Skip the stale, store-bought crusts and make your own! My Graham Cracker Crust recipe takes 5 minutes to make and can be used for pies, cheesecakes, and more. Includes a how-to video!
A Quick & Easy Pie Crust
I can understand being intimidated by a traditional pie crust recipe, with all the rolling, chilling, and blind baking. But a graham cracker crust? That’s easy! There’s rarely an excuse to ever buy one from the store; they don’t taste nearly as good as homemade, and they are so supremely simple to make from-scratch!
Today I’m walking you through the four simple steps of my go-to pie crust recipe. The entire process takes about five minutes, and once you try the final result, you’ll never want to go back to the store-bought crusts.
Why use my recipe:
- Can be used for baked or no-bake recipes.
- Cuts nicely without crumbling apart.
- Just four basic ingredients!
- Works for both pies (like my chocolate pie) and cheesecake.
- Takes minutes to prepare and tastes SO much better than store-bought!
What You Need
Just a few ingredients come together to make this easy crust! It’s so simple to make and 100% worth the (very little) effort. Here’s what you need:
- Graham crackers. You can pulverize graham crackers or use pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs. If you are pulverizing your own crackers, you will now need 11 graham cracker sheets to reach the 1 ½ cups; I previously recommended using 10, but it turns out graham crackers are shrinking (isn’t everything in the supermarket these days?). If you don’t have graham crackers where you live, digestive biscuits will also work (more on this below).
- Sugar. I like to use a mix of both white sugar and brown sugar, but you can use just one or the other if you like. The brown sugar adds a slightly richer flavor (something you don’t get from a semi-stale store-bought crust!).
- Butter. This acts as the glue that holds the whole graham cracker crust together. You can use salted or unsalted butter, but I tend to prefer salted here (it helps balance the sweetness of the dessert!).
SAM’S TIP: Still buying your Oreo crusts from the store? I also have a recipe for an easy Oreo crust that tastes so much better than the pre-made version.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust
- Crush the crackers – Process your graham crackers in a food processor (or place them in a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them) until you have fine, sandy crumbs.
- Add the sugars – Transfer your crumbs to a bowl and stir in the sugars.
- Melted butter – Pour in melted butter and toss everything together with a fork.
- Mix it up – Toss the ingredients together until all of the crumbs are moistened and the mixture is well-combined.
- Press into your pan – Transfer your crumbs to your pie plate or springform pan and press them tightly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
- Smooth the sides – Use your fingers to press the crumbs firmly all around the sides of the pie pan to make a nice even edge.
All that’s left is to use as directed! Follow your recipe for any baking instructions, or place in the fridge/freezer for a no-bake recipe.
SAM’S TIP: I like to use the (clean) bottom of one of my measuring cups to press the crumbs into the pan for a smooth, even surface. You can also use the bottom of a small drinking glass for this.
Frequently Asked Questions
It really depends on the recipe, so follow that first. Pre-baking isn’t usually necessary, but many bakers like to pre bake their crust so it is extra crisp.
Now, if you are making a crust for a no bake recipe (like my no-bake cheesecake!), you can just slip the pie plate/springform into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before adding the filling. The crust will still cut nicely without baking it!
If you didn’t make any substitutions (reducing the sugar, swapping the butter, etc.) then the issue most may lie in how tightly you packed your crust into the pan. You want to make sure your crust is firmly packed into the sides and bottom of your pie plate/springform pan.
Another issue could be if you waited too long to press your crumbs into the pie plate. As the butter cools, it re-solidifies and if the crust hasn’t been pressed, it won’t cling together but will stay crumbly. If this happens you can always toss your crumbs back in the microwave in 5 second intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is warmed and the crumbs will cling together again.
Yes! If you don’t have graham crackers where you live, you can absolutely use pulverized digestive biscuits instead. You will need 12 digestive biscuits to get 170g of crumbs (you will have a bit extra after weighing).
This recipe isn’t just for pies! I use it in many of my cheesecake recipes as well, like my key lime cheesecake (pictured above!).
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Easy Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (170 g) graham cracker crumbs (or 11 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 7 Tablespoons (100 g) butter melted
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs).1 ½ cups (170 g) graham cracker crumbs
- Stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well until crumbs are all moistened.2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoons brown sugar, 7 Tablespoons (100 g) butter
- Pour mixture into pie plate or springform pan. Use the (clean!) bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and (if using a pie pan) gently press up the sides. Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.
