Homemade Sourdough Cheese Crackers are a delicious way to use your sourdough discard. These savory crackers are made with sourdough discard, butter, cheese, and a sprinkle of salt, and are a crispy snack, perfect for munching.
They taste like the store-bought ‘cheese-it’ versions that everyone loves but are a healthier alternative.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Sourdough Cheese Crackers Recipe
My original Sourdough Discard Crackers were such a hit, and many of you asked if you could add cheese. These crunchy sourdough discard cheese crackers have become a favorite in our household. We love them, and the kids adore them too.
They’re perfect for casual lunch snacks at school or camp, yet versatile enough to serve as a sophisticated appetizer with dip. I might need to start doubling the recipe because they disappear so quickly around here!
Making homemade crackers might sound complicated, but I promise, they take just 2 minutes to stir together (plus spreading and baking time), and the flavor payoff is so worth it. They taste like storebought Cheese-It crackers, but I feel much better serving my homemade version to my family knowing they’re made with real cheese and without any additives or preservatives.
Also, baking them with a fermented sourdough starter makes them easier to digest (according to Healthline).
Ingredients for Sourdough Cheese Crackers
The key to making great sourdough cheese crackers is using strong, flavorful cheese to really taste the flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sourdough discard – this can be active and stirred down or just plain inactive discard that you would normally throw away (unless it’s really old or has changed color).
- Cheddar cheese – You can use medium or sharp cheddar cheese. Finely shredded cheese blends into the batter easier for a uniformly cheesy cracker.
- Butter – adds great buttery crunch to the crackers and helps bind ingredients together.
- Salt – a little goes a long way, especially since cheese adds to the saltiness of the recipe.
Variations
The type and amount of cheese you choose significantly influence both the flavor— try a sharp cheddar to enhance the taste and the texture of the crackers. Consider experimenting with different cheeses like:
- White cheddar
- Parmesean (use 1/2 cup or the crackers will be too salty)
- Monterey Jack
How to Make Sourdough Cheese Crackers
- Preheat – Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt and Combine – Melt the butter in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and cool until just lukewarm. Add the sourdough starter discard, and salt and stir until well combined. Add cheese and stir until well incorporated.
- Spread – Spread your batter over your parchment-lined baking sheet (an offset spatula makes it easy to spread into an even, very thin layer that is almost transparent (my rectangle measured 14×11 inches).
- Season – Lightly sprinkle the top with flaky salt (don’t use too much or the crackers will be too salty).
- Bake and Score – Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and score with a pizza cutter into 1-inch squares. Optional: use the back of a skewer to poke a hole in the center of each cracker.
Fun Fact:
The holes poked in store-bought crackers actually serve an important purpose. “Docking” doughs that are higher in fat, such as pie crusts, cheese crackers, and thin cookies, provide a vent to release steam. This prevents the baked goods from puffing up and cracking during baking.
- Final Bake – Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the crackers are golden and hardened throughout. Note: thicker crackers will take longer to bake so bake until they are firm to the tap.
- Cool and Serve – Allow the crackers to fully cool on the baking sheet, then store them in an airtight container or zip bag.
What to Serve with Sourdough Cheese Crackers
These crackers are incredibly delicious on their own, but they can also be paired with a variety of accompaniments. You can even score them to different sizes depending on how you serve them. Here are some excellent options to serve with these sourdough discard crackers:
- Dips: Serve with creamy dips such as queso, spinach and artichoke dip, hummus, ranch, or guacamole
- Soup: Sprinkle on top of a bowl of chicken tortilla soup, tomato soup, or chili for a comforting combination
- Sandwich: Serve alongside your favorite sandwich— whether it’s chicken bacon avocado sandwich, grilled cheese, or a BLT— for a delightful combination of flavors and textures.
- Charcuterie: Combine with an assortment of cured meats and cheeses, nuts, fruits, and fresh vegetables for a savory charcuterie platter.
- Spreads: Enjoy with spreads such as pimento cheese or a cheese ball.
- Salad: Instead of croutons, crumble these up and toss over a cobb salad, Caesar salad, or garden salad for extra crunch.
How to Store Sourdough Cheese Crackers
Once the crackers are cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container, glass jar with a lid, or zip bag. These are best enjoyed within a few days of making them.
Also note: if you try storing crackers that aren’t fully crisp and baked through, they will not crisp up with storage.
If you’re on your sourdough journey, you likely have plenty of sourdough discard baking loaves of Sourdough Bread. Instead of literally discarding it, why not transform it into fantastic treats Sourdough Pancakes or waffles? With just a few common kitchen ingredients, you can quickly whip up these simple and delicious discard recipes. If you are a fan of sourdough, these Sourdough Cheese Crackers are a must-try!
More Easy Snack Recipes
If are a fan of snacks and easy finger food recipes, then you won’t want to miss these crowd favorites:
- Homemade Pita Chips
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Baked Potato Wedges
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Candied Pecans
- Cheese Ball Recipe
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to Natasha’s Newsletter and YouTube for meal-time inspiration and let’s connect on social! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X for a peek behind the scenes of Natasha’s Kitchen.
Sourdough Cheese Crackers
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough discard, 1 cup stirred and unfed starter
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup finely shredded medium cheddar cheese, loosely packed or 60 grams*
- Seasonings to taste – flaky sea salt, everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and let it cool until just lukewarm. Measure in the sourdough discard and salt, and stir together with a spatula until well combined. Add cheese and stir until well incorporated.
