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100% Real Cheese Crisps Recipe (Grain Free)

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Snack Recipes » 100% Real Cheese Crisps Recipe (Grain Free)

Ever miss that crunchy texture that foods like chips and crackers used to provide? This easy cheese crisps recipe will hit the snacking spot! Best of all, unlike most storebought cheese crackers, the one ingredient is 100% real food!

The next time you need a healthy alternative to crackers or a break from carrots and celery for dipping into salsa or sauces, try these! And it only takes 15 minutes and a hunk of cheese.

Cheese Crisps? Isn’t That Unhealthy?

It’s true, 100% cheese crisps certainly aren’t an everyday food, but if you are craving chips, this is a much healthier alternative!

Cheese crisps are higher in calories and fat than some other snacking choices and not recommended for the lactose intolerant. In our house, we do keep moderate amounts of raw, aged cheeses and high-fat dairy like butter, cream, and yogurt in the meal rotation. (The keywords here are “moderate” and “rotation.”)

Getting “Real” About Dairy

There’s nothing better than snacking on fresh veggies and fruit. That’s undeniable. But dairy in its most natural form — raw, organic, pastured (meaning grass-fed), and full fat — does have nutritional value and can be handled digestively by most people. Even better if it’s fermented as it’s lower in sugar and lactose and contains probiotics!

Food rotation is a key element in getting good nutrition and avoiding food allergies. When I know we are carefully choosing what and when we consume, I can feel good about indulging in things like real dairy once in a while.

As always, a good meal planning system (check out my favorite, Real Plans!) helps guard against the overconsumption of any one kind of food.

For this reason, I have kept some dairy in my favorite 200+ recipes featured in The Wellness Mama Cookbook (although dairy is rarely essential to the recipe and easily skipped if needed).

For variety, the recipes frequently call for healthy milk substitutes like almond and coconut milk.

How to Make One-Ingredient Cheese Chips

There are a few important keys to making cheese chips. The first is choosing the right cheese. You need a nice, hard, low-moisture cheese such as Parmesan (a block or shreds of it, not the grated stuff in a canister), cheddar, or asiago.

The second is a close eye. Cheese crisps go from being not-quite-done to burnt in seconds! Take them out when they’re bubbly and just starting to brown around the edges.

If your cheese crisps are too lacy and crumbling, try mixing a couple of types of cheese together. I found that a mix of Parmesan and cheddar held together better than just cheddar.

Mix It Up!

If you’re feeling ambitious and would like to add some flavor complexity to your cheese chips, try sprinkling them with spices before baking. I like them with a dash of taco seasoning and a thin slice of jalapeno. Or try a pinch of Italian seasoning.

This creative recipe puts the cheese in a muffin tin to cool so to make crisps in bowl form.

Without further ado, here’s how to get your savory umami fix from 100% real cheese crisps. It takes little prep time or cooking know-how.

 

100% Real Cheese Crisps Recipe

A thin layer of baked Parmesan and cheddar cheeses forms a crispy and salty snack.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Calories 360kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

Ingredients

  • 8 oz low-moisture cheese (Parmesan, asiago, or aged cheddar, freshly grated)
  • ½ tsp herbs or spices (try paprika, taco seasoning, or Italian seasoning, optional)

Instructions

  • Very lightly oil a cookie sheet or use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  • Use a 1 tablespoon measure to put small piles of cheese onto the cookie sheet leaving sufficient space between for spreading.
  • Sprinkle with herbs or spices if using.
  • Turn the oven on ‘Broil’ and put the cheese in.
  • Watch carefully. It may take a little practice to learn timing. When bubbles slow down slightly and at first sign of browning, it’s time to take them out.
  • Allow the cheese to cool slightly, then gently remove them using a thin spatula to a paper towel covered plate to cool completely.
  • When cooled, use just as you would chips for snacking or dipping into homemade sauces.
  • To store, wait until fully cooled and pack between layers of waxed paper in a shallow dish.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
100% Real Cheese Crisps Recipe
Amount Per Serving (4 oz. cheese)
Calories 360 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 16g100%
Cholesterol 80mg27%
Sodium 1040mg45%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Protein 36g72%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

To store, wait until fully cooled and pack between layers of waxed paper in a shallow dish or stainless steel storage container.
If you have any left, that is!

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

Ever made cheese crisps? Have a better version to share? Do so below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

35 responses to “100% Real Cheese Crisps Recipe (Grain Free)”

  1. Linda Avatar

    I have made these in the microwave. They don’t come out as fancy as in the oven or under the broiler, but on a hot summers day, or if I am STARVED, I use the micro. I get a large dinner plate and put a chunk of cheese in the middle of the plate. Depending on your microwave, I microwave it on high for one or two minutes (again, depending on the size of the chunk) until you see the edges get brownish. I then stop the micro and drain off the accumulated oil, and either eat it that way, or if the center is still soft, micro it for a few seconds more. They do come out thinner, crispier, and looking more like cheesy lace. I do a few, drain them on paper towel and I’m good to go.

  2. Pam Devine Avatar
    Pam Devine

    5 stars
    Dear Katie, I just LOVE your site! I have pinned it on Facebook to ‘Show up First’ in my newsfeed, then I learn something new, and get something from you everyday (well more times a day than I can count!)

    I can’t wait to try the turmeric lemonade on this 4th of July weekend! and need to make some more of these cheese ‘chips’ because I’m all out. We’ve been using our latest find of pork rinds for dippers! ….with the most delicous find, an almond based ‘hummus’ type dip, no beans less carbs!

