This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Light, buttery and salty, these gluten free “Ritz” crackers taste just like Nabisco's Ritz—but they're gluten free!
What makes this recipe for Ritz-style gluten free crackers so special
When it comes to being gluten free, we're nostalgic for what we used to have, and no longer can. We're tired of eating our Fourth of July burger with a fork, while everyone else has a burger on a bun.
We might know that the bun is carbs, and carbs are not good for us. But choosing not to have something because you know it's bad for you is just not the same as not being able to have it because it'll make you sick.
Sometimes, we just want a Ritz Cracker, since they're buttery and crispy and taste like nothing else. But since we can't have one from a package, we'll just have to make our own homemade Ritz style gluten free crackers.
These crackers taste just like Ritz, but they're gluten free. If cheese could choose a cracker for its plate, it would choose Ritz every time.
Why I created this gf crackers recipe
I first published this recipe (with that photo above) on the blog in 2011. Depending upon when you're reading this, that was at least 4 1/2 years ago.
I remember being sick and tired of everyone saying that we shouldn't be trying to recreate old favorite baked goods as gluten free. It's not like we want to eat ourselves into a carb coma every single day. But we want to be able to make choices.
All these years later, I still feel the same way. I don't want to be lectured, whether it's January or December, about how I or my gluten free son should eat.
I just want us to have choices. Sometimes, it helps even just to know that you can make your own Ritz style gluten free crackers. Even if you never do it.
Except just once, do it. There's a short video that shows you how easy it is to make the dough and roll it out, then bake it quickly to perfection. Be sure to keep the dough chilled, and bake it in a hot hot oven. The crackers will crisp as they cool.
Gluten free crackers, Ritz-style recipe
Gluten Free Ritz Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I like Better Batter here; please click thru for appropriate blends), plus more for sprinkling
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) cold water, with ice, (ice does not count in the volume measurement), plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, sugar, paprika and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Using a standard size grater, grate the cold butter into the large bowl of dry ingredients, stopping occasionally to flour the butter to keep it separated. Toss to coat the butter in the dry ingredients.
- Add the vegetable oil, and stir to combine. Add about 1/4 cup of the ice water, and stir to combine. Add more water by the half-teaspoonful as necessary to bring the dough together.
- Press the dough into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle lightly with more flour on both sides of the dough and roll out until a bit more than 1/8-inch thick, moving and turning the dough, and sprinkling with extra flour as necessary to keep it from sticking.
- Using a scalloped-edge 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out shapes.
- Place the shapes about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets. With a toothpick, poke four to six holes toward the center of each cracker to help them rise.
- Gather and reroll the scraps to cut out crackers until you’ve used up the dough.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the crackers are just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, brush the crackers with the melted butter and sprinkle with extra salt.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet. They will crisp as they cool.
- The crackers can be stored in a sealed glass container at room temperature and should maintain their texture that way.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Umm, we used to plan meals around crackers. It all had to do with the toppings, meat, cheese, cream cheese, etc. :)
And I used to spoon the sugar into my coffee in amazing amounts! Or the hot cocoa mix!
will they be super horrible if I leave the paprika out? I just realized I don’t have any. :(
Hi, Joy,
No. Of course not. They won’t be super horrible. They will be a different color, and will have a more “flat” flavor, but they will still taste really good! Maybe cut the recipe in half, and make it again once you have paprika?
xoxo Nicole
SO SO SO SOOOOOO look forward to reading your blog…you’re nutz! (most affectionately!!!)
Love you!!!
NEVER be ashamed of schweeeet coffee – I confess (with a red, red face….) I use 3 tsp in a giant cup.
I once was in a convenient mart and watched a woman put 20 packets in her cup…..20 packets???????
My nephew even noticed, and he says “Ewwwwwwwwww…did you see that? Why didn’t she just buy a bag & a spoon???”
Ritz…Scott will be head over heals, you know. He said that he misses them and bagels the most. Guess I better go cheese shopping! :)
Hi, Pamela,
I know. I’m totally crazy. But I’m relatively harmless. :)
Okay, 20 packets is gross. That person sounds like a loon for sure. Your nephew is right. Get a spoon!
I don’t know Scott, but if he misses Ritz, he should have these. And I have a recipe for GF bagels (a few recipes, in fact) in my cookbook. Easy peasy.
