What Are Crackers, saltine and How Can I Use Them?

Here's everything worth knowing about crackers, saltine and how to pick them, what they is, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 39 recipes to cook tonight.

Key Points

Thin, salty soda crackers that crush into a quick, neutral breadcrumb for cooking.
About 28 to 30 crackers crush down to 1 cup of crumbs.
Star as a meatloaf binder, a crisp breading, and a buttered casserole topping.
They carry their own salt, so taste a dish before adding more.
Store airtight away from humidity; re-crisp soft ones in a 300°F (150°C) oven.

What is crackers, saltine?

Saltine crackers are thin, square soda crackers made from white flour and a yeasted, baking-soda dough, with a light dusting of coarse salt on top and the tiny holes that keep them flat as they bake.

They snap clean, taste mild and a little salty, and shatter into fine crumbs with hardly any effort.

That last trait is what makes them a kitchen workhorse rather than just a soup companion. Crushed, they behave like a quick, neutral breadcrumb that you almost certainly have in the cupboard already.

A standard sleeve holds about 40 crackers. Roughly 28 to 30 of them crush down to 1 cup of crumbs, so keep that ratio in mind and you can swap them into almost any recipe that calls for dry crumbs.

Cooking With Saltines

Their biggest job is as a binder. Crushed saltines soak up moisture and hold ground meat together, which is why they show up in Jo's Two Cheese Meatloaf, Awesome Meatloaf, and the meatless Lentil Loaf. Figure about ½ to ¾ cup crumbs per pound of meat.

As a breading they fry up shatteringly crisp, lighter than packaged breadcrumbs and saltier. That crunch is the whole point of Country-Fried Steak and Crunchy Fish Fillets, and it binds Chicken Croquettes before they hit the oil.

Saltines also make a fast casserole topping. Toss the crumbs with a little melted butter and scatter them over a dish before baking for a golden, crunchy lid, the way Best Escalloped Oysters and Clam Casserole do.

Whole crackers can even layer into the body of a dish, as in Creamed Corn Pudding with Saltines.

Then there is the sweet side. Saltine Candy with Chocolate & Nuts turns a whole tray of crackers into a salty-sweet toffee bark, and Marguerites Cookies bake a meringue right onto each cracker.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

The mild, salty flavor is a blank canvas, so it leans into whatever it carries: butter and herbs in a topping, garlic and pepper in a breading, brown sugar and chocolate in candy. The built-in salt is the catch, so taste before you add more salt to the dish.

The most common mistake is treating saltines as a count-the-crackers ingredient when a recipe wants a volume of crumbs. Crush them in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin and measure the crumbs themselves, or you will be off by a lot.

The second mistake is letting a topping go soggy. Saltines lose their crunch fast once they sit in liquid, so add a crumb topping in the last stretch of baking rather than at the start, and serve soon after.

For toffee bark, watch the oven closely. The thin crackers scorch quickly once the sugar caramelizes, and a minute too long turns the edges bitter.

Substitutes

Out of saltines? Any plain soda or water cracker stands in nearly one for one, since saltines are simply the salted version of the same dough. Oyster crackers and matzo work too; just account for the salt yourself, since unsalted versions need a pinch added.

For a binder or breading, dry breadcrumbs or panko swap in cup for cup, though panko stays coarser and crunchier and breadcrumbs bring more of their own seasoning. Crushed cornflakes or Ritz-style crackers also work, with Ritz adding noticeable butter and sweetness.

In meatloaf specifically, ¾ cup quick oats or torn fresh bread can replace 1 cup of cracker crumbs, though each holds moisture a little differently and may shift the texture.

Buying and Storage

Buy by the use. Standard salted saltines are the all-purpose choice; unsalted tops give you control in a dish that is already seasoned, and whole-wheat versions add a little nuttiness to breading.

Keep crackers in their original sleeve, then inside an airtight container or a zip-top bag once opened. Their enemy is humidity, which turns them limp and stale long before they are actually spoiled.

Stored airtight in a cool, dry cupboard, an opened sleeve stays crisp for a few weeks and an unopened box keeps for months past purchase.

If saltines go soft but still smell fine, re-crisp them in a 300°F (150°C) oven for about 5 minutes. Toss them only if they smell rancid, since the fat in the cracker eventually turns.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 cup, crushed (70g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 299Calories from Fat 71

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 7.9g 12%

Saturated Fat 1.2g 6%

Trans Fat 2.5g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 750mg 31%

Total Carbohydrate 49.6g 17%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 0.3

Protein 6.5g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 5% • Iron 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find crackers, saltine: Crackers, saltine is usually found in the snacks section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Crackers, saltine is a member of the Baked Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 饼干，威化
British (UK) term: Crackers, saltine
en français: craquelins, saltine
en español: galletas, galleta salada

How much does crackers, saltine weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 cup, crushed	70 grams
1 cup oyster crackers	45 grams
1 cracker	3 grams
1 cracker, round large	10 grams
1 cracker, oyster	1 grams
½ ounce	14 grams
1 cracker, rectangle	6 grams

Baked Products

Biscuit baking mix (bisquick) 416 Cornbread 49 Bread, french baguette 56 French bread 203 Bread, italian 56 Crusty bread 16 Pita bread 88 Rye bread 48 Bread 571 Bread, white 169

Recipes using crackers, saltine

There are 39 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Saltine Candy with Chocolate & Nuts

This recipe was made by a neighbor and given to me. He told me to try it and then he would tell me what it was made with. I tried it, loved it, and asked him for the recipe. He went and got it and now i make it all the time. Who knew Saltine crackers and chocolate went so well together!! I would recommend it to anyone. I get people at work who tell me to bring it in all the time. It is loved by everyone who makes it.

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