- If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 375F for 7-10 minutes. If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe’s instructions. If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.
Notes
Sugar
You can just use white sugar if you do not have brown.Video note:
I accidentally say the wrong oven temperature in the video. Always follow my written recipe.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Joe Pruitt
Stupid question: when you say a “sheet” of graham crackers, you mean 4 individual crackers, right? a 2×2 “sheet” like they come in the box?
Sam
Hi Joe! Yes, it’s the full sheet that typically has 4 small sections to it. You can see them in the pictures in the post. 🙂
Tracy
Can I use cinnamon graham crackers for this?
Sam
Yes that will be fine, enjoy!
Harley
Hi Sam, I’ve tried many different recipes for Graham cracker crust and follow them exactly, but every time I make one it crumbles! I pack it in very well and bake it too. Any thoughts that might help?
Thanks in advance
Sam
Hi Harley! Graham cracker crusts, are by nature going to be a bit more crumbly. It should hold together enough to make a crust on something like a cheesecake though. It may be getting baked too much if it’s just crumbling. 🙁
Andrea N.
Do have recipe for a graham cracker crust with nuts?
Sam
Hi Andrea! You can add 1/3 cup of finely chopped nuts to this recipe and it works well. This is what I do in my turtle cheesecake and apple pie cheesecake crusts. I hope that helps!
Mainehorsegirl
Perfect Recipe Thank you!!
Mimi
I want to make this for your pumpkin cheesecake recipe in a springform pan. Will I need to double the recipe?
Sam
Hi Mimi! This is what I personally use for a cheesecake so no need to increase the recipe. 🙂
rinna
thank you , i will be using this recipe for the first time. my son’s mother in law loves pumpkin. i will let you know how it came out.
Mahalo for sharing
Muriel
I bought all ready made graham cracker pie crusts but don’t want to make a pie can I use the graham crackers out of the shell for the cheese squares?
Sam
Hi Muriel! I haven’t tried it. I would be concerned that they wouldn’t hold together well enough for the cheesecake squares. 🙁
Lynda
Perfect crust. Delicious. Will be my go to from now on.
Barb
How do you prevent the crumbs from getting hard when you put them in a pie plate????
Sam
Hi Barb! I’m not quite sure what you mean here. It should be firm to hold your filling, but should break apart pretty easily with your fork. 🙂
Rusty
I don’t have a food processor. How would it do in an Oster blender? Otherwise, I would just make by hand. Thanks. Rusty
Sam
Hi Rusty! A blender may make the crumbs a little too fine. It may be safer to do it by hand. 🙂
Kathleen Allen
I put my graham crackers in a good size zip lock bag so there is room to breathe for crackers as you use a rolling pin to crush them finely.
Naomi
My crust when I was pressing it into the pan was wayy too buttery, I started to think maybe the recipe needed 7 teaspoons instead of tablespoons.
Sam
Hi Naomi! How strange! It is 7 Tablespoons, make sure the butter isn’t crazy hot when added and just double-check the graham cracker measurements. If you check out the video or the step-by-step photos you will see how it should look.
M. Peterson
Just made this with a cheesecake and patted right up the sides of my pan but there is a TON of melted butter leeching out the bottom of the pan. is this normal??
Sam
Definitely not normal, it sounds like you may have a leaky springform pan 🙁
Anita
For cheesecake bars in 9 x 13 pan , would I double the recipe or just spread the original thinner?? I love your YouTube videos 👍.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Anita! We’d recommend doubling it 😊
Betty
Made half this recipe yesterday. {Being single, I don’t need a whole pie} Next time I will use less sweetener since I normally do not use sugar & therefore I am more aware of sugar than before. *I used Pamela’s GF Honey Grahams – crushed really fine in my Vitamix. and **I used only Organic Light Brown Raw Cane Sugar (FL Crystals). Pamela’s GF Honey Grahams do have sweetener so that with the Cane Sugar probably made it sweeter than I prefer. I also put this crust in about an 8×8 glass corningware dish. Is really good & will make again. And did I say that this is a Very Simple & Easy recipe. So thank you.