Skip the store-bought, pre-packaged graham cracker crusts and make your own! A good graham cracker crust takes only a few ingredients and several minutes to make, with this solid, simple recipe you’ll never need to buy a storebought crust again!
I kind of understand the hesitation to make your own pie crust when it comes to traditional pastry crusts. I know the frustration of trying to roll out a perfectly circular crust, of sprinkling flour over your whole counter-top to keep things from sticking, and the annoyance of cleaning up afterwards.
I always opt to make my own crusts, but I can at least understand why someone might choose the pre-packaged variety.
But when it comes to graham cracker crusts, I really feel that there’s no excuse to ever buy one from the store. For one, they don’t taste nearly as good as one that you could make yourself, and secondly they are so supremely simple to make that it’s almost laughable.
Today I want to walk through the simple steps to make your own graham cracker crust. The whole process takes about five minutes, and once you have this recipe I have a feeling you’re going to avoid the storebought crusts from now on.
We start with graham crackers, or pre-crumbled graham cracker crumbs. You’ll need approximately 10 graham cracker sheets, which translates to 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
Process them in a food processor or place them in a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to pulverize them into fine, sandy crumbs, like below:
Add your sugar — I like to use a split of both white sugar and brown sugar, but you can use just one or the other if you would like. I feel that the brown sugar gives it a slightly richer flavor (something you don’t get from a semi-stale storebought crust!).
Next comes the butter, which essentially acts as the glue that holds the whole crust together.
Use a fork to toss everything together. I prefer to use a fork rather than a spoon or a spatula because it does a good job of evenly incorporating everything together.
After a little bit of mixing, the crumb mixture should be well-combined and slightly damp.
Now you’re ready to transfer everything to your pie plate.
You can use a 9″ pie plate, which I used here, but this graham cracker crust recipe also works for cheesecake in a 9 or 10″ springform pan.
Transfer your crumbs to your pie plate and press them tightly into the bottom of the pan. I like to use the (clean) bottom of one of my measuring cups to press the crumbs — it makes for a smooth, even surface.
Finally, tend to the sides of the pie crust. Use your fingers to press the crumbs firmly all around the sides of the pie pan.
Your graham cracker crust will need to be baked in order to firm it up, that way when you cut into your pie the crust cuts nicely and doesn’t crumble. If your recipe is one that requires baking the pie, just follow the instructions in your recipe.
If it is for a no-bake recipe, then you can just slip it into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before using. 
And that is it! Just a few super simple steps to your own homemade graham cracker crust.
Full recipe just below the video
Easy Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
A simple graham cracker crust recipe that takes less than five minutes to mix together.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or 10 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor) 170g
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 7 Tablespoons butter melted (100g)
Instructions
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Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs).
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Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
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Pour mixture into pie 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.
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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.
Recipe Notes
You can just use white sugar if you do not have brown.
This recipe will work for a 9" pie pan or a 9-10" springform pan
Now that you’ve made your pie crust, fill it with something good like this Lemon Cream Pie!
Mikaru86 says
I still have never tried any graham crackers, but I’ve used Butterkekse for any recipes that require them and that seems to have worked out well so far (although I have no idea how they compare in taste). So I can recommend that as a viable substitute for anyone over here on this side of the big pond that doesn’t have ready access to graham crackers.
By the way, I love the instructional style with the progress pictures. In the past there were quite a few recipes where upon reading the instructions I wished for some more illustrations to go along with them (in the end I always managed, but they would have helped XD). But from my own experiments with documenting my baking I know how time consuming it is to stop after every step and take a pause to snap some pictures. So I’m hardly blaming you for not including more like this 😉
Craig says
I am using your recipe for crust of “Mom’s lemon meringue pie!” You have no baking time for crust, will bake for 7 minutes. Thank you so much,Craig
Sues says
I love a good graham cracker crust… This is an awesome tutorial!!
Shelly says
Worked great for my recipe
Twila Chaplin says
Easy and yummy! This recipe worked well for Pumpkin pie. 🙂
Sam says
I’m so glad to hear it!! Thanks for coming back and letting me know how it worked for you!! 🙂
Erin says
I did this and the crust was completely stuck to the pan. Should I try staying or greasing my pie pan first?
Erin says
*spraying
Sam says
Hmm, I’ve never had it stick before but I don’t think it would hurt to try greasing or spraying the pan first.
Tricia says
Seven Tbl of butter should prevent it from sticking. My crust is in the oven now. It is for a Key Lime pie.
L Buscher says
I usually spray pie pans with a little PAM and works great.
Mary Rockwell says
I’m making two Key Lime Pies for Thanksgiving at my son’s (wife and two wee ones). I cannot wait to make this crust. Seems so simple and easy to clean up and tasty.
Sam says
I hope you love it, Mary!!
Trish says
Just double checking, if you are using the crust for a pie that won’t be baked, do you bake the pie crust first and then put in freezer. Or not bake it at all. If you do bake the crust, what temp and for how long?
Thank you so much!
Sam says
Hi Trish! I usually do not bake it and just freeze it. You *can* bake it at 325F for about 10 minutes if you prefer (and then allow it to cool completely), but i usually just assemble and then put it in the freezer without baking. I hope that helps!
Sara says
Sounds exactly like the way (minus the food processor or plastic bags which weren’t available back then). She would crush the graham crackers inside a cotton dish towel and then add the other ingredients in a bowl. Stir them and put them in a prebuttered glass pie crust. My favorite was filled with cooked chocolate pudding poured in and then topped with banana slices and served with whipped cream on top. Yummy. Am planning to use this recipe for the crust and make it haven’t had it in years.
Sam says
Those all sound delicious! Lucky for us, we have the technology of food processors!. I’ve never heard of it done in a towel. That’s interesting!