Make a homemade graham cracker crust for your next baked or no-bake pie - you'll never go back to store bought! Made with just three ingredients, this recipe is a simple staple to keep on hand.
Graham cracker crust is the perfect base for many desserts like no-bake pies and mini cheesecakes. There's no need to buy your crust at the store - why not make your own instead?
We all know homemade tastes better than store bought, and that's why we're going to make our own crust today. All you'll need are some graham crackers, granulated sugar, and melted butter.
This crust is perfect for any recipe calling for a graham cracker crust. This recipe can be refrigerated for no-bake recipes, or baked in the oven.
Ingredients and substitutions
For this recipe, you'll need graham crackers, or graham cracker crumbs. Any flavor of graham crackers, from honey to cinnamon or chocolate, will work in this recipe. You'll need 1 and ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs, which equals 10 rectangular graham crackers.
Granulated sugar can be substituted with brown sugar for a caramelized, light molasses flavor in your crust.
Melted butter, salted or unsalted, can be used in this recipe.
How to prevent graham cracker crust from falling apart
Graham cracker crust tends to fall apart if it doesn't have the right ratio of crumbs to butter, or it isn't pressed firmly enough into the pan.
Melted butter acts like a glue for your graham cracker crumbs, so don't reduce the amount of butter in the recipe. Make sure you're scraping all the melted butter from your bowl into the crust - no butter left behind!
Another problem may be that you have too many graham cracker crumbs in your crust. Make sure to measure your crumbs before adding the remaining ingredients to make sure you have exactly 1 and ½ cups, not more. Otherwise, you may have too many crumbs and not enough butter.
Make sure your graham cracker crumbs are finely ground. Bigger chunks in your crust can cause it to fall apart later on.
Try using the flat bottom of a measuring cup to help press your crust firmly into the pan. I like to use a combination of my hands and the side of a measuring cup to press the crust up the sides of the pan.
Ways to use a graham cracker crust
Graham cracker crust is ideal for spring and summer no-bake pies, when you just don't want to fuss with baking a traditional pie crust. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use graham cracker crust.
- Cheesecake
- Mini cheesecakes (or mini peanut butter cup cheesecakes using a chocolate crust!)
- Key lime pie
- Coconut cream pie
- Chocolate cream pie
- Lemon icebox pie
- Blueberry pie
- Hot fudge marshmallow pie
Flavor variations
Try using different flavors of graham crackers in your next crust - honey, cinnamon, chocolate, or low fat graham crackers will all work in this recipe.
Substituting granulated sugar for brown sugar will give your crust a deeper, caramelized and slightly molasses flavor.
Or, add a pinch of cinnamon to your next pie crust for a warm, fall flavor.
Homemade Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs about 10 full rectangle crackers
- 6 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted, melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- If making graham cracker crumbs from whole crackers: Place graham crackers into a food processor and process until finely ground. Or place crackers in a large plastic bag and use a rolling pin to finely crush.
- If using a food processor: add melted butter and sugar to food processor and pulse a few times until fully incorporated. Or, add crumbs, butter, and sugar to a bowl and mix until evenly combined. Your mixture should be thick and sandy.
- Pour crust mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup to press crust firmly into the bottom of the pan. Use your hands and/or a measuring cup to press crust firmly up the sides of the pan.
- For a refrigerated crust: If your recipe calls for a refrigerated or no-bake crust, place crust in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before filling. For a baked crust with a no-bake filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake crust for 8-10 minutes. To bake your crust and filling together: Follow your pie recipe for baking instructions.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Graham cracker crust will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Granulated sugar can be substituted with brown sugar for a deeper, caramelized flavor.
- Graham crackers can be any flavor: honey, cinnamon, or chocolate. If you don't have graham crackers in your country, ground digestive biscuits will also work.
- Make sure to measure your graham cracker crumbs before adding the remaining ingredients. Too many crumbs will make your crust crumbly.
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