find the nutritional info for these here. This is the nutritionanls sheet for Oh She Glows Every Day, so you’ll have to scroll down a bit, to the third recipe grouping on that first page. Hope this helps!
Angela, the recipe does not mention sweet onion, but in the directions, you said you grated garoic and sweet onion on a microplane, how much onion did you use? Thank you, looks delicious
Hey Marcia, Great question! My original recipe contained minced onion, but in my revision of this recipe I decided not to include it to simplify things. When I do add fresh minced onion , it’s usually only about a teaspoon or so. I hope this helps!
Confused in the ingredients. The ingredient list does not include the ingredients shown in the step-by-step pics- the onion and kelp. Are these ingredients optional or did you forget to include them in the ingredient list? I’m interested in trying the recipe but need to make sure I have the correct ingredients. Could yoy please please clarify? Thank yoy.
Hey Dalilah, Sorry for the confusion! My original recipe contained minced onion and kelp granules, but in my revision of this recipe I decided not to include them to simplify things. You can still add them to taste, though! When I add fresh minced onion, it’s usually only about a teaspoon or so. I hope this helps!
Just made these off of the app for my first ever plant based road trip. So easy and delicious! I will be making these weekly for snacks!
Could I use the dehydrator instead? Has anyone tried? Thanks
I can’t see why not, Katie!