The Easiest Graham Cracker Crust Recipe (With Pictures)

Here’s an easy Graham Cracker Crust recipe for a no-bake or baked pie crust! This homemade Graham cracker crust only takes three ingredients and a few minutes to make.

Graham Cracker Crust

This crust is perfect for key lime pie, cheesecake, and other no-bake pies.  It’s easy to make at home and lets you skip the store-bought crusts.

I will admit to grabbing pre-made Graham cracker crusts when I am worried I will run out of time making a no-bake pie for an event. I also must admit that I am always disappointed in how the premade crusts taste.

The last few crusts we have bought have tasted stale and blah. I immediately regretted using one when I took the first bite. Thankfully, it only takes three ingredients and a few minutes to DIY a Graham cracker pie crust.

You can adapt this recipe for a gluten-free Graham cracker pie crust, a chocolate crust, or a vegan pie crust. Once you have this recipe down, I promise you will make it before buying a store-bought pie crust.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of the simple ingredients needed to make an epic Homemade Graham Cracker Crust! The printable recipe card at the bottom of the post includes specific measurements and step-by-step instructions.

• Graham Cracker Crumbs
• Granulated Sugar
• Unsalted Butter

Optional add ins - nutmeg or other spices

Graham Cracker Crumbs - It takes about 12 graham crackers to get enough crumbs. There are 9 graham crackers in a sleeve. You can make the crumbs with a food processor or use a rolling pin and crush them in a Ziploc bag. You want fine crumbs but it still works if there are some larger pieces.

I count the graham crackers as 1 full sleeve. A full sleeve has 2 halves or 4 quarter pieces in case your graham crackers have fallen apart. The goal is to get 1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs.

I know you can buy premade graham cracker crumbs at the grocery store but trust me it is worth the 30 seconds to make your own crumbs. The price of the crumbs compared to a full box of graham crackers is a lot more. You also don't know if they are fresh or setting you up for a stale pie crust. Skip them and take the 30 seconds to make your own graham cracker crumbs!

Any type of graham crackers can be used, including honey flavored, cinnamon, chocolate, low fat...whatever you have available will work great. This recipe also works great with gingersnaps.

Granulated Sugar - You can use granulated or brown sugar for this recipe.

Butter - use unsalted butter. It may take an extra tbsp. or 2 of melted butter if you find the crust is not working the way you want it to.

Salt - We do not put kosher salt in our Graham Cracker Pie but there are many recipes that use it.

Equipment Needed

• Blender: We are big fans of the Ninja Blender. We use it to crush the graham crackers.
• Small Bowl
• 9-inch Pie Pan or a Springform Pan
• Measuring Cups/Tablespoons/Teaspoons 

How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust

I've included complete instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here's a quick version.

You can make this a no-bake graham cracker pie crust or bake it depending on what you are using it for.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees if you plan to bake graham cracker crust.

Step 1 - Combine graham crackers to a blender, food processer, or put them in a plastic bag and crumble them with a rolling pin.

Step 2 - Add graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar to a mixing bowl until combined.

Step 3 - Pour the graham cracker crumbs into the 9-inch pie pan and evenly spread out. Firmly press mixture into the bottom of the 9-inch pie plate and up the sides of the pan.

The bottom of a glass or measuring cup works great for evenly pressing the crumb mixture. Make sure to press the bottom of the pan so it is packed firmly.

Step 4 - If baking the graham cracker pie crust bake for 9-10 minutes. let cool before using.

If making a no-bake crust place in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes or in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Preparation and Storage

Make Ahead + Storage: Make this Graham cracker pie crust a day or two if you want to prep it beforehand. Cover it and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.

Freezing/How to Freeze: You can freeze your homemade pie crust for up to three months. Be sure to completely wrap it in plastic or foil to prevent freezer burn, and let it cool first if you bake it.

How to Reheat: Let your frozen crust thaw overnight in the fridge before assembling your pie.

 

Recipe Variations

Substitutions:

You can use granulated or brown sugar for this recipe.

We recommend sticking to unsalted butter, as you may need to add an extra tablespoon or two of melted butter if you find the crust isn’t forming the way you want.

Feel free to change it up and make an Oreo crust or use digestive crackers, gingerbread snaps, or other cookie bases for this recipe.

Vegetarian Option: This recipe should be vegetarian, as most crackers and cookies are safe for a vegetarian diet.

Vegan Option: Vegans should use plant-based butter and vegan crackers or cookies to make this Graham cracker pie crust recipe vegan.

Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free Graham crackers to make a gluten-free Graham cracker crust.

Smaller Serving Size + Larger Group/More Servings:

It takes about 12 Graham crackers to get enough crumbs. There are nine graham crackers in a sleeve. You can make the crumbs with a food processor or use a rolling pin and crush them in a Ziploc bag. You want fine crumbs, but it still works if there are some larger pieces.

I count the graham crackers as one full sleeve. A full sleeve has two halves or four quarters in case your Graham crackers have fallen apart when you open the package. The goal is to get 1.5 cups of Graham cracker crumbs to make a crust for a 9-inch pie pan, so scale the number of sleeves you use to the size of the pie pan you want to fill.

You can buy premade Graham cracker crumbs at the grocery store, but it is worth the 30 extra seconds to make your crumbs. The price of the crumbs compared to a whole box of Graham crackers is a lot more. You also wouldn’t know if the pre-made crumbs are fresh or setting you up for a stale pie crust. Skip them and take the extra 30 seconds to make these Graham cracker crumbs!

Use any graham crackers flavor, including honey flavored, cinnamon, chocolate, or low fat; whatever you have available will work great. This recipe also works great with gingersnaps.

Sugar-Free: Swap the white sugar with a sugar-free alternative and check that your Graham crackers are sugar-free to make this recipe sugar-free.

Tips for the Best Homemade Graham Cracker Crust

• We do not put Kosher salt in our Graham cracker pie crust, but we know many recipes do.
• Depending on the pie you are making, add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or vanilla to the crust for additional flavor.

Recipes Using a Graham Cracker Crust

This Graham cracker pie crust is perfect for ice cream pie, to hold cheesecake filling in an epic cheesecake, or one of these epic recipes.

Peanut Butter Pie

Lemon Icebox Pie

Kool-Aid Pie

Hershey Chocolate Pie

No Bake Raspberry Pie

Custard Pies

Do you love recipes? Check out our copycat recipes, dessert recipes, and our CrockPot Recipes.

Follow Tammilee Tips on MSN, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for all our recipe posts.