Tangy, crispy, and perfectly salty, these homemade, cheesy, herb-seasoned sourdough crackers are a super fun and delicious way to use up leftover sourdough discard.
As you know, we’re a sourdough household and I’m baking with my starter constantly. That leaves me with a decent amount of discard that I will certainly not throw away. In case you didn’t know, sourdough discard is a highly useful ingredient for many recipes!
If you also consistently find yourself with lots of discard, keep it in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use it in some of our favorite discard recipes. Many of these are recipes that either require no rising agent or utilize commercial yeast, baking soda, or baking powder.
Recipes such as these quick sourdough discard pancakes or sourdough discard cinnamon rolls make for a special breakfast any day of the week. And discard recipes like sourdough naan and soft sourdough discard dinner rolls are just what you need to complete your main course perfectly.
There are endless possibilities for using up sourdough discard, from our favorite pancakes, sourdough waffles, easy pizza crust, blueberry cobbler, and apple pie to chocolate cake, banana bread, sourdough biscuits, and blueberry muffins.
Using discard in recipes means less food waste, but also better nutrition because you’re incorporating long-fermented grains. If you’re new to sourdough, you can read more about how to make your own sourdough starter and how to maintain a starter, but the best benefits of long-fermented grains are their better digestibility and more readily absorbed nutrients because of the fermentation process.
I often find myself turning to these herb-seasoned sourdough discard crackers because the kids love them, they’re easy and quick to prepare, and it’s the perfect way to use up a lot of discard.
These crunchy crackers are fun to make, easy to customize with a variety of herbs and different flavors, require only basic ingredients, and are a feel-good snack to serve on their own or as part of a charcuterie board.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious and easy recipe – Tangy, cheesy, and irresistible, these delicious sourdough crackers are a great snack. They are packed with flavor and simple to mix up and bake.
No preservatives – Who doesn’t love crackers? Unfortunately, most of the ones sold in your local grocery store are full of preservatives and questionable additives. Not when you make your own, though! These homemade crackers are made with simple ingredients that deliver excellent flavor.
Great use for discard – Sourdough adds tangy, sharp flavor to these crackers, easily complementing your favorite seasonings and add-ins. Everything Bagel Seasoning is a very popular choice! Plus, your discard doesn’t go to waste!
Ingredients
Sourdough starter discard – Active starter will work, but sourdough discard gives the tangiest flavor and best nutrition since the grains are fully fermented.
Olive oil – Avocado oil or melted butter are great substitutes.
Parmesan cheese – Use freshly grated parmesan for best results.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
Cheese crackers – This version! I add freshly grated parmesan cheese along with salt, sage, and Italian seasoning right into the batter.
Chopped herbs and spices – Add one or more for your favorite combination of rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, garlic powder, etc. You can use fresh or dried.
Seed crackers – Add in pumpkin, poppy, flax, sunflower, or sesame seeds. For larger seeds, chop if needed.
For a sweet version – Add cinnamon and sugar to the batter according to taste, while also sprinkling the top with cinnamon and sugar.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Crackers
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper to prevent the crackers from sticking. In a medium bowl, combine sourdough discard, olive oil, shredded parmesan cheese, salt, and seasonings
Step 2: Pour into a thin layer on the parchment-lined sheet pan, spreading evenly with a spatula. The thinner the batter is, the crunchier the crackers will be.
Step 3: Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and pre-cut into squares with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
Step 4: Continue baking for 20-25 minutes more until the crackers are golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before snapping apart. Enjoy!
Tips
- Parchment paper is a must! It keeps the crackers from sticking, and it’s part of what makes this recipe so easy.
- Take care to spread the batter out thinly and evenly for a consistent bake and crispy crackers.
- Bake time may vary depending on the thickness of the batter and your particular oven.
- Sprinkle the tops of the crackers with additional sea salt or seasonings for added flair.
- Cracker rollers are available, allowing you to pre-cut a standard cracker pattern over the batter after the first baking period. These make more typical-looking crackers, though you can also simply cut and shape with a knife or pierce with fork tines for a similar look.
- You don’t need to waste your discard by throwing it in the trash. Instead, use it in healthy sourdough discard recipes.
- Do you bake by weights? Check out my new baking conversion chart.
Recipe FAQs
Leftover crackers store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Make sure to allow them to cool completely before storing. I usually use a glass mason jar with a swing-top lid.
Homemade kefir ranch dressing, homemade pesto, or homemade cheese sauce.
Sliced cheese, like homemade farmer’s cheese, and deli meat.
Fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella, and basil for caprese crackers.
Onion dip, hummus, or seasoned homemade cream cheese.
Goat cheese and honey. Add a little sliced fig to be extra fancy.
Dip in homemade cottage cheese for a tasty, savory snack.
Yes, sourdough discard contains natural yeasts and good bacteria that help break down the anti-nutrients and gluten in flour, making the grains more digestible and the nutrients more readily absorbed. Using discard in crackers means you have a fully fermented grain mixed with other simple ingredients, yielding a wholesome product without added preservatives or artificial flavors or colors.
