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Home » Dessert

The BEST Graham Cracker Crust

03/31/2022 Updated: 04/19/2022 By Karrie Leave a Comment

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An easy Graham Cracker Crust made with only three ingredients of graham crackers, butter, and sugar. Use the crust in a variety of ways including as a base for pies, as a topping, or as an addition to other desserts.

graham cracker crust pressed in a pie dish on a light surface

What is Graham Cracker Crust? 

It’s made by crushing graham crackers into crumbs, then mixing them together in a bowl with melted butter and a little sugar.

While you can buy a pre-made crust from the grocery store, why would you when it’s super simple to make at home?

Takes only 15 minutes, start to finish and the flavor of a homemade graham cracker crust is so much better than store-bought!   

Watch how to make this Graham Cracker Crust Recipe here:

ingredients for graham cracker crust in small bowls on a light background

Ingredients: 

  • Graham cracker crumbs: You can buy a box of Honey Maid graham crackers from the cracker or cookie aisle at the grocery store.
  • Butter: Use unsalted melted butter for this recipe, so you can control the amount of salt. 
  • Sugar: A small amount of sugar slightly sweetens this crust and makes it perfect for desserts. 

How to make the best graham cracker pie crust: 

Here’s a brief overview of how to make this 3 ingredient pie crust. See the recipe card below for the specific recipe instructions. 

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).  

2. Blend the graham crackers in a food processor (or crush by hand) until it resembles coarse sand.

Graham cracker crumbs in a glass bowl on a light surface

3. Pour the sugar into the bowl with the cracker crumbs.

Crushed graham crackers and sugar in a glass bowl in a light surface

4. Add the melted butter to the bowl with the crumbs and sugar.

Crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar in a glass bowl

5. Stir together the butter, sugar, and the crumbs until well combined.

Graham crackers crumbs, sugar, and melted butter mixed together in a glass bowl on alight grey surface

6. Press the crumb mixture into a pie dish with your fingers and press up the sides of the pan.

Homemade graham cracker crust pressed in a pie dish on a light surface

7. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Let cool.

* If the recipe calls for an unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour before filling.

Tips for success: 

Here are a few tips for success and variations you can try to make this the best graham cracker crust you've ever had.

  • Use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar 
  • Add ground pecans, pistachios, or almonds to the crust 
  • Sprinkle in some ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger, all spice, or cocoa powder
  • Make mini crusts (for mini pies) instead of one big crust!

What are some other graham cracker ideas? 

Honey graham crackers are the traditional choice for cracker crusts, however, there are many other graham cracker types that will give your dessert fun new flavors.

Some other options include:  

  • Cinnamon graham crackers
  • Chocolate graham crackers 
  • Homemade graham crackers

Or make a cookie crust with these suggestions:

  • Gingersnap cookies 
  • Shortbread cookies 
  • Vanilla wafers  
  • Digestive biscuits  
Scratch made graham cracker crust pressed into a glass pie dish on a light surface

Can I make this crust sugar-free?  

If you’d like to cut out the sugar from this crust, it’s easy to substitute another kind of natural sweetener.

Try using granulated alternatives like coconut sugar, stevia, or monk fruit.

If you use liquid sweetener, it will fall apart easier. If that’s not a big deal for you or what you’re baking, you can use honey, maple syrup, molasses, or agave.    

How can I serve graham cracker crust?  

There are so many delicious ways to use graham cracker crust and it's the perfect addition to many layered desserts.

You can use it as a base for pie, crumbled in milkshakes or on top of ice cream, yogurt, or vanilla and chocolate puddings!

Here are a few pie ideas that might be exactly what you want to use your homemade graham cracker crust for. 

  • Key lime pie 
  • Banana cream pie 
  • Sweet potato pie  
  • Lemon meringue pie 
  • Pumpkin pie 
  • Strawberry pie 
  • Cheesecake 
  • Lemon bars 
  • Apple pie 
  • Pecan pie 
  • Chocolate pie 
  • Cherry pie 
  • Peach pie    
Homemade graham cracker crust pressed in a pie dish on a grey and white surface

The best way to crush graham crackers

Graham crackers are generally pretty easy to crush, but there are a couple of different techniques you can use to make it ever easier.

Crush by hand: This is the way our mothers and grandmothers made pie crust.

  • For this method, place the graham cracker sheets in a gallon-size zip-top bag and close it almost all the way, leaving just enough open for a tiny bit of air to escape. 
  • Place it on the counter, and slam a rolling pin onto the crackers. Continue to roll the pin back and forth until you have a coarse sand-like consistency. 
  • You can also use a mallet, but beware that the edges may rip the bag open and make tiny holes. 

Food Processor: **This is the method I use** This beast of a kitchen tool is great for crushing, pureeing, mixing, shredding, slicing, and all kinds of other things. 

  • To crush the crackers, lock in the bowl, add the spinning slicer and crackers, and seal on the lid.
  • Pulse the crackers for a few seconds at a time until they are like coarse sand. 
  • Using the “pulse” function allows the blades to reach all the crackers more quickly.

Either option works well! The benefit of crushing the crackers by hand is that there is nothing to clean up afterward and the benefit of using the food processor is that you get to use a fancy tool.

How to store:

There are a couple of different ways to store this cookie crust to use later.

You can press the crust into a pie pan or tart dish and keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for up to three days. 

Otherwise, you can freeze the crust in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months.

It’s handy to have extra crust premade and ready to go when you want to quickly make a pie or other dessert. 

FAQs:

Does graham cracker crust need to be baked?

It doesn’t need to be baked, but it will help make sure it doesn’t fall apart or become soggy. If you want to make it a no-bake crust, be sure to chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until the butter becomes hard enough so that the crust doesn’t fall apart. 

Why does graham cracker crust get hard?

Sometimes your pie crust can get hard. This happens for a couple of reasons that include over baking, adding too much butter, or packing it in too hard.

Can I make this graham cracker crust vegan?

Yes, you can substitute olive oil or another neutral oil in place of butter. Be sure to use an oil that is as light as possible. For example, use avocado oil, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil instead of a more robust, darker olive oil.

If you like this graham cracker crust recipe, try these other tasty recipes....

  • Easy Fruit Cobbler
  • Caramel Coffee Glazed Nutella Donuts
  • Creamy and Easy Butterscotch Pudding
  • Cranberry Lemon Biscotti Recipe

Did you try this recipe? Please leave a comment and a rating below to let me know! I LOVE to hear from you!

graham cracker crust pressed in a pie dish on a light surface

The BEST Graham Cracker Crust

An easy homemade graham cracker crust made with only three ingredients which include graham crackers, butter, and sugar.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 125kcal
Author: Karrie | Tasty Ever After

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Mix 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs, ⅓ cup melted butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar until well blended.
  • Press mixture into an 8 or 9-inch pie plate (using your fingers makes it easy!) and press mixture up the sides of the pan.
  • Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Let cool.

Recipe Notes & Tips:

  • If the recipe calls for an unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour before filling.
Nutrition Facts
The BEST Graham Cracker Crust
Amount Per Serving (8 g)
Calories 125 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 154mg6%
Potassium 26mg1%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 236IU5%
Calcium 13mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Thank you for visiting Tasty Ever After and I'm Karrie! I hope you enjoy spending some time here finding easy scratch made recipes for the home cook.

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