Seeded Protein Crackers with Sourdough Discard

Looking for a healthier, protein-packed snack that you can easily make at home? These Seeded Protein Crackers with Sourdough Discard are incredibly satisfying and simple to prepare. They’re loaded with fiber and healthy fats, and thanks to unflavored protein powder and the binding power of flax seeds, each one delivers over 3 grams of protein. The sourdough discard adds an addictive, complex tang—a deeper flavor than you’ll get from most store bought crackers. This is an easy, one-bowl recipe that takes minimal prep time, resulting in two sheet pans of wonderfully crisp crackers, perfect for dipping, topping, or building a beautiful snack board.

 

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• Why You’ll Love This
• The Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Equipment Used
• How to Make this
• How To Store
• FAQ
• Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

Why You’ll Love This 

TL;DR

• High Protein & Healthy: Over 3g protein and only 76 calories per cracker, packed with fiber, healthy fats, magnesium, and zinc.
• Irresistible Sourdough Flavor: Uses sourdough discard for an incredible tang and depth, similar to classic Wasa crispbread.
• Ridiculously Easy: A simple one-bowl, ten-minute hands-on recipe with flexible ingredients.
• Versatile: Perfect for cheese boards, dips, or as a hearty, high-protein base for Danish-style open sandwiches (Smørrebrød).
• Customizable: Use any seeds or nuts you have at home (see substitutions!) or adapt to sweet or savory seasonings.

Healthy High Protein Crackers

At about 40 crackers from the whole recipe, each of them has over 3g protein, yet just 76 calories while being super satisfying.
On top of that you get a lot of fiber, healthy fats plus various vitamins and minerals like magnesium, zinc and B vitamins, making them a really healthy snack choice to have at home.

I have added some unflavored protein powder to them, for that extra little boost. It’s what gets them above the 3g protein per cracker mark and gives a tiny bit of binding powder. It’s entirely optional if you don’t have it but makes them even more satiating.

Sourdough Discard For Tang

If you ever had a Wasa, you know these Swedish crisp breads (or crackers, as some would call them) have an utterly addictive flavor that is really hard to place unless you look at the ingredient list and find, no surprise, sourdough as second ingredient. It doesn’t just add tang, but light hints of maltiness and this “je ne sais quoi” we associate with really good artisan bread.

This is the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard! It not only helps reduce waste but serves as a serious flavor boost for these seed crackers, giving them a depth you wouldn’t reach without.

Super Easy One Bowl Recipe

While I give my sourdough a little whisk together with the water in a jug in the video, you could absolutely just mix everything together in one bowl and be done. The whole hands-on process takes all of ten minutes and can hardly be called work, it’s so easy.
Spread them thinly across two sheet pans and you are ready to bake your extra crispy multi seed crackers.

Flexible Ingredients

While you will need the flax seeds and/or chia seeds to bind these high protein crackers and give them their incredible crispness after baking, the rest of the seed mix is entirely up to you and what you have in your cupboards. I have made them in all sorts of seed and nut combos, depending on what needed to be used up, and they always turned out delicious.

Want Seeded Flatbread?

Here is another great use for them: Simply cut them bigger and use as a sort of seeded crispy flatbread, similar to above mentioned Wasa in flavor, but higher in nutrition. Then top with any of your favorite Smørrebrød (Danish open sandwiches) toppings like cream cheese and smoked salmon, goats cheese and marinated beetroot or some thinly sliced roast beef with horseradish sauce and maybe some pickles.

Or make a whole platter of bite sized Smørrebrøds for your next party, but instead of the typical rye bread, which can be hard to get your hands on outside of Denmark, you use these crackers. I promise your guests will love it and ask for the recipe!

Ingredient Notes

I will mention the key ingredients here. As usual a full list including amounts is in the recipe card below.

• Flax Seeds – They are the key binding element of these seeded crackers, as they soak up water and form a gel-like substance holding them together. When baked, this gel hardens into a super crisp and shattering crust, making them a joy to eat.
• Mixed Seeds – The main element and bulk of the recipe, yet also the most flexible bit. Use pumpkin, sunflower, sesame or hemp seeds in any ratio that you enjoy. Replace part of them with finely chopped nuts or add a few onion flavored Nigella seeds if you like.
• Sourdough Discard – You can use either active starter or discard here. For once, these are not slow fermented, as there is no added flour for the sourdough to feed on. You could surely leave them to ferment overnight if you want and get a slightly stronger flavor. Though the benefits are limited, as the seed shells are too hard for the sourdough to give substantial nutritional benefits.
• Spices – I added Za’atar as I absolutely adore the combo of thyme, oregano, sumac and sesame included in it. A bit of garlic powder too. You can season these crackers any way you like and depending on what you have at home.
• Unflavored Protein Powder – I’m using whey protein here, as I have it at home for many of my baking recipes. Any unflavored (and decently smooth) protein powder will do here. Collagen for example would work particularly well and comes often unflavored to be added to tea or coffee. Different powders might have different browning points, so keep an eye on them while baking.
• Salt – As always I’m using Diamond Crystal kosher salt here. If you are using sea salt use half the amount by volume.
• Water – This is essential to activate the flax seeds, allowing them to form the necessary gel-like substance that holds the crackers together and ensures a shattering, crisp texture.

