Seed Crackers – Gluten and Dairy Free

These homemade, gluten free and dairy free seed crackers are so easy to make, and much cheaper than store brought varieties. Great for dipping in hummus, nut butters and more!

They make a great addition to any birthday party spread, or shared snack plates. They go especially well with some homemade hummus.

Made with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed (linseed) and sesame seeds – and not much else! Just some water for soaking and a tiny bit of flour to bind. Then seasonings if you wish. I have listed salt as a must, but you can also add pepper, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chilli, nutritional yeast, or whatever other seasonings you might enjoy.

You need to be a little bit organised to soak the seeds the night before making (or soak in the morning and make in the afternoon). You could probably soak for half an hour to an hour and they’d still turn out great. But I like to soak them for longer to sprout the seeds first.

Why spouted seeds?

Because, sprouting can increase nutrient levels in the grain, legume, vegetable, nut or seed being sprouted. Sprouts also contain lower levels of antinutrients, making it easier for your body to absorb all the nutrients they contain.

What flour to use? 

We like using tapioca or buckwheat flour – it’s only a small amount so you can basically use whatever flour you have handy. Wholemeal, wheat flour, spelt flour, gluten free flour blend, tapioca, rice flour and buckwheat are all suitable for this binding job. 

These are my favourite gluten, and dairy free crackers by far, I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does! 

Seed Crackers – gluten and dairy free

These homemade, gluten free seed crackers are so easy to make, and much cheaper than store brought varieties. Great for dipping in hummus, nut butters and more!
Prep Time10 mins
Plus time to soak the seeds before making1 d
Course: lunch, lunchbox, Snack
Keyword: coconut free, cracker, crackers, egg free, gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo, seed crackers, seeds, soy free
Author: Kayla

Equipment

  • Food Processor

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup Pumpkin seeds
  • ½ cup Sesame seeds
  • ½ cup Linseeds (flaxseed)
  • teaspoon Salt
  • sesame seeds to sprinkle on top
  • 1 teaspoon flour (heaped) (your choice of flour: wholemeal, gluten free, buckwheat, tapioca)

Instructions

  • Put all the seeds in a bowl togther. Cover them with water. Soak the seeds overnight.
  • Next day: Preheat oven to 180°c. Drain the seeds, the linseeds would have 'gelled' overnight and will be slimy and coated in the water (this is what helps to hold the crackers together) just drain off any excess water as best you can.
  • Put the seeds in the food processor and process until it becomes a light paste but still has some visible chunks of seed.
  • Mix in the flour and salt.
  • Oil two baking sheets the size of your baking tray. Place half of the mixture on each sheet. Oil two more sheets and place on top of the dough.
  • Roll out between the two baking sheets to about 2-4mm thin. I often just use my hands to gently press them down and spread them out. Carefully, slowly peel off the top sheet.
  • Scour cut marks into the dough so they easily break into squares when they are done.
  • Sprinkle with some more salt and sesame seeds. Bake for about 20 mins.
  • Sometimes the edges are done first, but the middle isn’t crisp yet, if this is the case, break the crackers into squares then put the middle pieces back in to crisp for a further 5 – 10 minutes.
  • Let them cool on the baking paper, then try not to eat them all at once! If you happen to have any left over, they store in an airtight container for about a week.

If you make any of my recipes don’t forget to tag me on Facebook or Instagram. And if you have any questions about the recipe, or anything else don’t hesitate to ask!

A stack of gluten and dairy free seed crackers scattered with sunflower and sesame seeds

No Bake, Dairy Free Black Forest Cheesecake

This no-bake, gluten free and dairy free cheesecake is a sight to behold! It is deliciously decadent yet light and fresh. It’s also egg free, grain free, probably paleo and has options you can use if you are avoiding certain nuts.

When we first had to go dairy free, I never in a million years imagined I would enjoy something like a cheesecake, ever again! This no bake dairy free cheesecake is very special to me because it’s one of the very first recipes I lovingly developed, practiced and refined and shared on the blog, not long after I first started it.

The recipe below includes instructions to make a ‘Black Forest’ flavour – cherries and chocolate. Feel free to mix up the flavours. You could try:

Strawberries’ and cream

Use only strawberries for the berries – either fresh of frozen. Divide the mixture into two instead of 3 and add the strawberry puree as you would the berry puree in the instructions. This mix will also make a strawberry jelly for the top

Berry Cheesecake

Replace the cherries and strawberries with any berries you like – raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries – the possibilities are endless.

