What Are Soda crackers and How Can I Use Them?
Soda crackers rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 22 recipes to cook with them.
Key Points
- Crisp baking-soda crackers; saltines are the salted member of the same family.
- Regional names overlap: "soda cracker," "soda biscuit," and "saltine" often mean the same thing.
- They star in soda cracker pie, where crushed crackers replace flour in a meringue.
- Also a classic soup cracker and a neutral binder, topping, or coating.
- Some are unsalted, so adjust the salt when a recipe expects salted saltines.
What are soda crackers?
Soda crackers are thin, crisp crackers leavened with baking soda, the broad family that saltines belong to. The dough is a simple mix of flour and water with a little fat and yeast, baked until dry and snappy with a mild, faintly toasty flavor.
In everyday North American use, "soda cracker" and "saltine" name nearly the same thing, and most recipes treat them as interchangeable. The main difference is the salt: a true saltine carries coarse salt baked on top, while a plain soda cracker may have little or none.
The name also shifts by region. Canadians and older recipes often say "soda cracker," and parts of the US South say "soda biscuit." The unsalted square in a soup bowl is the same cracker by any of those names.
Cooking With Soda Crackers
Their most famous trick is the soda cracker pie. Crushed crackers folded into a meringue of egg whites and sugar bake into a chewy, almost nutty filling, the backbone of Soda Cracker Pie, Acorn Pie, and Blueberry Soda Cracker Pie.
In that pie the cracker replaces flour entirely and gives the filling its signature texture.
They are also the classic soup cracker, crumbled over a bowl to soak up broth and add crunch. Manhattan Chowder and Quick & Easy Corn Chowder with Salt Pork are built to be eaten that way.
Beyond that, crushed soda crackers do the same pantry jobs as any plain cracker crumb. They bind Old Fashioned Salmon Loaf and Turkey Cocktail Meatballs, hold their crunch as a casserole topping, and coat foods before frying.
Pairing and Common Mistakes
Because the flavor is so neutral, soda crackers go almost anywhere, from rich chowders and creamy fillings to ground-meat mixtures and sweet meringue bakes. The one thing to watch is salt, since some soda crackers are unsalted and some are not.
The most common mistake is assuming the salt level. If your crackers are unsalted and the recipe was written for salted saltines, the dish can come out flat, so add a pinch of salt to compensate.
The second mistake is measuring by the cracker instead of by crumb volume. The size and thickness of a soda cracker varies by brand, so a recipe is far more reliable when you crush and measure rather than count.
For cracker pie, fold gently. Knock the air out of the beaten egg whites and you get a dense, flat pie instead of a light, chewy one.
Substitutes and Buying
Saltines are the obvious one-for-one swap, since they are the salted member of the same family; just account for their added salt. Water crackers or oyster crackers fill in too, as does matzo. For a binder or topping, dry breadcrumbs work cup for cup.
When you shop, decide whether you want salt baked in. Pick salted saltines for snacking and most cooking, or unsalted soda crackers when you want to control the seasoning yourself.
Store them like any cracker, sealed tight against humidity in a cool, dry cupboard, where an opened sleeve stays crisp for a few weeks.
If they soften but still smell fresh, a few minutes in a low oven brings the snap back. Toss them only once they smell rancid.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup, crushed (70g)Quick facts
Food group: Soda crackers are a member of the Baked Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 苏打饼干
- British (UK) term
- Soda crackers
- en français
- craquelins
- en español
- galletas de soda
How much do soda crackers 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 |
Related
Baked Products
Recipes using soda crackers
There are 22 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Turkey Cocktail Meatballs
Lean ground turkey cocktail meatballs baked on a broiler pan with a sweet-tangy chili sauce dip. Lower-fat party appetizer, makes about 50 bite-sized balls.
Old Fashioned Salmon Loaf
A classic, comforting dish made with tender salmon, crushed crackers, and a hint of dill, baked into a flavorful loaf. Perfect for a simple family meal, served warm with a squeeze of lemon.
Easy-To-Make Bars
Five-ingredient magic bars with a soda cracker base, coconut, chocolate chips, nuts, and sweetened condensed milk. No mixing bowl needed. Ready in 30 minutes.
Manhattan Chowder
Vegan Manhattan chowder with crushed tomatoes, potatoes, and wakame seaweed for a briny seafood flavor without the clams. Hearty, plant-based, and full of umami.
Apples Apple Pie
Mock apple pie made with soda crackers instead of real apples, using cream of tartar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to mimic apple flavor. A Depression-era classic that fools almost everyone.
Strawberry Patch Pie
Fresh strawberry pie with whole berries set in a gelatin glaze inside a meringue cracker crust with walnuts. A showstopping no-bake filling in a crispy shell.
Torte
Saltine cracker torte folds crushed soda crackers and walnuts into stiffly beaten egg whites for a flourless meringue-style dessert topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
Chicken Fingers
Baked chicken fingers coated in yogurt and herb-seasoned cracker crumbs with a hint of curry. Crispy, low-calorie, and kid-approved with no deep frying required.
Easy Toffee Bars
Easy toffee bars made with just 4 ingredients: soda crackers, butter, brown sugar, and chocolate. Also called Christmas crack, these addictive bars are crispy, buttery, and chocolate-topped.
Tex-Mex Tuna Casserole
Tex-Mex tuna noodle casserole with cottage cheese, sour cream, green chilies, and salsa, topped with a crunchy cashew-cracker crust. Ready in 40 minutes.
Texas Tuna Burgers
Spicy tuna burgers loaded with green chilies, smothered in chili-tomato sauce and bubbly Monterey Jack cheese. These Tex-Mex tuna patties bring bold heat to burger night in just 35 minutes.
Amazing Corn Casserole Supreme
Corn casserole with creamed corn, beaten eggs, crushed soda crackers, evaporated milk, and chopped peppers, celery, and carrots, topped with melted cheddar and paprika. A Midwest potluck staple.
Scotch Apple Pie
Scotch mock apple pie: a Depression-era trick that uses soda crackers, lemon juice, and warm spices to taste exactly like apple pie. No apples required.
Aikens' Vegetarian Dressing
Aikens' vegetarian cornbread dressing with whole wheat toast, soda crackers, sage, onion, celery, buttermilk, and eggs baked in vegetable stock. A meatless Thanksgiving side that feeds a crowd.
Soda Cracker Pie
Soda cracker pie is a vintage Southern meringue pie made with whipped egg whites, saltine crumbs, and pecans. No crust, no flour, just a crackly meringue that tastes like toasted pecan candy.
Artichoke Appetizer
A scrumptious appetizer made with fresh artichoke hearts, cheddar cheese and soda crackers.
Blueberry Soda Cracker Pie
An old-fashioned blueberry pie that makes its own crust from crushed soda crackers and butter. No pie dough, no rolling pin. Just layer, bake, and serve with whipped cream.
Christmas Casserole
Salmon and corn casserole topped with crushed soda crackers, cheddar cheese, and sliced almonds. A cozy holiday bake using pantry-friendly canned salmon and creamed corn.
Quick & Easy Corn Chowder with Salt Pork
Quick corn chowder with salt pork browns rendered pork, then simmers potatoes and corn in a milk-soaked-cracker thickened broth. Old New England comfort in 30 minutes.
Butterfinger Dessert *
No-bake Butterfinger dessert with a buttery graham cracker crust, creamy vanilla-butterscotch pudding layer, and crushed candy bar topping. Easy to assemble and feeds a crowd!
Favourite No-Tomato Chili Con Carne Y Frijoles
Favourite No-Tomato Chili Con Carne Y Frijoles recipe
