The Best Homemade CheezIt Crackers
If you love America’s favorite cheesy cracker, then you have to try this homemade CheezIt crackers recipe! These crackers are cheesy, buttery, and even better than the box! But be warned, they are pretty addicting!
My husband and I nearly ate a whole tray in one sitting, believe me, you will understand when you try these crispy, cheesy bites of goodness!
Are Homemade CheezIt Crackers Easy To Make?
I’m so glad you asked— YES! SO EASY & CHEESY 😉 sorry that was cheesy.
Believe it or not, making this homemade CheezIt cracker recipe from scratch is actually really easy! If you are looking for a great recipe to get kids involved in baking or a fun date night–try making this popular snack food from scratch. If you are making these with kids, make sure to assist them with the oven and cutting of the crackers.
It’s a great little project if you, like me, enjoy making fun little treats for your family! As an added plus you can seriously cut down on all the extra preservatives and added ingredients that are in a traditional box of CheezIts.
How To Make Homemade CheezIt Crackers
Prep the Crackers
- Shred the block of cheese into coarse pieces. (I use a blender to speed this process up.)
- Add the flour, shredded cheese, butter, salt* (see note about salt), and paprika to your stand mixer bowl.
- Mix on low speed the ingredients together until all the cheese is evenly coated. Turn the speed up slightly, and pour 2 tbsps of cold water into the mixture.
- When the water has incorporated (the dough will look very pebbly), turn off the mixer and using your fingers press a bit of the dough together. The dough will look dry and loose, this is what we are looking for, see the image below. However, if the dough is able to hold shape when you press it together, you are good to go, if not, mix in 1 tbsp more of water.
Let the Dough Chill
- Using your hands form the mixture into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and stick it into the fridge for at 1 hour.
Cut And Bake the Crackers!
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and line two sheet pans with a silicon liner or parchment paper.
- On a pastry mat, or floured surface add the chilled ball of dough. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough for easier rolling. Roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle.
- Cut squares out of the dough using a sharp knife. Or use a fancy fried dough cutter if you have one. If desired, use a wooden skewer to poke little holes in the middle of the cracker.
- Place the squares of dough on parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes.
The Ingredients
Can you believe that you only need 5 ingredients (excluding water) to make homemade CheezIts? And the best part?
8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
Make sure to use a block of cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese. Preshredded cheese has a light coating on the cheese, which will not make the cheese melt as well. Plus the block cheese is cheaper. You’ll want to use sharp cheddar cheese for the traditional cracker taste, but feel free to experiment with your favorite cheese like Swiss or Pepper Jack!
All Purpose Flour
Regular, pantry flour is all you need. I have not tried this with gluten-free or whole wheat flour– if you do let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Butter
I mix in room temperature butter, but you can also grate frozen butter with a box and add it into the dough in grated pieces, like the cheese, for equal distribution.
Paprika
If you look on the back of the package of regular CheezIts, you will notice paprika. This is both for the taste and a little color. I add 1/4 tsp to my crackers. If you want to make these crackers a tiny bit “smokey,” use smoked paprika instead.
Salt
Of course, you need to add a bit of salt to get these crackers to taste just like the traditional crackers. I call for 1 teaspoon of salt in the recipe below. I think the whole teaspoon makes the cracker salty–just like a storebought CheezIt. However, if you would like to make these crackers less salty (or are making these crackers for toddlers), I suggest dropping the salt measurement down to 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt instead.
Cold Water
The water helps to bind the dough together.
Can I Save Money With Homemade CheezIt Crackers?
Kinda! Snack/junk food prices have skyrocketed, and while you might still be able to buy CheezIt crackers for cheaper when they are on sale, you can buy generic ingredients for these crackers at ALDI for a little bit cheaper. Overall, you aren’t going to be saving big bucks in small batches of these crackers, BUT the quality of the ingredients is WAY better than what you will get at the store.
Here are a few of my reasons why I like to this homemade CheezIt cracker recipe :
1) I can control what’s inside of them.
2) I tend to overstock on my blocks of cheese. I almost ALWAYS have the ingredients for a batch of these crackers on hand sitting in my pantry and fridge. I hate wasting food, so this is a great way to use these pantry ingredients up!
3) They are SO fun to make!
How To Store Homemade CheezIt Crackers
Store your leftover homemade CheezIt crackers, if there are any ;), in an airtight container for up to 7 days. The crackers will be their crunchiest on the first day.
Personally, I like the taste of day-old crackers. To me, they actually taste even more like CheezIt crackers on the second day. But if you prefer the first-day taste– I have an air fryer hack that you’ll LOVE! Check it out below!
How To Reheat Your Leftover CheezIts In the Air Fryer
Okay, this is going to sound odd– but trust me–reheating these crackers up in the air fry for 1 to 2 minutes makes a HUGE difference in leftover CheezIt.
Here’s what you’ll want to do:
- Heat your air fryer to 400℉.
- Add your desired amount of CheezIt crackers into your air fryer.
- Heat your CheezIt crackers for 1-2 minutes. Check your crackers to avoid browning–you just want to reheat—not brown.
- Let the reheated homemade CheezIt crackers cool for 5 minutes before eating. Reheated homemade CheezIts can be a little chewy when they come fresh out of the air fryer. For the next texture, let the crackers cool down and return to their crunchy texture.
The BEST Tool To Make Homemade CheezIt Crackers
You can use a knife and a ruler to cut out even squares, but I have an even easier way: this $19.99 Fried Dough Cutter.
Check out the image below to see it being used!
It’s essentially like having 5-even pizza cutter wheels to roll through and evenly cut your dough, and it’s awesome! I use mine all the time, even to mark brownies or cookie bars for perfectly geometric squares. It makes my designer heart very happy to use one of these nifty gadgets!
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The Best Homemade CheezIt Crackers
Ingredients
- 8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese or swiss, mild cheddar, pepper jack, etc
- 1/4 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt see note on salt
- 2-3 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Shred the block of cheese into coarse pieces. (I use a blender to speed this process up.)
- Add the flour, shredded cheese, butter, salt* (see note about salt), and paprika to your stand mixer bowl.
- Mix on low speed the ingredients together until all the cheese is evenly coated. Turn the speed up slightly, and pour 2 tbsps of cold water into the mixture.
- When the water has incorporated (the dough will look very pebbly), turn off the mixer and, using your fingers, press a bit of the dough together. The dough will look dry and resemble pie dough. However, if the dough is able to hold shape when you press it together, you are good to go, if not, mix in 1 tbsp more of water.
- Using your hands form the mixture into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and stick it into the fridge for at 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and line two sheet pans with a silicon liner or parchment paper.
- On a pastry mat, or floured surface add the chilled ball of dough. Place a large piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough for easier rolling. Roll the dough out into a 1/4 to 1/8-inch-thick rectangle–depending on how thick you like your cracker. If desired, use a wooden skewer to poke little holes in the middle of the cracker.
- Cut squares out of the dough using a sharp knife. Or use a fancy fried dough cutter if you have one.
- Place the squares of dough on parchment paper and bake for 8-14 minutes. Thinner crackers take less time–make sure to check your crackers at 8 minutes.
