Gluten Free “Goldfish” Crackers
This is not my recipe, I will never take credit for something I did not create. This recipe is from a cookbook by Roben Ryberg. She is the founder and former owner of Miss Roben’s gluten free foods. The following recipe hails from her cookbook, “You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten Free!” I absolutely love love love this cookbook, every recipe I have tried so far has turned out great. I was initially very skeptical because many of the recipes only call for one GF flour. I have always been taught that when using GF flours, you needed several different types blended together. Roben has shown in this book that that is not always the case!
Another neat aspect about this cookbook is that Roben gives a few different versions for each recipe. The following recipe, which is simply titled, “Crackers, Cheese” in the book, is a corn-based recipe (p.28). On page 29, she gives an oat-based version. Page 30 is a potato-based version. Page 31 is a rice-based version. So, if there are additional food sensitivities in your family besides gluten, you have other options! Roben also adds personal notes on what she thinks of the outcomes of the recipes.
I have 2 copies of this cookbook. If you do not have it, I HIGHLY recommend buying a copy!
Gluten Free “Goldfish” Crackers (my contributions, ideas and alterations are in red).
4 oz. Cheddar Cheese, shredded (I am sure you could use a dairy-free cheese, or a goat’s milk cheddar too…I also added a bit more cheese, 4 1/2 oz.)
4 Tbs. Butter (for dairy free, try Earth Balance buttery spread)
3/4 c. Cornstarch
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Tbs. Milk (for dairy free use your favorite substitute, I used a splash more so when I rolled out the dough with additional cornstarch, it wouldn’t become too dry)
Topping: salt, dried herbs or spices if desired
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Combine all the ingredients, except the milk, in a medium size-bowl. Mix until the mixture resembles a fine crumb. Add the milk and beat well.
On a lightly greased surface (I sprinkled the surface with cornstarch instead), pat or roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 3/4 inch squares or another small shape that you like (I used mini fish cookie cutters). You can also cut the dough into larger round or square shapes, just extend the cooking time.
Prick the tops of the crackers with a fork and sprinkle lightly with your desired topping (I just used salt).
Bake on the prepared baking sheet until golden brown and crisp, approximately 10 minutes (Mine came out perfect at 8 minutes with my convection oven). The crackers will be light and crispy, although barely browning at the edges. The bottom of the crackers will have a bit more color.
To me, they taste identical to the commercial crackers. My boys can have goldfish crackers right along side their buddies. The bonus: No artificial flavors or preservatives. No neon colors, (Luke will actually run away from Cheetos screaming. He freaks out over the bright orange color, no kidding!). Zero chemicals that you cannot pronounce. It’s a feel good mommy moment.
Click this link for an update to this post, Gluten-Free Goldfish Crackers, part deux.
THANK YOU so much for posting this. I have been looking for ages for a decent GF substitute for goldfish. It is the one thing my daughter misses the most and will sneak if she is at a party and they have them out. She is also dairy free so I am looking forward to see how it turns out using alternatives.
Janine,
You are welcome! They almost taste identical to the Pepperidge Farms version…I say almost because my taste-testers who can still eat gluten that they think these are BETTER!
Have you ever tried Sheese? http://www.buteisland.com/a_strong_cheddar.htm I have never tried it but it looks promising! Good Luck!
Heidi
These are DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for this great recipe. We sent away for the mini-goldfish cookie cutter, and meanwhile used a bigger fish-shaped one that we could get at the store right away (our 4 1/2-year-old son is suddenly obsessed with goldfish and we wanted to make them TODAY).
We used rice cheese and hemp milk, added a few minutes to baking time (about 4) due to larger crackers – and they are perfect. I’m not actually a huge fan of regular goldfish, and I LOVE these!
Valerie,
YEA!!! Did you use the cornstarch too? I tried them recently with Daiya Cheese and Arrowroot but they did not turn out so well, so I am still working on a corn-free version of Roben Ryberg’s recipe. I HIGHLY recommend her cookbook, especially if you like these Goldfish!! Roben is THE MISS ROBEN’s http://www.allergygrocer.com/miss-roben-s-brand.html.
That’s it Heidi. I am bringing my kids (and my dog) and moving in with you for two weeks so we can bake together.
