Directly inspired by Trader Joe’s supreme cornbread crisps, these low carb cornbread crackers make the perfect candidate for your favorite chili or cheeseboard (!!).
Homemade Low Carb Cornbread Crackers 🌽
A Trader Joe’s cornbread crisp copycat 😉
You’ve technically got two options here: make the crackers fully keto (i.e. almond flour + a natural sweet corn extract) or actually add in some cornmeal (my personal favorite take given the utterly delightful texture and natural taste).
Side note: TJs uses some extract aside from cornmeal, so arguably you can use both… but I still think the version with just cornmeal is the best one.
Either way, you’ll end up with a totally crisp and ultra buttery cracker, perfect atop a heartwarming chili (I’m obsessed with this!) or as an extra addition to your fall cheese and charcuterie boards.
i.e. these are totally Thanksgiving worthy 🍁🍂
But (but!), is cornmeal keto?
Cornmeal isn’t generally considered keto due to its higher carb count and the fact that it’s a grain. For reference, 1/4 cup cornmeal has 26g net carbs vs the 2g net in almond flour (!!).
Still! And this is a VIP still. As I think you’ll find that when used in small amounts (say like pumpkin… or even berries!) you’ll surely be able to fit it into your low carb diet.
The Flours
OK onto the baking and first things first: make sure you use a medium grind cornmeal (I like this one!).
Otherwise these guys simply use a mix of super fine almond flour and a touch of xanthan gum.
Looking for more low carb cornmeal goodies? Look no further than my cornbread muffins.
p.s. to serve with (& coming tomorrow!): keto pumpkin butter 😉
(Almond Flour!) Low Carb Cornbread Crackers 🌽
Ingredients
For the keto crackers
- 90 g (medium grind!) cornmeal *
- 118 ml buttermilk at room temp (or use heavy cream + 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar)
- 70 g salted grass-fed butter
- 192 g almond flour
- 2-4 tablespoons erythritol or sugar, to taste (I used 4 TBSP)**
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
Seasoning suggestions
Instructions
- Add cornmeal and buttermilk (or heavy whipping cream and apple cider vinegar) to a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside to rest for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest.
- Melt butter in a small (microwave safe!) bowl until just melted, but not piping hot. Set aside to cool while you mix the flours.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, xanthan gum, baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly. Pour in the butter and mix until evenly distributed (I just use my hands!). Add in your lightly whisked egg, followed by the cornmeal buttermilk mix and continue to knead until it forms into a ball. Cover in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Divide dough in two and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. Trim to desired cracker size and separate gently. The dough is fragile, so I separate the pieces by running a knife underneath.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes until *just* lightly golden around the edges (will depend on size, thickness and oven). Allow them to cool for 10 minutes and bake again for 8-12 minutes until golden. VIP note: given the buttermilk and cornmeal mix, these crackers do need a double bake in order to reach the ultimate crisp and buttery texture (it's worth the extra step- trust me!),
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months (as well as the unbaked dough!).
HI Paola! If using all almond flour would you use the same weight as the cornmeal?
Just skip the cornmeal and buttermilk all together Anna and make the crackers with just the listed almond flour, xanthan, bp, butter and egg
Paola, I absolutely love your cornbread muffins and they, as well as your focaccia, are staples in my home. I look forward to trying this recipe. I cannot thank you enough for all the absolutely delicious recipes that you provide. Your recipes have allowed me to survive while on the Keto diet. Thank you.
Awww Taylor, thank you for taking the time to comment. Its my absolute pleasure 🙂
Do you know what the net carb count would be if replacing the cornmeal with extract …. and does that greatly change the taste and texture?
Hi Paola, in the notes you say “*If grain free, know that you can leave out the cornmeal and buttermilk: ” I’m a bit confused: aside the fact that I couldn’t anyway use cornmeal unfortunately, why would the buttermilk be considered containing grain…? The only brand I’ve ever seen so far here where I live is just made from milk and lactic acid or something else to give sourness, but without grain. Could I replace it with full-fat non dairy milk (such as almond or soy milk, OGM free, unsweetened and natural, unsalted)? I’d use it with superfine almond meal/flour. Thanks for your help 🙂
Good question Roberta! Regarding grain free, I was referring to just the cornmeal… but I included the buttermilk in the statement as you really should only add it if using cornmeal (as it soaks it up). I hope this helps!
Can’t wait to make! We tried your cornbread muffins over the weekend and they’re as amazing as everyone says. Thank you for all the wonderful treats sweet girl!
It’s my absolute pleasure Emily, so glad you enjoyed the new cornbread (easily the most raved about recipe this past year!) xo!
What would be a good substitute for the xantham gum? I’ve used chia seeds in the past, could they work here?
Hi Luna! Chia seeds work, but imo psyllium husk works even better (1 tsp xanthanm = roughly 1 TBSP psyllium)
I’m intreagued never tried a cornbread cracker, sounds good though! I like tortilla chips with my chili for a crunch, but these might be the perfect marriage between a tortilla chip and cornbread
YES! Couldn’t have described them better Mary- I love crumbling them up as a chili topping 🙂
Make sure the corn you use to make the corn bread is organic and non-GMO.
good advice!
These look amazing and I have everything except the salted butter… would it be correct to assume I can use unsalted and add salt? How much would you add? Thank you!
Correct! I would add 1/2 tsp of kosher salt xo!
You call them low carb, but compared to what?
Good question Eliz, but I call them low carb because they simply are (5g net carbs per five crackers? roughly even inline with many products marketed as keto). But also because the original ones are 22g net per 8 crackers (and if I remember correctly mine were a little bigger, so roughly same serving size) xo!
STOP IT Paola I’m obsessed with the TJs cornbread crisps, I’m for sure making them this weekend :}
I hope you enjoy Claire! 🙂
p.s. I’m also obsessed… I tried them once last fall and since there was no TJs in Montana, I had to come up with a recipe 😉