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 350F (175C) for 10-13 minutes and allow to cool before filling. 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 substitute more granulated 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.
Jess
Delicious! I browned the butter and added extra salt, and it complimented my coconut cream pie filling perfectly.
Rick
Gluten Free Graham Crackers work just fine! Tree hanks for the recipe.
Bill
So easy and it is so much better than those store bought crusts. Every recipe I have tried of Sam’s has been awesome. Thanks so much for all your hard work in making these recipes and videos. God bless.
Anonymous
Hello! I have a couple quick questions. Can I use melted browned butter in this crust? And, after I bake this crust, will this recipe work for a pumpkin pie recipe? Thanks!
Sam
Oh that sounds delicious! I haven’t tried it, but you may need to increase the amount of butter. If you do try it I would love to know how it turns out. The crust should work fine for a pumpkin pie. 🙂
Anonymous
Hey Sam. Me again. First I pulverized the graham crackers, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and one tablespoon of granulated sugar. I thought it would be fun to do more brown sugar and give it some more depth. Then, I melted 100g of unsalted Kerrygold butter, and the browned it. Then, I added 25 grams of unsalted butter to the browned butter to make it equal 100g. Then I added a bit of vanilla, and drizzled that into the graham crackers in the food processor. The crumbs looked like wet sand which I assumed was correct. Then I greased my 9” ceramic pie pan with a bit of cooking spray, and formed the crust. Forming the crust was a big struggle for me, because everything was sliding around. Also, there seemed to be too little crumbs for a crust in your pictures/videos. I don’t know exactly where I went wrong, but am sad my experiment went wrong. Please me know if you have any tips. I’m planning to either use frozen pie crust or make a homemade batch of pie crust at this point. Thank you for your recipes, I really do enjoy a lot of them (especially your macarons).
Michele P.
I was intimidated to make a crust but this is so good and so easy. No more store bought for me ! The brown sugar really makes it .
Pattie S
Can I make melted brown butter to use in place of melted butter? I think the rich nutty flavor would be amazing!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We don’t see why not! Enjoy 😊
Maria
this was so easy, I’m not sure why I haven’t made this sooner! I followed your recipe as written. My husband loved the crust and said its way better than the store baught one. you recipe uses a lot less sure than the others I found online too which is great!
Tammy C Hunt
was curious if it makes a difference on the type of brown sugar, light or dark?
Sam
Dark brown sugar has a bit of a richer flavor, but either will work here. 🙂
Kimberly
I think I did something wrong because my crumbs seem a lot more wet than yours does in the video plus there was definitely not enough for the bottom and the sides of a 9 inch pipe plate. I measured and weighed all the ingredients so I know they were the exact amount. My melted butter looked different than yours. I wish I knew why it didn’t work for me.
Sam
Hi Kimberly! Honestly it sounds like the graham crackers may have just been mis-measured, could you have accidentally used less than is called for? Could the scale have not been tared properly?
Kimberly
Graham crackers were weighed and my scale is accurate.
Charlotte noel
Easy to make graham Cracker Crust.
I used it for an 8×8 peach cobbler-like pie with brown sugar crumble on top the crust blended in beautifully with the peach flavor
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! Sounds tasty, Charlotte 🥰
Caroline
I absolutely LOVE this crust. I’ve made it multiple times and it comes together quickly. My only challenge has been the crust (un-baked) sticking to the pan. I use a glass pie pan and spray with Pam.
Mema Houston
I made this crust tonight. It was as easy as they said, taste good, and stayed together. This the one I’ll be using from now on. I will be putting it in with other recipes to hand down to the grandkids. They asked me to write my recipes down for them. ty
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it was such a hit for you, Mema! Love that idea–your grandkids will be so grateful to have those special family recipes 🩷
Dr. J
Followed the instructions as written and the crust came out perfectly. I appreciated having the weights for the crumbs and the butter as they eliminated any guesswork.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it turned out so nicely for you! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🥰
Pattie W.
hi! would it be OK to use a 9×9 square glass baking dish? I only have a 10 inch deep dish pie dish.
thank you. Pattie
Sam
Hi Pattie! It likely won’t make enough for a 9 x 9, but if you adjust the proportions it will work in really any pan. 🙂
Aparajita
Can use ginger biscuits instead of graham crackers
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sure! Enjoy ☺️
Christie
I made this yesterday & it was AMAZING! For the sugars, I used
Splenda granular & Swerve brown sugar to cut a few calories. The amounts of each ingredient yielded a perfect combination for taste as well as how it held together (albeit a little crumbly, but perfect for a graham cracker crust!). Made perfect amount for a deep dish 9” pie plate. Will print this for my “go to” graham cracker crust! Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how those substitutions worked for you Christie! Enjoy ☺️