Maggie,
That would be TOO much fun! I’d love to have ya, anytime!!
I have 2 dogs, an Australian Bearded Dragon and a Betta Fish it’s a bonafide zoo!
Just got a call from my 3 year old grandson saying I needed to make him some goldfish that mommy can have to. My daughter is gluten free and so is the 18 month old or at least he is for 6 more months at home. She lets the three year old have gluten when he is out with his granny (ME) etc but not at home. Not only can she not ingest it but she breaks out terribly just handling it. I was SO glad that I found your recipe and look forward to making this treat for the kiddos. Hats off to you for making such a tasty sounding treat. Anyone have a recipe for ravioli? I bought the pasta machine but have waltzed around it trying to decide whether to give GF ravioli a go.
Hi Susan!
Wish I could take the credit for the Goldfish, but it is not my recipe, I just found it! I am not a recipe creator (although I am a good “tweaker”), but rather a recipe sleuth!
I have fun seeking out recipes and testing/trialing them and I share the ones that my family loves with all of my fabulous readers! 
I guess I like to think of my self as a “gluten-free test kitchen, LOL!
The cheese cracker recipe I use to make Goldfish is actually out of a cookbook by Roben Ryberg, called “You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten Free.” It’s a GREAT cookbook and I highly recommend it.
I have GF Ravioli on my short list of recipes to start looking for. Here is one from the fabulous Shauna of “Gluten Free Girl” fame that I think would be a great place to start: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2005/08/making-homemade-gluten-free-ravioli-at.html
Hope your grandson likes the goldfish!
Thanks so much for posting! Tried these out this a.m., and for the most part, were decently successful. Mine don’t have the integrated, uniform cheesy appearance yours do, and came out a bit more crumbly than crisp? Any hidden binders other than the cornstarch & xanthan we should know about, Heidi?? ;0)
I also added a dash of garlic & onion powder, with a hint of oregano, increased the butter by about 3/4 TBsp, and added 1 TBsp rice milk: still think it needs a little more liquid to reach the correct mixing/ rolling consistency, but will increase cheese by 1/3 cup with next baking first, just to see how that affects moisture balance.
We’re at altitude here (6400 feet, CO), so baking times went up to 14 minutes & could still use a little longer. But without your guidance, my poor 3-year-old would still be standing in the cracker aisle at the grocery, desperately clutching a bag of goldfish crackers, and begging, “Mommmmy! I! Want! WHHHHHEEEAAAAAAT!!!!”
So thanks for saving our sanity and pointing us in the right direction! If you’ve got any tweaks or secrets, other than the ones already highlighted above, we’d love to hear them. Learning to cook GF was a challenge in and of itself, but now that I’m doing it more than a mile above sea level?? Ahh, everyone loves a challenge! ;0)
Hi Cortney!
You are so very welcome! I am not sure why the crackers have come out dry for a few people, I am at high altitude too (5,000 ft., NM) and haven’t had a problem with crumbling but they are on the dry side (I can’t remember the real Goldfish, but assumed they were dry too?).
I presume it is the straight up corn starch that has the drying effect, so I am going to attempt making a flour blend (all of Roben’s recipes for the Cheese Crackers (she has 4 of them), only call for one flour type. Maybe cutting the corn stach with another GF flour that doesn’t absorb so much moisture will help?
I had planned on experimenting last weekend, after another reader was having problems but I got sick and lost my ability to taste in the process (makes experimenting challenging!)
Once I find something that I think will work, I will make a new post, with a photo tutorial on how I make them.
Goldfish have definitely been a major component to making Sam and Luke happy about being GF (I really hope that Annie’s will do a GF Cheddar Bunny someday, especially now that they have the GF bunny cookies!!). It kills a momma’s heart to see the longing in their child’s face in the cracker aisle, doesn’t it? I believe we can do it, especially if we all work together! There is nothing quite like a mother’s determination!
Roben did an awesome job getting us this far and I am so thankful to her for that. When I posted this recipe, I had only begun to blog and wasn’t aware enough of the “rules” to ask her permission to publish it before I did it and I feel really bad about that now.
I will never take credit for something I did not create, that is just wrong on so many levels. What I am good at, is being stubborn and refusing to accept the word “no.” My entire life has been trying to shove a square peg in a round hole! At least now, I am putting that character “flaw” to good use by being a recipe sleuth, LOL!
