The Best Butter Crackers You Can Buy at the Store
Some crackers are made for a fancy cheese party. Some are made for swiping through hummus. Still others are made for topping with any and everything. But a Ritz cracker? It's made for mindless snacking—sure a swipe of cream cheese and a pimiento-stuffed olive can elevate the situation, but you don't need them in order to fully enjoy the buttery rich flakiness that makes a Ritz.
But we wanted to know, is there a Ritz also-ran than can stand up to such an imposing competitor? So we gathered 11 samples in the butter-cracker category and assembled a taste test. Results: Ritz Crackers were a clean sweep. But, we did pick our favorite organic brand, in case that matters to you. For our methodology and the full list of crackers we tasted, scroll to the bottom of the page. First up, the rankings!
Our Favorite Butter Cracker: Ritz
In a serious case of "sweeping the competition," not one sample came close to usurping Ritz Crackers place in our hearts. Simply put, these scalloped golden discs have an ideal level of saltiness. They're tender, but not to the point of crumbling as soon as you take a bite. They're toasty, buttery, and seasoned throughout (instead of just on the top) but not in a way that would overpower whatever toppings or dips you'd enjoy with them. They come in portioned sleeves, which—if you're bold enough—could each be considered a single serving; and if you're not so inclined, also serve to keep the uneaten crackers fresh.
BUY IT: Ritz Crackers, $3.50 for a 13.7-ounce box on Amazon
The Best Organic Butter Cracker: Wild Harvest
The texture of Wild Harvest Golden Rounds is a tad more dense and sandy than Ritz, but they're still quite tender and don't completely crumble when you bite into them—which was the fate of several other contenders. We'd like them to have a touch more salt too, but these are still flavorful crackers that would take well to a slab of cheddar or a dollop of egg salad. The crackers are packaged inside a single bag within the box, but we left that bag on the counter for several days after opening, sampling periodically, and found that the texture of the crackers didn't suffer too much for it.
__BUY IT: Wild Harvest Organic Butter-Style Golden Rounds Crackers, available in select markets via Instacart and various stores nationwide, prices vary"
Butter Crackers - Inset
What We Were Looking For
We primarily wanted to know if any Ritz imposters could possibly beat this childhood-favorite cracker. The best cracker had to be buttery, salty, and tender. It had to be light and flaky with a golden exterior and toasty flavor. Too many of the samples we tasted were under seasoned. Others were too pale and matte, instead of the glistening golden brown that we love in a Ritz. But the biggest pitfall was density. Many of the crackers on our roster didn't have the airy, flaky texture that Ritz has mastered, and that's why this classic cracker is still on top.
How We Tested
A team of Epicurious editors and staff sampled 11 crackers plain, unadorned, straight out of the box. We then left opened, rolled up bags of crackers on our desks, the way you might store them in a cupboard, to test the crackers' resistance to staleness.
All tastings were conducted blind and no distinction was made between organic and non-organic products during tasting.
The Other Butter Crackers We Tasted
In alphabetical order:
365 Everyday Value Organic Golden Round Crackers
Back to Nature Classic Round Crackers
Keebler Original Club Crackers
Keebler Original "Light and Buttery" Town House Crackers
Keebler Toasteds Buttercrisp Crackers
Kroger "The Original" Snack Crackers
Late July Organic Classic Rich Crackers
Pepperidge Farm Golden Butter Crackers
Trader Joe's Golden Rounds Crackers
Originally Appeared on Epicurious
