Make your own Graham Cracker Pie Crust for your next cheesecake or cream pie. Made with four simple ingredients you can make a tasty and buttery made from scratch pie crust in minutes. No need to get a store-bought crust anymore.
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With just four ingredients you can make a buttery homemade graham cracker pie crust just to your liking. Making your own crust just tastes fresher than a store-bought crust and you can adjust the sugar content and flavoring.
I firmly believe in making life simple and of course tasty so making a homemade crust is always my first option, but I am here to tell you, store-bought will work just the same for your cream pies.
You can even use different flavors of graham cracker crusts to go with the flavor of your pie. Chocolate graham crackers with a chocolate cream pie or honey graham crackers with a vanilla cheesecake; both sound delicious.
Four simple ingredients
- Graham crackers
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- White Sugar
There are so many uses for a graham cracker crust and you can have either a baked crust or an unbaked crust. Once mixed, the cracker crumbs can be pressed into a pie plate, a springform pan, a sheet pan, or any baking pan for cream pies, cheesecakes, and other dreamy and creamy desserts. Make sure to save extra crumbs to sprinkle on top.
There is nothing easier than making a graham cracker crust
Step 1. If using the graham cracker sheets, break up 10 of the sheets and in place in a food processor and pulse until you have super fine crumbs. You can also place the sheets in a zip-lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Either way, you need 1 ½ cups. You may have to add some extra graham sheets for the right amount.
Step 2. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and add the melted butter and the sugars. Mix well with a fork until the crumbs are coated with butter and the mixture looks sandy and crumbly.
Step 3. Pour the graham mixture into a 9″ – 10″ pie plate and using your hands or the bottom of a cup press the crumbs on the bottom and sides of the pie plate. For a baking dish or springform pan just press the crumbs in the bottom.
Take your time pressing down the crumbs. Try using a measuring cup for the bottom and I like using a spoon to go around the sides of the pie pan and pushing down the top to form a nice edge at the top of the pie crust.
Step 4. For an unbaked pie crust, place the pie pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set the butter.
For a baked pie crust, baked in a 325 degree F. oven for 8 minutes.
Fill the pie crust as directed for your pie recipe
Add some spices to your crust
Everybody likes different flavors
- Cinnamon – for a Banana Cream Pie
- Vanilla beans – perfect for any cream pie or cheesecake
- Nutmeg – with an Eggnog Cheesecake
- Cardamom – I love this flavor with a citrus cream pie
- Red pepper – for a bold flavor in a Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie
- so many variations
Graham cracker pie crust questions & tips
Why is my crust crumbling
Your crust might crumble if there isn’t enough butter in crumbs, or it wasn’t pressed down enough
The crust is rock hard and I can’t cut it, this is common and maybe because of
Overbaking the crust
Compacting the crumbs too much, they need to be pressed hard but don’t go crazy
Adding too much butter which will harden for both the baked and unbaked crusts.
Before serving your pie, wet a dish towel in hot water and wring it dry then set the pie plate on the hot, wet towel. This will soften the butter in the crust and help it release easily.
Do I have to bake the crust
This is up to you. Baking the crust adds a depth of flavor from the melted sugar in the graham cracker crumbs, and the melted sugar is what will hold the crumbs together. I prefer the baked crusts because they don’t crumble as much and have a nice toasty flavor.
For the unbaked crust, the butter in the crumbs will harden when placed in the refrigerator.
Make sure the crumbs are chopped or crushed very fine
Having finely chopped crumbs help the crust hold together better. If large chunks of graham crackers are in the crust it doesn’t look as pretty and will also be harder to cut a clean slice.
Cut with a warm knife
If your crust is very hard, try this technique, hold you knife under hot water to heat up the blade, dry it off then cut your pie or dessert.
Other One Hot Oven Pie Crust Recipes
How to Make A Short Crust Tart Dough
Don’t forget to Pin to your favorite board 
Easy Graham Cracker Pie Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups graham crackers Use approximately 10 sheets or use boxed graham cracker crumbs. You can also use digestive biscuits.
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 5 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- If using graham cracker sheets, break them up and grind in a small food processor. You can also place the graham cracker sheets in a ziplock back and crush with a rolling pin.
- Transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix all together with a fork until the mixture is coated in the butter and looks crumbly.