It is unfed. Discard is the portion of the sourdough starter that is removed before feeding your starter. While this portion may be tossed out, I would always rather put it to use in discard recipes.
Yes, as long as the starter has been fed within the last day or two it is fine to use straight from the fridge.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Dutch Baby Pancake
- Cinnamon Maple Sourdough Apple Pie
- Sourdough Discard Scones
- Sourdough Crepes Recipes
- Sourdough Discard Double Chocolate Bread
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard, active starter will also work
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper to prevent the crackers from sticking.
- In a medium bowl, combine sourdough discard, olive oil, shredded parmesan cheese, salt, and seasonings. Pour into a thin layer on the parchment-lined sheet pan, spreading evenly with a spatula. The thinner the batter is, the crunchier the crackers will be.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and pre-cut into squares with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
- Continue baking for 20-25 minutes more until the crackers are golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before snapping apart. Enjoy!
Notes
- Parchment paper is a must! It keeps the crackers from sticking, and it’s part of what makes this recipe so easy.
- Take care to spread the batter out thinly and evenly for a consistent bake and crispy crackers.
- Bake time may vary depending on the thickness of the batter and your particular oven.
- Sprinkle the tops of the crackers with additional sea salt or seasonings for added flair.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Used olive oil as a topper instead of butter. Worked well enough to share!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
We love this recipe! Thanks for sharing. Our children enjoy these with all kind of dips and spreads!
So glad you and your family enjoy this recipe! Have a great day!
LOVE these crackers! I don’t add the extra herbs- just make them with the salt and butter.
I go ahead and cut them before I bake them (leaving it all on the bottom parchment paper sheet for ease). Next time I might try to poke a few holes in each cracker to keep them from puffing up when baking. Thank you for the easy yummy recipe!
Great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Love this recipe, however it can be improved if you’d present the ingredients by weight (in grams?) rather than volume. 1 cup of starter isn’t going to be consistent depending on how bubbly the starter is at the time you’re baking. Also there are numerous typos in the discussion and recipe.
I’m working on converting my recipes to include grams. Sorry about that.
These are so delicious…and I make them all the time. If anyone is curios it costs about $5 where I live to buy a box of einkorn crackers…this cost me (using einkorn flour) to make the same amount is around $.90 cents. So awesome…plus they taste better 😉
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing those numbers. Real food for less!
Very easy to make, turned out wonderful
So wonderful to hear!
I made these today and they are delicious! I used 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon Penzeys Tuscan Sunset herb seasoning, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder. I divided dough in half and rolled out separately so that each half would fit cookie pan that measured approximately 18×13 inches. I was able to roll the dough very thin. You may want to score the dough before baking.
I didn’t and the crackers crumbled along the edges when I broke them up. I just consider the crumbles a Bakers Treat! I’ll definitely make these again.
That sounds like a delicious variation. Glad you enjoyed them.
Tried this recipe. I realized that I forgot to buy flour so I used some white rice flour instead, and I chose oregano + parsley as my seasonings; I found it better to press the crackers directly onto the baking sheet with oiled fingers (probably because the rice flour was a slightly different texture than these would normally be).
So flavorful and VERY delicious!
Watch them closely to make sure they don’t turn brown too quickly – even thought the brown cracker bits tasted so good that we ate those just the same as the lightly toasted bits! It made more than I thought, and we ate these with absolutely everything for a few days. Yum!
One of our family members is now waiting to buy a large bag of these whenever I make them again! Looking forward to trying them with some cheddar cheese mixed in…
Cheese sounds delicious. Sounds like they were a huge hit.
These were soooo good! I totally goofed on the recipe and they still were excellent!! I didn’t read the recipe and mixed EVERYTHING together, I mean everything! Butter, spices (I used everything spice). I cut the recipe in half and now they’re gone 😳😫🫣. What would be the shelf life of these crackers (provided they last more than a day)?
Happy accident haha! They will last a few days at room temperature and can be frozen for a few months.
love this recipe! somehow it never turns out the same way twice lol but it is always tasty! the inconsistency probably has to do with me using starter in all kinds of states.
I actually have had better results using 1/4 cup of olive oil instead of butter and found it to be much easier to roll out as well. and lastly, rolling it nice and thin always leaves me with two sheets of crackers rather than one so I usually cut the dough in half before rolling out. thanks for the recipe!
I bet olive oil would be a delicious substitution! Thanks for sharing your tips.
Hmmmm … wonder how a flavored oil would be…thinking Tuscan herb or herbs de Provençal???
I actually used a rosemary infused olive oil (mistakenly, it was on sale and I didn’t read the label closely) and it was delicious! Filled the house with that holiday smell. However I would probably skip adding other dried herbs in that case unless you like to pack on the flavor. I prefer a more basic cracker to be more versatile