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!
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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?
Do you use salted or unsalted seeds?
Hey Misha, I prefer unsalted raw seeds. If you use salted, you might want to tweak the amount of fine sea salt in the recipe to taste. I hope that helps!
Hello there, I don’t make comments usually. But I really felt I needed to make a comment about this recipe. I have made these crackers many times and have shared the crackers with friends. They all love them and have requested the recipe from me. In fact from time to time I will get a text out of the blue requesting the recipe. It’s a super big hit.
When I make them I use a garlic press to mush the garlic but I also use the press to mush a small piece of onion. I like the addition of onion.
A friend of mine makes a version where she skips the garlic and adds some cinnamon and a little bit of stevia. It makes a sweet cookie type cracker they are really nice too.
Anyway I wanted to thank you for giving us a such a great and well loved recipe.
Hi Holly, Thank you so much for your great feedback! I appreciate it so much. I too have tried a sweet version of the crackers…such a fun change and great with nut or seed butter and a little cinnamon on top!
DONT have sesame seeds at the moment can I use hemp seeds?
Yes absolutely!! :) enjoy
I didn’t have all the right ingredients so I made these with low expectations and they were so flavourful and satisfying!! Do you think I could make a sweet version- i.e. with cocoa powder and maple syrup?
Great to hear! :) yes I bet they would be delicious ?
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Do you have any idea at what temperature and time to make in the dehydrator? I can not wait to make it !
Hi Bertha, I’m sorry I don’t! Hope you enjoy them :)
I can’t wait to make these! Quick question… could you use sprouted seeds for this recipe?
Thanks!
Abby
Hey Abby, Hmm good question. Do you mean sprouted and dried/dehydrated seeds? If so that shouldn’t change anything. If you are soaking the seeds and using them “wet” the water may need to be reduced a tiny bit. I’d love to hear how it goes!
I tried this and it was a total flop. I ended up with a baking sheet full of seeds that were still all separate, that had garlic and salt added so I couldn’t even use them for anything else. I did have some water left after the two minutes and mixed another Tbsp. of chia seeds in – but it still didn’t work. Any idea ANYONE, what I did wrong please?
I made these endurance crackers and was amazed at how crispy and tasty they were. I did add a dash of soya sauce. However the ingredients list did not include the sweet onion which is mentioned after the recipe instructions?
Hi Ruby,
I’m glad you like them. The sweet onion was from an earlier version. I removed the note from the post to line up with the instructions. Thanks for finding this!
Hi – I made these, and they are delicious! It was my second attempt. On my first attempt I had what I can only assume was a moment of old-timer’s and used 1/2 cup of flaxseed instead of sunflower seeds. I have only made one or two recipes with flaxseed before, so I was just wondering if, in your experience, there is such a thing as eating too much flaxseed. As in, am I going to experience any sort of “intestinal disruptions” or anything crazy? They tasted good with the flax, but the texture was a little too “seedy” for me. I only ate a small portion until I could find out if I should be concerned about a possible incident. Any info you can provide is much appreciated. Thanks! Also your flourless peanut butter cookies are AMAZING!
chia seed really does not like my digestive system. I wonder if there is something I could substitute instead? Could I use ground flax
Yay I love Chocolatree. I havent tried the recipe yet…I need to soak and sprout some nuts and seeds first….also…has anyone tried this in a dehydrator? Is the oven the way to go….Im no longer raw, but I thought this would be dehydrated normally
thanks for posting. cheers!
Yes, several have used a dehydrator. Just your browser “find in this page” tool (Firefox = Ctrl-F) and scroll from post to post that pops up. Doug March 30, 2012 at 4:05 pm is first one I see.
I was gifted your cookbook OH SHE GLOWS EVERYDAY.
I make this recipe every week – I LOVE IT.
So easy and so delicious – I am addicted.
My daughter is Gluten sensitive and this fits the bill perfectly.
Thank you Angela.
Made these in my Excalibur Dehydrator and they came out beautifully. I think I dehydrated them for about 5-6 hours (didn’t really watch the time). I will be making these again – so yummy!!
Ooh thanks for this. Was scrolling to see if anyone tried dehydrating!!
This recipe has become a staple, it’s so easy and versatile, sweet or savoury. To simply the mincing, I throw and chunky seasoning (I like garlic, fresh hot pepper, rosemary) into a blender with the water, 10 sec done.
Hi Angela, I have your Everyday cookbook the the sun-dried tomato crackers, but made these because I was ready to go to bed and this recipe seemed simpler! They are a dream come true…sooo easy. I used your 9 spice seasoning plus fresh and dried garlic and put them in the dehydrator overnight at 135°F. They look like expensive fancy crackers from the health food store and are so light and crispy. I’m trying to figure out how to travel with them so that they don’t crumble! Thinking of brushing the tops with tamari next time. Lots of flavour possibilities!
I meant to give a 5 star rating but my phone had a glitch!
Love these crackers. Easy and delicious! I make them regularly.
I’ve tried this recipe several times and my crackers crumble. They taste great…but did not come out like yours. What do you mean by a “pool of water” on the bottom of the bowl? And what do I do with that water…discard? Thanks for your help cause I want to try again.
My daughter has a sesame allergy. What would you recommend in place of the sesame seeds?
Wonderful recipe! Thank you so much for the idea. I also experimented a little with flavors and added some flax seeds, beetroot powder to one batch and flax seeds, wasabi powder and spinach powder to the other. Both turned out great and I can’t wait to make more!