Cracking the code: which crackers are the best to buy?

A staple in most households, crackers and crispbreads are a reliable go-to for any parent needing to pack lunchboxes for the masses. Throw them in as they are, or serve them with sliced cheese, tomato or a homemade dip for a quick, healthy and tasty option.

With so many different varieties of crackers to choose from, how do you know you’re reaching for the best of the bunch? How much salt is too much? Is the fibre content enough per serve? We’ve crunched the numbers on 181 commonly purchased varieties and put together a buyer’s guide to make your job easier.

Read on for our recommended list of crackers to grab and crackers to avoid when stocking the pantry each week.

You can also download our handy wallet card for a useful guide of what to look for when reading food labels.

Our top picks.

Sunrice rice cake quinoa

These rice cakes are the perfect pantry staple, they’re very low salt (less than 5mg per 100g) and provide a good source of fibre (3.8g per serve). You can easily pack these in the lunchbox as a bread alternative. Top them with cottage cheese, tomato, and avocado. The options are endless

Peckish brown rice cracker slightly salted

These crackers are a great low salt option coming in at only 120mg per 100g. Try these in the lunch box with little squares of cheese for a great mid-morning snack.

Ceres organics black rice crackers original

These crackers are low in salt (198mg per 100g) and saturated fat (1.29 per 100g). Pack these with some yummy hummus and carrot sticks and you’ve got a winner. Check out our homemade hummus recipe here.

Woolworths black sesame brown rice cracker

these crackers are low in salt (266mg per 100g) and very low in saturated fat ( less than 1g per 100g). Try these with some fresh guacamole. Adding a squeeze of lemon will make sure the avocado doesn’t brown in the lunchbox.

Coles seeds & grain brown rice crackers

These crackers are low in salt (210mg per 100g) and saturated fat (less than 1g per 100g).  Try packing these with a little pot of salsa on the side.

Ryvita & Ryvita multigrain

These crispbreads are high in dietary fibre (3g - 3.6g per serve) and fairly low in salt (290mg and 90mg per 100g). Pack these with some mashed banana and ricotta for a sweet alternative.

A word of warning:

Whilst crackers can provide a high fibre, low salt option for bulking up the lunchbox, some varieties can be a high source of salt and total fat, which puts them into the junk food category.

In fact, the humble cracker can sometimes contain a similar or higher amount of total fat and salt than a leading brand of potato chips, which means they are not an everyday food and therefore not a great option for the lunchbox.  For example your average Original Thin potato chip contains 26.3g per 100g of total fat and 429mg per 100g of salt. See how that compares to the products listed below:

The crackers with the highest amount of fat

		Fat per 100g	Sodium (salt) per 100g
Original potato chip		26.3g	429mg
Always fresh cheese crisps		36.2g	350mg
Woolworths cheddar cheese puff pastry		27g	720mg
Arnotts cheds		26.9g	878mg
Ritz original		26.6g	425mg
Arnotts jatz clix		24.6g	661mg

Don’t be fooled by the “low fat”, “fat free” or “baked not fried” claims either. Whilst these cracker varieties may be low in fat, if you look closely you may find they contain considerable amounts of salt.

The crackers with the highest amount of sodium (salt) 

Ideally, we want no more than 400mg per 100g

		Sodium (salt) per 100g
Fantastic delites snacks sea salt & balsamic vinegar		1680mg
Always fresh crustini crispbread rosemary & sea salt		1530mg
Olina's sundried tomato & basil crackers		1440mg
Sunrice thin sea salt & balsamic vinegar GF rice cakes		1250mg