Homemade Graham Cracker Crust
This is our favorite Graham Cracker Crust, with the perfect proportions and just the right amount of sweetness and crunch! This recipe is easy to make with just 3 simple ingredients: graham crackers, butter, and sugar. It turns out so delicious and buttery, you’ll never buy one from the store again!
This homemade Graham Cracker Crust recipe is our all-time favorite! It has just the right amount of butter to crumbs ratio with the perfect amount of sweetness. You only need about 10 minutes of hands-on time and just 3 ingredients you may already have in your kitchen!
Not only is this cookie crust easy and delicious, it’s super versatile. It makes the perfect base for nearly any of your favorite pies, especially pudding, ice cream pie and cream pies, like key lime pie.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- So easy. No blind baking needed. Graham cracker crust is so much easier.
- Delicious. This crust has the best flavor! It’s irresistibly rich and butter, and has the perfect amount of tender crispiness. It’s also sturdy and stays in tact with each slice and bite. Plus, it doesn’t get soggy if stored for more than a day.
- Versatile. This recipe works for both standard and deep dish pies. You can make it in a pie dish, a square pan or a springform pan. You can even swap out the honey graham crackers for chocolate or even cinnamon! It’s a fantastic base for cheesecakes and bars too.
Ingredients needed
The ingredient list for this graham cracker crust recipe is short and sweet! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Graham cracker crumbs. You need about 12 full sheet graham crackers, to yield about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. You can also purchase graham cracker crumbs in most grocery stores in the baking aisle. If you want to make this crust gluten free, use gluten-free graham crackers.
- Butter. This is your binding agent and also adds rich flavor to the crust. For best results, do not try to reduce the amount called for in the recipe. To make this dairy free, simply use a plant-based butter.
- Granulated sugar. To make the crust perfectly sweet with a neutral taste.
- Ground cinnamon. Depending on what type of dessert you will be making with the crust, it can be a nice addition to add a small amount of spice to the mixture.
Tip: If you live outside of the United States in an area where graham crackers are not sold, you can use digestive biscuits instead.
How to make this recipe
This only takes a matter of minutes to make and has the perfect buttery crumble. Here’s the simple process:
- Make the crumbs. If you have full graham crackers, use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. You can also place them in a sealable bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. If you will be baking the crust for your recipe, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Combine ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar together and ground cinnamon (if using), and then stir in the melted butter until evenly combined. Break up any large chunks.
- Press into pie dish or pie pan. Pour the crumb mixture into an un-greased 8-inch, 9-inch pie plate, or 10-inch pie dish, cake pan, springform pan, or square pan. Using your fingers, pat the crumbs evenly across the bottom and up the sides ensuring the crust is nice and compact. You can also use the bottom of a flat 1-cup measuring cup to thoroughly compress the graham cracker crumbs into a firm crust.
- Bake or chill. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes and set aside to cool or chill the crust. (If baking, allow the crust to fully cool before adding the filling.) To chill: Cover formed crust tightly and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 20 minutes before filling to allow time for the crust to firm up and butter to re-solidify.
Expert tips
- To save time and energy, we recommend buying boxed graham cracker crumbs (typically down the baking aisle). If you have to make your own crumbs, just be sure to blend or smash the crackers into fine crumbs because they will hold together better.
- Our favorite brand of graham crackers is Nabisco Honey Maid brand original graham crackers. They are a bit crisper and make a better crust in our opinion. We are not getting paid by Nabisco to mention their product, we just had the best results when we used their crackers.
- This recipe will not make enough for a 9×13-inch dish. If you’re making a 9×13-inch dessert, we recommend 1.5x the recipe.
- Our top tips for pressing the crust into your pan is to use a flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, just don’t pack down too hard. If pressing into a pie plate, to make a rounded crust, we recommend running a spoon around the edge, where the bottom and side meet. This will help prevent the crust from falling apart when you cut slices.
Frequently asked questions
You can, but we HIGHLY recommend a homemade graham cracker crust. It’s really very easy and quick to make. Also, pre-made crusts do not have near the flavor or texture of a crust made from scratch. This crust turns out buttery, sweet, crispy, crumbly, and you only need 3 ingredients.
Whether you need to bake or chill your crust is going to depend on the recipe. For classic cheesecake recipes, you typically are instructed to bake the crust before adding the filling. However, chilled recipes, like my cherry delight, no bake cheesecake or chocolate pudding pie, you only need to chill the crust before adding the filling.
This particular recipe has the perfect ratio of crumbs to butter and should not fall apart. Just be sure to firmly press the mixture into the pan or pie plate.
If you feel that your crust has become too hard, it may be that you pressed too hard when forming the crust to your pan. You want to press firmly enough to get a good shape and keep the crumbs in place, but just use medium pressure.
Variations
There are lots of tasty ways to get creative with your this crust. Here’s a few ideas:
- Graham Crackers. Depending on the dessert recipe, you can swap honey graham crackers with chocolate graham crackers or cinnamon graham crackers.
- Other cookies/crackers. Want to try something other than the classic graham cracker crumbs? Try using Biscoff cookies, vanilla wafers, or Ritz cracker crumbs. For an easy Oreo crust, see my Oreo Crust recipe.
Storage recommendations
- Storing baked: This crust is best used the same day it’s made, but it can be baked up to 1 day ahead and stored, tightly covered, at room temperature. Don’t store an unbaked crust, uncovered, for more than a few hours — it will start to dry out and can become crumbly.
- Storing not baked: The prepared, unbaked crust can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using in your recipe.
- Freezing: The crust can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cover the pan tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw before using in your recipe.
- Larger pan: If you’re making a 9×13-inch dessert, I recommend 1.5x the recipe.
More pie crust recipes
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Homemade Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups 180g graham cracker crumbs, (about 12 full sheet graham crackers)
- 1/4 cup 50g granulated sugar , (I typically use slightly less than a full 1/4 cup)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 6 tablespoons 85g unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- If you have full graham crackers, use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. You can also place them in a sealable bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. If you will be baking the crust for your recipe, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a medium bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar together and ground cinnamon (if using), and then stir in the melted butter until evenly combined. Break up any large chunks.
- Pour the mixture into an un-greased 8-inch, 9-inch, or 10-inch pie dish, cake pan, springform pan, or square pan. Using your fingers, pat the crumbs evenly across the bottom and up the sides ensuring the crust is nice and compact. You can also use the bottom of a flat 1-cup measuring cup to thoroughly compress the graham cracker crumbs into a firm crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes and set aside to cool or chill the crust. (If baking, allow the crust to fully cool before adding the filling.) To chill: Cover formed crust tightly and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 20 minutes before filling to allow time for the crust to firm up and butter to re-solidify.
Notes
- Storing baked: This crust is best used the same day it’s made, but it can be baked up to 1 day ahead and stored, tightly covered, at room temperature. Don’t store an unbaked crust, uncovered, for more than a few hours — it will start to dry out and can become crumbly.
- Storing not baked: The prepared, unbaked crust can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using in your recipe.
- Freezing: The crust can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cover the pan tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw before using in your recipe.
- Larger pan: If you’re making a 9×13-inch dessert, I recommend 1.5x the recipe.
Did you make this recipe?
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