The Best Plain Crackers, According to Our Taste Test

From holiday parties to happy hours, crackers are the unsung heroes of charcuterie boards, cheese plates, and dip trays. While most crackers are made from the same ingredients — flour, water, salt, and sometimes oil — not all are created equal. If you’re going to splurge on the nice meats and cheeses, be sure the crackers you serve them with are just as good. We tasted seven plain-style crackers side by side to determine which ones deserve a place on your next appetizer plate.

How we selected the crackers

In the snack aisle, you’ll find crackers flavored with herbs, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, or everything bagel seasoning. For our taste test we opted for the most versatile cracker: plain salted. We selected seven popular crackers that are easy to find at major grocery stores nationwide and relatively affordable, ranging from around $4 to $9. All of the crackers we tasted have a wheat flour base and are flavored with salt.

How we tested

Six Food & Wine editors participated in our cracker tasting. As with all of our taste tests, they were unaware of the brands. While crackers are often consumed as a vehicle for a creamy dip or a slice of cheese, we tasted the crackers on their own to best compare their flavors and texture. We selected the most “plain” or “original” offering from each brand — five crackers were simply with seasoned salt, and two advertised the use of olive oil as a flavoring.

The editors scored each cracker on a scale of 1 to 5, with a focus on flavor and texture. For flavor, we looked for a balanced saltiness, gentle grain sweetness, and pleasant aftertaste. Texture, in this case, was paramount — we asked editors to score the cracker based on its overall crunch and structural integrity. Was it pleasant to bite through on its own, and/or would it hold up to dips?

Best overall: Toasteds Flatbreads Sea Salt & Olive Oil

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

While Toasteds was a new cracker brand for all of our participating editors, we couldn’t stop going back for more tastes in the masked test. We found these crackers to be lighter and airier than others, with a distinctive crunch that didn’t veer into flakiness. “These were super crunchy,” said Senior Photo Editor Doan Nguyen. “I love them.”

Our testers also noticed a discernible butteriness in this cracker thanks to olive oil in the base. Since it is made with a mix of whole wheat and rice flour, it offered a bit more depth and complexity than other contenders.

These flatbread-style, two-inch crackers are relatively small, making them perfect for a single big bite. Pair them with a dollop of fig jam and a thin slice of prosciutto for a delicious, decadent snack.

Best for a cheese board: Back to Nature Pink Himalayan Salt Flatbread Crackers

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

These flatbread-style crackers are speckled with whole grains and topped with Himalayan sea salt. Our editors praised them for their balance of mild sweetness and discernable salty notes.

“These are immediately crunchy, and very crisp,” said News & Trending Editor Merlyn Miller. “I like the thickness here — it isn’t too thick, but it would stand up well to cheese.” These are sold in longer, four-to-five inch planks, which make for a very attractive addition to a cheese board. We also enjoyed the crunch of the salt crystals on top, which would pair well with a creamy cheese like Brie or Camembert.

Most versatile: Firehook Artisan Baked Crackers Classic Sea Salt

Food & Wine / Doan Nguyen

Made with just four ingredients — wheat flour, honey, sea salt, and olive oil — these flatbread crackers offered a pleasantly plain flavor with a balance of salt and lightly sweet notes. We found them to offer a firm crackly crunch without being overly dry or bland.

“[This cracker] is exactly the thing it’s supposed to be, and it’s an ideal meld of crunch and flake,” said Executive Features Editor Kat Kinsman. Their sturdy composition can handle thick dips, tinned fish, and rich cheeses alike.