I have a confession to make: I always have Saltine crackers in my pantry and I eat them all the time.

Behind maybe tortilla chips, they are way up on my list of all-purpose snacks. They are crispy, salty, and can be used in a variety of ways depending on if I’m craving salty or sweet.

I hesitate to call some of these “recipes” because they are almost too easy. Some of them are closer to hacks or just good snacking ideas!

What are Saltines?

Saltine used to be a trademarked term by Nabisco, but they lost the trademark because the term just because too generic. The term “saltine” became so pervasive in society that they weren’t able to keep their trademark on it. There is actually still a trademarked version of Saltine available in Australia, but in the US any company can make a cracker and label it a saltine.

Generally though, a saltine will be a hard, thin cracker that isn’t leavened and is lightly dusted with salt.

You can find a wide range of saltines these days ranging from health food versions using natural sweeteners and sea salts or even no salt saltines which makes zero sense to me. For me, personally, I try to buy a brand that doesn’t have too much sugar in it, but I’m not too picky.

Why I Love Saltines

I love these little crackers so much. Growing up, I’m not sure I knew you could serve a bowl of soup without a big stack of the crackers next to it for dipping. These days though, I use the crackers for so much more.

I take advantage of their super-crunchy and light texture to make mini sandwiches and to make quick snacks, but I particularly like them paired with sweet things! I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but I do have a salty-sweet tooth. I just love that flavor combo and saltines makes it easy.

Also, crackers are a real pain to make at home and unless you are making some fancy version of them, these are clearly in the “just buy it” category for me.

Saltine Cracker Recipes

Fire Crackers

Saltine cracker recipes - firecrackers

If I’m going to just eat crackers plain, I want them to pack a little extra punch. This is a great little trick to bake some extra flavor into the crackers!

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. and melt about 1/2 cup of butter (one stick). Stir in 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Add two sleeves of crackers (about 80) to a large container and pour the mixture over all the crackers. If you can cover the container and shake them up gently to make sure they are evenly coated.

Then spread the crackers out on a baking sheet and bake them for about 10-12 minutes until they are mostly dry.

Once the crackers are cool you can keep them in an airtight container for a few weeks. You’ll eat them quickly though so don’t worry too much about that!

Cracker PB & J

saltine cracker recipes - PB&J

Betsy thinks I’m crazy when I do this, but it’s seriously one of my favorite snacks.

For some reason the crunchy cracker combo with the light salt is so perfect with creamy peanut butter. It’s also one of the few times that I prefer grape jelly over other jellies. I think that’s also just a holdover from my childhood.

This is far from a recipe. Feel free to use big smears of PB&J or go light with the filling. Personally, if I’m gonna make them, I make them on the thicker side!

Cracker Crust

Saltine cracker recipes - baked chicken

The next time you have a recipe that calls for breadcrumbs, crunch of a few saltines instead and use that in the recipe. The crackers stay really nice and crispy and I think they do a great job of creating a perfect crust on baked foods.

I like to crunch up about 10 crackers, mix them with some spices like paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and black pepper and pack that mixture onto chicken breasts (don’t add any salt to the mixture because the crackers are already salted). Brush the chicken with a little olive oil or melted butter first so the crust sticks.

Bake the crusted item as you normally would until it’s cooked through. Deliciousness!

Cracker Brickle

Saltine cracker recipes - Brickle

This recipe was one of my first wake-up calls to how awesome crackers can be in sweet foods. I first had a version at a backyard BBQ party many years ago. I’ve probably made some sort of version of this a dozen times sense then.

Saltines, caramel, and chocolate were made to be together.

You can check out my full cracker brickle recipe to get the rundown on this addictive stuff!

Want another cracker snack? Try these Chocolate Covered Pita Crackers!

Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches

Saltine cracker recipes - ice cream sandwiches

I scream, you scream, we all scream for… SALTINES.

These are surprisingly delicious and my new favorite ice cream treat. The trick is to scoop your ice cream into a baking dish lined with plastic wrap and press it flat into about a 1/2 inch layer. Then re-freeze the ice cream in that layer. Once the ice cream is frozen you can slice it into perfect squares that fit the crackers!

Once the sandwiches are made you can store them in the freezer and they will stay frozen and perfect until you want to eat them which will be approximately five seconds after you make them.

Again, the saltiness of the cracker with the sweet creaminess of the ice cream is amazing. My favorite flavor to use: COOKIES AND CREAM.

Share the Saltine Love

You probably knew a few of these, but hopefully it gave you some new cracker snack ideas!

Leave a comment with any great saltine ideas that you have!!

Five Saltine Cracker Recipes!