- Pour the mixture onto your parchment-lined baking sheet and use an offset spatula to spread it into a thin, even layer that is almost transparent (for reference, my dough rectangle measured 11×14 inches) .
- Lightly sprinkle the top with flaky salt – don't overseason.
- Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter to score your crackers into bite-size squares. For the classic cheese cracker appearance, you can use the back of a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the center of each crack. It takes a couple of extra minutes but they look so cute.
- Return to the oven and bake another 20 minutes or until the crackers are golden and hardened. If crackers are not firmed up, it may be due to not spreading them thinly enough, just continue to bake until they are firm when you tap the tops.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet to let them fully dry out. Once they have cooled completely, store in an airtight container or zip bag.
Notes
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- White cheddar
- Parmesean (use 1/2 cup or the crackers will be too salty)
- Monterey Jack
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Good Things
Speaking of Pies; one of my favorite scenes from my debut cookbook photo shoot was the precious moments of rolling pie dough with my daughter for Chicken Pot Pie. My photographer, Charity Burggraaf captured it beautifully.
P.S. Stay tuned for our next recipe which will be a super yummy No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake!
SO good! We like to add paprika to the batter and flaky salt on top. Perfection! The only problem is, they disappear before they even make it off the baking tray!
I’m always amazed at how quickly these disappear! I’m so glad you loved it, BN!
These are so good!! Really easy and fun to make. I left out the added salt, as I used salted butter. Topped with Himalayan sea salt on half, everything bagel seasoning on the other. Definitely will keep this recipe.
Hi Leah! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! So easy to make. I vary the cheeses I use. I omit the salt if I use salted butter. I usually have to remove the outside crackers since they are crisp first and then put the rest back in to bake a little longer. So good!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
These were delicious!! I used the recipe as a base and left one row as the recipe states, one row of Thyme add, one row of Rosemary added and one row of Dill added…. Delicious!!! Thank you for postings.
Thank you for the feedback, Meritt!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I was wondering how to get unfed starter and why do you have to use the unfed starter?
My daughter fed it last night so how long would I have to wait till I can use some to do these crackers?
Hi Melissa! This recipe was created as a way of using up sourdough discard that gets thrown away before each feeding (which is essentially under starter). You can use the discard from
the next feeding.
These were delicious and SO easy to make!! One of the easiest sourdough discard recipes. My only tip is make sure your mixture is spread very thin. If you think it’s too thin, then it’s probably perfect. Delicious either way! 10/10 will make again and they taste better than the processed cheese crackers 🙂
why hello there, i do love myself a good cheez-it. however i have a concern with your version. why is it sourdough, perhaps make a video of using whole wheat flour instead for us uncles with a belly. please get back to me cheers mate!! Cheez it!c
Hi Chinima. This recipe was specifically created to show my viewers how they can use up their sourdough discard from my sourdough starter recipe to make crackers. I do not have another version currently, sorry.
How thick/thin should the starter be? I never know.
Hi, I would say it’s similar to a pancake batter. It should be thin enough to spread easily with a spatula into a very thin layer.
My mistake, there’s no flour in the recipe anywhere. Scratch that. 🤷🏻♀️🤗
I’m going to try the recipe now. There is no mention of flour in the ingredients list. It must have been forgotten. 🙂 I’ll guess this time. 😉
Your arsenal of recipes is one of the first on my ” go to” list. 😃
The thinner the better! These are amazing!!!
How long can you store these for before affecting the flavor?
Hi V, These are best enjoyed within a few days of making them. See more tips on the recipe post under the “How to Store Sourdough Cheese Crackers” section. I hope this helps.
Store them? They don’t last longer than a day in my house. Lol
Turned out great!! Super easy and tasty.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
My crackers were excellent on the first day, but I don’t like the texture on the second day.
I stored them in an airtight container – what did I do wrong?
Hello Teresa! Make sure the crackers are completely cooled before storing them in an airtight container. You cAN KEep the container in a dry place away from direct sunlight and moisture.
Hi Natasha,
Love all your videos and recipes and bought your cookbook. My husband and I love this recipe which is so easy to make. It’s nice knowing the simple ingredients that are used to make this. Keep up the good work and thanks for another great recipe!❤😊
I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words. I am smiling big reading your comment, Karen.
Just like a cheeze-it! Excellent and so easy to make! A lot less calories with no junk in them! Thanks for this amazing recipe Natasha!
Would adding a tiny bit of liquid smoke to these be a bad idea? My husband loves bacon flavored snacks and they are actually getting harder and harder to find in the stores and I thought maybe a little liquid smoke with the cheddar would give it a “bacon-y” flavor.
I bet if you subbed some or all of the cheese with smoked cheddar, that would give them a bacon-y flavour without making them too smoky!
I wonder if you could use bacon grease instead of the butter to add a bit of that bacon flavor? I have not tried it, just an idea. I have made cookies with bacon grease instead of butter and it worked great.
These crackers taste exactly like cheez-its. And they were easy to make too. My kids loved them.😃
Enjoyed this sourdough cheese crackers recipe! It is incredibly delicious and satisfying! I think it’s good for movie night!
Hi Sha, I’m so happy you loved the sourdough cheese crackers. They really are a perfect snack.
This was such a great way to use up my discard. The crackers were crunchy and flavorful!
Hi Cathy! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for the feedback.