substitutions

• Flax Seeds – You can use ground flax seeds or chia seeds. Though Chia seeds absorb more water, so use only ¼ cup chia instead of 1/3 cup flax seeds. I made them with chia seeds and ground flax for a test before the final version and found they didn’t come out as shiny and with the lovely defined seeds you see in the pictures, but still very delicious.
• Sourdough Discard – One recipe I found online, which I used as base for my adaptations, added psyllium husk powder for binding. Just 2 tablespoons, in addition to the flax and instead of the sourdough discard would give you a similar structure, though without the lovely tang and depth from the sourdough. It would also transform these into a naturally gluten-free recipe and make them Keto friendly, giving you an easy way to adapt them for dietary needs.
• Spices – Some onion powder would be lovely. Oregano and rosemary fit perfectly. Caraway or fennel seeds will feel right at home in these crispy crackers, or you could even go in the sweet direction and add a tablespoon of honey or two instead of the herbs (and reduce the salt by half). Do keep a closer eye on them if you do though, as honey will brown quickly.
• Protein powder – You can leave this out and simply add 1/2 cup flour. Your protein content will change slightly, down to just under 3g protein per cracker.
• Salt – If you are on a low sodium diet, reduce the salt by half or more, then sprinkle a tiny bit of Maldon salt on top. This will trick your tastebuds into thinking the crackers are saltier than they actually are.

How To Serve Seeded Sourdough Crackers

• On a Cheeseboard – These easy and crispy crackers are so much better than anything you can buy in the shops and look utterly stunning on a cheese or charcuterie board. Bonus points of course for being homemade!
• As Snack – I absolutely adore them with my newest high protein Whipped Red Pepper Tofu, some homemade hummus, my Cottage Cheese Fried pickle dip (for even more protein) or any of the dips from the Mezze Feast I posted a while ago. They would be right at home in the middle of that spread!
• I do have a new favorite dip I’m currently working on. But I can’t tell you what it is yet! You can see it in the video and pictures though 😉
  Spoiler alert: It does have tofu!
• Open Sandwiches – The Danish call it Smørrebrød. It’s a classic in Germany too and we essentially have it every evening and call it “Abendbrot” (literally translated “Evening bread”). Meaning you top usually rye bread, but crisp bread or good quality crackers work too, with all sorts of creative combinations. Of course the above-mentioned smoked salmon or roast beef, but cheese and fruit are lovely (some suggest cheese together with jam is fabulous), hummus with pickles would be delicious or, my favorite, cream cheese and fresh tomatoes when in season. Oh and don’t forget blue cheese and pears or figs!
• Sweet – Talking about fruits, let’s not forget these crackers can very easily be taken into the sweet direction. Simply leave out the za’atar and half the salt, then top with, say, cream cheese and honey/jam for a timeless classic. You never tried the combo? You are missing out!
• Peanut butter and jelly will be perfect, so will some Nutella and maybe a sliced banana.

What is your favorite topping? Let me know in the comments!

Equipment Used

• Bowl – A large glass bowl is what I used.
• Whisk – You will need a whisk to get both sourdough discard and protein powder integrated smoothly and the flaxseed clumps that form while soaking broken up and well distributed.
• Sheet Pan – I used 2 large stainless steel sheet pans covered with baking parchment.
• Offset Spatula – While optional, this makes spreading the crackers super thinly so much easier! If you don’t have one, use a spatula or wet hands.
• Pizza cutter – This is optional for cutting your crackers halfway through baking.

Glass bowl

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sheet pan

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whisk

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How to Make this

Making these seeded sourdough crackers is one of the easiest things you can do in your kitchen:

Pre-heat your oven to 300°F/150°C.
Line 2 large sheet pans with baking parchment.

Mix Your Seeded Protein Cracker “Batter”

• Add all ingredients to a large bowl, whisk vigorously until no protein or sourdough lumps are left.

• Allow to sit for 20- 30 minutes until the mixture has thickened. It will still be very wet. That is working as intended.

• Using ideally an offset spatula, spread half of the gel-like seed-sourdough mixture over each sheet pan. You want it to be very thing. Just about the thickness of the pumpkin seeds. Make sure there are no holes in it.

Bake The Crackers

• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set and the edges show a very slight browning
• If you want to cut your crackers into even shapes, now is the best time to do it while the batter is still slightly soft but set enough to keep its shape.

• I used a pizza cutter to get even and relatively straight cuts. A large knife works too.
• Alternatively just break them into rustic chunks later.
• To get the calculated 3.5g protein per cracker, aim for about 20 crackers per sheet pan when cutting.
• Cut or not, do rotate your sheet pans now, as most ovens bake unevenly.
• Bake for another 25-30 minutes (mine took 1h all in all) or until crispy and golden brown. Allow to cool on the pans for about 10 minutes before trying one or until completely cooled for storing.
• Enjoy with some cheese or your favorite dip. Or just on the go as they are.

Watch The Video

How To Store

These crispy, protein packed crackers keep well for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container. I like having them in a sealed jar on my counter, to snack on them whenever I pass by (I might just make up reasons to pass by the jar).

They might get a little softer over time. So I sometimes crisp them up in my air fryer at 300°F/150°C for 5 minutes or so.

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

And if you enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating, sharing, or leaving a comment – your feedback truly helps my blog grow!

FAQ

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