- Pour the graham cracker crumbs into a 9" or 10" pie plate. and using the bottom of a measuring cup start pressing down on the crumbs to
- With your fingers or the bottom of a cup press the crumbs evenly all around the pie plate; bottom and sides. You can use a spoon to press in the sides of the crust. You want the crumbs to be compact so the crust does not crumble when cut.
No-Bake Graham Cracker Crust
- Make the crust a directed and place in the refrigerator for one hour before filling.
For a Baked Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325° F. Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
Notes
- For the sugar in the recipe - instead of using half brown sugar and half white sugar, you can make the recipe using just one type of sugar.
- Digestive biscuits can be used instead of graham cracker crumbs.
- When pressing down on the cracker crumbs in the pie plate, you want them compressed enough to be firm, but if they are too compressed you won't be able to cut the crust once it is baked.
- You can use different flavors of graham crackers such as honey or chocolate
- Add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, apple pie spice, cardamom
Nutrition
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days.
About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Contact me here, and I’ll be happy to help!
Kushigalu
Love this four ingredient crust recipe. Looks so perfect. Can’t wait to try this out with cheesecake. Thanks for sharing
Jere Cassidy
Yes, you gotta have a good graham cracker crust for cheesecake.
Chef Dennis
I love a good graham cracker crust! thanks for sharing your easy to make foolproof recipe
Gail Montero
I love making pie crust from scratch so this recipe is right up my alley. Love the recommended spices you suggested – I usually just add a bit of cinnamon and now I know I can experiment with more! YUM!
Jacqueline Debono
I’ve never had Graham crackers. I’m not sure I can find them here in Italy. I did read some Graham cracker history which is interesting. Apparently they are made from Graham flour and have been sold commercially in the States since the end of the 19th century! I do use digestives (originally Scottish) for cheesecake crusts. I think they’re similar but not identical. This post has me craving cheesecake now!
Jere Cassidy
That’s interesting you don’t have graham crackers. We actually love digestives so I am going to use them next time for the crust.
Joyce
This looks so easy and tasty to make! Looks way better than the store bought ones! Adding this recipe to my list for the holidays! Thanks for sharing!!
Jere Cassidy
Homemade graham crusts taste fresh and since this recipe uses brown sugar it has a lot more flavor.
Alex Ryder
You know I only just found out recently that graham crackers are what we called digestives here in the UK! And I always use them for my cheesecake base too! Great hack!
Jere Cassidy
My daughter loves to eat digestives with her tea, so we buy them frequently.
Marta
Store bought crust is such a waste. Especially, since you have no idea how old it is. This is so easy to make!
Jere Cassidy
That is so true
Fred N
I was so upset when I found out easy it was to make the Graham cracker crusts when I spent years buying the store brands. This recipe has me dreaming of cheescake. Thanks for sharing!
Jere Cassidy
That’s why I love baking so much. So many foods are really easy to make.
Stine Mari
I love how easy this graham cracker pie crust recipe is and so delicious as well. Can’t beat real butter and sugar!
Leslie
Graham cracker pie crust is truly amazing! Everyone needs a good, graham cracker pie crust recipe to keep on hand! This is a winner!
Amy Liu Dong
I have all these ingredients available in my kitchen and I want to make a delicious strawberry pie using this. Thank you!
Marthana Sharp
So glad you posted this recipe for the graham cracker crust. I thought I could just crush the crackers and make a crust. Well apparently you need some other ingredients and like you show. My pie turned out beautiful and so tasty with this crust recipe.
Andrea Metlika
OH yeah, I’m definitely making this with my next Key lime pie. No more store bought.
Jere Cassidy
Yum, I love Key Lime Pie, and to be honest I have never made one.
SHANIKA
I love using Graham Crackers for my crusts, especially forCheesecakes! This looks so amazing!
Anita
With the flour and yeast shortage, I’ve been resorting to baking more pies, in May no less! But graham cracker pie crust is just perfect for all kind of pies. 🙂
Jere Cassidy
The stores around me in Sacramento still do not have yeast, luckily I am finding flour again.
Mary
I love how easy this is! No more store bought crusts for me!
Kelly Anthony
I will never need to buy a graham cracker crust at the store again. This is too easy not to make at home.
Jere Cassidy
We always have a box of grahams at home so this makes it so easy to make a crust