Make it Vegan

This is really easy to make vegan, since there is no gelatin in the actual cheesecake, you just need to replace the gelatin in the jelly 1:1 with agar, or even chia seeds. Though you would need to make sure it’s a thick chia jam so that it stayed in place. Also, use a vegan sweetener like maple syrup or rice malt syrup. Maple is my personal favourite, it gives it the perfect balance of texture and sweetener.

The Jelly on top

This is based on my healthy jelly lollies recipe, the gelatin I usually use is Great Lakes Gelatin in the red tin, which is the one that sets them firm. I’ve used it for years now and it still remains my favourite gelatin to work with.

Cashew nut free?

If you are avoiding cashew nuts, but have have other nuts, then you can replace the cashews in this recipe 1:1 for macadamia nuts. There are notes on how to do this at the bottom of the recipe.

No Bake Dairy Free Black Forest Cheesecake

This no-bake, gluten free and dairy free, probably paleo cheesecake is a sight to behold! It is deliciously decadent yet light and fresh.
Prep Time40 mins
Course: celebration, Dessert, treats
Keyword: cheesecake, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, no bake, no bake cheesecake, paleo, treats

Equipment

  • Food Processor
  • 18 or 20cm Round spring-form cake tin

Ingredients

Base

  • 1 cup dates*
  • 1 cup nuts (I used a mix of Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews)
  • 1 cup dessicated coconut

Filling

  • 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 Tablespoons cacao powder**
  • 4 cups cashew nuts (soaked for 4 hours***)
  • 3/4 cup sweetner (I used half honey, half maple syrup)
  • Scant 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup + 60ml Coconut oil (melted)
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder
  • 1.5 cups Berries strawberries, cherries, raspberries, boinsenberries or a mix (this will also be used for the jelly)

Jelly

  • Berry Puree from the base
  • 2 Tablespoons gelatin
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons sweetner I used coconut sugar

Instructions

Base:

  • Put the nuts and coconut in the food processor and blend into course crumbs.
  • Add the dates, salt and cacao and blend to combine into sticky crumbs that hold together when pressed.
  • Line the cake tin with baking paper. Press the mix firmly into the bottom of the tin.

Filling:

  • Put the cashews, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and sweetener into the food processor, blend until it's all super smooth and creamy.
  • Add the coconut oil and coconut milk and blend again to combine. Leave the mix in the processor, or tip out into a bowl if you will need it to blend the berries. (I just used my stick blender for the berries).
  • Blend the berries, (thawed first if frozen) into a purée.
  • Get two bowls, Pour 1/3 of the mixture into each bowl. Pour the ⅓ that's left in the processor into the cake tin, on top of the base, and return to the freezer.
  • In one bowl mix in the cacao powder, and in the other mix in 1/2 of the berry purée.
  • Pour the berry filling on top of the vanilla and swirl it round a little with a knife to create a marble effect. Return tin to the freezer. Let that layer set in the freezer while you make the jelly. Your chocolate mixture will still be in a bowl. Leave that there for now.

Jelly:

  • Put the other half of the berry purée, water and sweetener in a small pot and bring to the boil, then simmer on low. 'Bloom' the gelatin by mixing with 3 Tablespoons of cold water until it's expanded and thick, then add to the pot.
  • Stir for 2 minutes until dissolved, taste it to make sure it’s delicious. Add more berries, sweetner or whatever, if you need.

To finish:

  • Add the chocolate filling layer to the cake tin, spoon it over carefully and evenly so it doesn’t break through the other layers.
  • Set in the freezer for 30 mins to an hour while your jelly cools and you clean up the horrific mess in your kitchen.
  • Add the jelly layer to the top and return to the freezer for another 30 mins. Then you can either keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve (a couple of days) or keep in the freezer and thaw out the day of serving.
  • If you are like us and usually stick to cheap ingredients and easy fuss free recipes you can now congratulate yourself on completing this monstrosity! (If you had a child helping in the kitchen and you kept your cool, you can also congratulate yourself on that too). I promise you will be impressed when you unfurl it from its tin, and marvel in its grandeur.
  • This is a monster of a cake, we had 8 guests for Christmas lunch and we didn’t even make it through half the cake. Serve it plain or dress it up with some fresh berries and whipped coconut cream, it looks magnificent either way!

Notes

*depending on your food processor you might need to soak your dates in boiling water first.
**no cacao? Use cocoa instead. What’s the difference? Cocoa has been processed at a high heat, stripping the product of some of its vitamins and minerals, whereas cacao is a raw product retaining important nutrients (like magnesium) and antioxidants.
*** cashew nut free? Macadamia nuts work in place of cashews, just soak them overnight first, also you can alter the type of nuts in the base to suit your needs. 
A slice of the No-bake dairy free Black Forest cheesecake.