    Anyway, I actually want to send a personal/professional invitation to you, but I cannot find anywhere a place to email you personally outside of a post, and do apologize for inquiring in this forum. Not sure if you would be so kind as to reply here if and where I could do so. Happy 4th of July weekend to you and your family! ~Pam

  3. Peter Antonakis Avatar
    Peter Antonakis

    Option: when they are just about to crisp up, yet still malleable, top it with pulled pork or chicken! Then, fold it in half so it looks like a taco! Garnish with cilantro, guac or avacado and eat like a taco! I’ve made these cheese crisps into mini appetizers and they are delicious!!

  4. Bets Avatar

    5 stars
    these are fantastic. I’ve baked them in the toaster oven and have fried them in my skillet. I’ve also made ’em larger or smaller and when hot you can roll a larger one over a stirring spoon or something long enough – so when it has cooled down – makes a taco. (I can’t remember where I found that idea – this site or another that also has yummy recipes.)

  5. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Press a jalapeño slice in the middle before cooking . That spices them up nicely! I think I used Jack cheese.

  6. Ben Avatar

    I love these. I use a shredded Mexican cheese blend and take them out while they’re still a little soft and use them as mini tortillas for tacos.

  7. Mimi Avatar

    5 stars
    If you are leery of broiling you can also bake these at 400 for @ 7-10 mins…..for some reason I always forget stuff under the broiler!

  8. Kathy Avatar

    I need to know how to store them to keep them crisp, and how long will they last. Thanks for he recipe, you might have saved my carbs diet!!!!

    1. chow Avatar

      broil is a setting on the oven. Just crank it up to ‘broil’. it heats the top element only at a high temp.

    2. linda Avatar

      4 stars
      The US broil is top down heating akin to a UK grill (grilling in the US uses a bottom up heat sort of akin to a UK barbecue)

  9. Lara Avatar

    How do you store these and how long will they store for? Thanks!

  10. sofia Avatar

    Hello Katie! Do you stack like two slices of natural cheese?( I have a block of cheddar) And also, for about how long do you broil?

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      You can stack them and only for a few mins… watch closely!

  11. Nicole Avatar

    I miss pretzels. I love the flavor of the outside of the pretzel, and the salt.
    Do you have anything to help with that?

    1. Terri Altmire Lyons Avatar
      Terri Altmire Lyons

      just log on to pinterest and search for paleo pretzels reipes for pretzels pretzel buns and more if you dont want them soft just leave them stale up

  12. Nicole Avatar

    I love these chips, but I have 2 problems with them.
    1) I can’t stop eating them.
    2) I’m lactose intolerant. lol.
    I can usually tolerate small amounts of dairy, but I had some earlier today and apparently have now had too much.
    I might not be able to make these as often as I’d like to.

    Parchment paper helps the chips slide right off. Some cheeses have a lot of fat (we all know that). It might take longer for these cheeses to crisp. To help it along, use a spatula and move the cheese out of the oil puddle to a clean section of the baking pan. Or, what I did (by accident, because they weren’t crisp enough)…let them cool, flip, put back in oven until lightly browned.

    1. Kate Avatar

      If you stick with long aged cheese you should be okay on avoiding lactose. As the cheese ages the bacteria that gives it flavor convert the lactose to lactase, leaving the cheese lactose-free. I don’t have a magic formula to say when the lactose is gone but I know that when we were selling cheese at a farmer’s market we had several lactose-intolerant customers who were able to eat our longer aged varieties.

    2. Joel Walbert Avatar
      Joel Walbert

      Try raw goat cheese. Its my understanding that some that are lactose intolerant don’t have as much issues with raw cheeses in general, raw goat more specifically. I could be wrong, but I do recall reading that more than once. Just a suggestion.

  13. Kellie Dawson Avatar
    Kellie Dawson

    I failed at this big time. Maybe I cooked it too long. Maybe my slices were too thin. Next time I will use parchment paper as I am having to chisel them off my baking sheets. No worries as I’ll just use the crumbs in fish breading tonight. Interestingly enough the Hickory Farms cheese didn’t melt, didn’t bubble, didn’t do anything. What do they make that out of?! Tillamook worked just fine. Operator error.

  14. Melissa Waldrop Avatar
    Melissa Waldrop

    Yummy! Made them to go with our chili tonihht. Great substitute for cheese crackers and/or grilled cheese sandwiches!

  15. Leah H Avatar
    Leah H

    My husband and I both loved these! Thanks! At first I didn’t cook them long enough to make them crispy, and then I learned that if you wait until they mostly quit bubbling they are perfect. Chips are one of my weaknesses and I’m excited to find something that can substitute. I like that I can control the portions by only cooking just enough.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      For the most part, it is, but for those who don’t have an allergy, these are an occasional treat, and much better than chips fried in vegetable oils 🙂

    2. Joan C. Avatar

      5 stars
      All factory farmed animals are given hormone shots, to make them grow fatter, faster, and antibiotic shots, because they live in filth, and eat GMO (genetically modified organism) grain. Who wants all that nasty in their body? Everything you eat and drink should be organic, because most everything in your grocery store has these things and man made chemicals you can’t even pronounce! All dairy you put in your body should be organic…from animals that are grass fed, and have no shots given. I learned how to make my own nut milks, mostly from organic almonds. You can watch on youtube how to do this easy enough. I love cheese, so I only find this in organic, which I hope everyone will do. So much better for ya!

  16. Becky Avatar

    We love cheese crackers! I do a jack colby blend cracker quite often. Also, I do mine on parchment paper, and they slide right off easily! (you can reuse the parchment for several batches too.) Try them with guacamole – Heaven!

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