Enjoy!
xoxo Nicole
Nicole, my new BESTEST
friend…..
OMG….Scott was SO impressed with the crackers…although, it was way too hot in the kitchen when i made them.
he was WAYYYYYY impressed with the flavor. One question I had was do you think they’d get a bit ‘crisp-er’ if I refrigerated the dough prior to baking? they were a little thick (due to the heat, they were almost melty)…if I chilled them down, do you think that would work?
Hi, Pamela,
Yes, especially if it’s hot in your kitchen, definitely refrigerate the rounds prior to baking them. The recipe already directs you to chill the dough prior to rolling it out, but if it’s hot in your kitchen, refrigerate the rounds on the baking sheets before baking. Glad you enjoyed!
xoxo Nicole
Thank you, my dear!!! i WILL be making these again soon because i got him some horseradish cheese spread. something for him & Miss Molly (the dog) to eat…
(yes, the dog is GF too….)
Happy Molly days – aka the weekend!!!
THANK YOU! I am 3 weeks into gf eating and sometimes I want to cry over tortillias and not being able to have them. Ritz crackers are next on the list!!!
So, far I have only been eating the things that are naturally gf (fruits and veggies- mostly) but this is the weekend I try to start baking!
Can’t wait to try this recipie!!!
Hi, Jennifer,
Welcome to GF eating (and the blog). C’mon in. The water’s just fine. :)
There is a great GF tortilla recipe in my book, and if you click on the Flour Tortilla link in this post, you can actually find the recipe reprinted with permission by Living Without Magazine in an article that I wrote for their current issue. They’re so easy. I make them multiple times in any given week. Naturally gluten-free foods are great, but they’re not enough. You need choices! Let us know how this weekend’s baking goes!
xoxo Nicole
THANKS SO MUCH! So making this for the weekend! Helloooo dip… meet a GF cracker again!
First off…don’t EVER be embarrassed about how you take your coffee…I can put you to SHAME of that one. I put swiss miss cocoa in my coffee. Every. Day. *hangs head in shame*
Second…I saw a link to Nilla Wafers…we make (well, we USED to make) a cold banana pudding that uses Nilla Wafers…do u think that those would stand up to it? They’re supposed to get all soggy and nom…I’ve just never tried a gf version and I’m nervous… :/
Hi, Jessica,
Okay, you have me beat with Swiss Miss in your coffee. But I will not judge. I will look away politely, as I have asked of you.
You should read the comments on my Nilla Wafers post. People talked a whole lot about the very same banana pudding. They hold up. Proper.
xoxo Nicole
Everything tastes better on a Ritz and I’m about to put the whole damn kitchen sink on a Ritz and smile. I’m going to put so many Ritz crackers in my mouth that I can’t barely breathe. You know what I’m talking about, it gets all dry in there and you’re about to choke – kind of like that party game where you whistle after eating a saltine. Oh Nicole, if I hadn’t found you, my life would be missing something….calories and comfort foods! But I love you for it. And I love you for showing me the light to Better Batter – I’m waitin’ on my first 25lb bag!!!! Boo yah! And when it arrives? Crackers! Crackers for everyone!
Hi, Jayne!
I’m so glad things are going to work out for you with Better Batter. How awesome are they and their financial assistance? The best. Oh, and I totally know what you mean about cotton mouth from stuffing it with Ritz. Stuff away!
xoxo Nicole
Jayne….
my honey agrees… I imagine I’ll have to keep a gallon of water available so that he doesn’t choke on the crumbs (as he stuffs his pie hole full, too!)
Can shortening work for the butter for those of us that are dairy free?
Hi, Tracy,
I have to be honest, I have not tested them with a butter alternative, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work really well with nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (not margarine – I hate that stuff, and it is awful for pastry since it will make the pastry spread, something you never want pastry to do). Spectrum makes a good one.
Hope that helps!
xoxo Nicole
SO making these!!
Is it weird to plan a whole meal around a cracker??
Hi, Amanda,
If it’s weird, I wouldn’t know. I’m a lunatic, remember? ;)
xoxo Nicole
what’s a good cheese without a cracker? I agree crackers, a good tortilla are things I miss most.