These crackers are really terrific. I tried them once and, after I knew that we liked them, dove right in an bought the tiny goldfish cookie cutter. My 6-year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac 18 mos ago and she has missed these, especially when the other kids at school have them. Her 2-year old sister has never had a Pepperidge Farm cracker b/c our household is GF. We made the fish together this afternoon, and there are almost none left. Thanks so much for sharing this – and for allocating credit accordingly.
Jackie,
I am so glad the crackers worked for you!! Did you make any tweaks to your batch?
I will always allocate credit, the folks that create recipes are rock stars in my book and deserve to be appreciated for their work. I just wanted other moms to know about this recipe (all of Roben’s recipes that I have tried in her cookbook, “You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten Free!” have been really good). With so many GF cookbooks out there (and I have no less than 30 of them), and with the cost of the GF Lifestyle, I appreciate reading reviews from real people that have used recipes that work before I buy another book (running out of room)!
Thank you for the recipe. My son with Down Syndrome doesn’t have celiac but I do believe he may be wheat sensitive. He LOVES fish. The recipe looks great…I’m just balking a bit at spending $$$ for one goldfish cookie cutter, LOL.
Hi Marya!
I hear you on the cost of one goldfish cookie cutter! I have to say though, the look on my boys’ faces when they realized they could have “Goldfish Crackers” too, was priceless. A small investment in the self-esteem bank.
Have you had your son tested for celiac disease? There is compelling medical research about Down Syndrome and Celiac Disease. The prevalence of Celiac Disease in the Down Syndrome population is a whopping 10% (one study in Sweden even referenced 16%). Even if your son tested negative once, does not mean it will never show up. Here are some links to articles you might want to read:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/95/1/Down-Syndrome-Celiac-Disease-Prevalent-in-Children-With-Down-Syndrome/Page1.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11426458
http://journals.lww.com/jpgn/Abstract/1995/11000/Down_Syndrome_and_Celiac_Disease.12.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10997372
http://www.ds-health.com/celiac.htm
http://www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Disease/Related-Diseases/Down-Syndrome/48/vobId__886/
Hi! Hope I’m replying correctly. I’ve never posted on a blog before. I found a tin of tiny cookie cutters at Williams Sonoma on clearance for 99 cents! There’s no fish in there but they have lots of other shapes. There’s a heart, moon etc. They were in the back of the store on a table with a lot of other items. Now I can try this recipe.
I’ve been dying for a nice cheesy cracker! 
Thanks for the tip Vicky! :0)
The crackers were yuuuuuum!!! Enjoyed by everyone, even my husband and daughter-in-law who aren’t on gluten free diets. My picky son said he liked them better than goldfish. How do you store them? I put them in airtight containers. I hope they’re still crispy tomorrow. Maybe they should be in the fridge?
Vicky,
Thanks for the feedback, I am so happy everyone liked them! I know several people have had difficulty with the crackers turning out dry and I have been meaning to make more with a different flour (instead of cornstarch) to see if that improves the texture, but I have been setback by my youngest son’s potential casein sensitivity (cheese) and a health setback of my own that has consumed my free time lately!
I store mine in an airtight container in the pantry. I have kept them fresh tasting for several weeks.
Thanks for making suggestions for non-dairy ingredients–I would love to make these crackers. I followed the link to Amazon and read some reviews of the Ryberg cookbook. It sounds as if you need to purchase a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients for baking. Were you that exact in measuring ingredients for the crackers? Would I need a scale for most GF baking?
;Jane,
I do have a kitchen scale, but I don’t always use it. There are some really good tips over at Cook It Allergy Free, that I definitely recommend reading:
How to Avoid Gluten Free and Allergy Free Baking Mishaps
Allergy Cooking Tips
Good Luck!
Thank you for this post! I’ve been a gluten free blog stalker for years and a dx celiac for 13 years and I love your blog and recipe tweaks. I consider myself a professional tweaker too! I had to become one to eat popovers, croissants and empanadas again!
Anyway — Robyn Ryberg should thank you for all the wonderful things you have to say about her book – I’m buying it based on your recommendation
Who know she may have “tweaked” another recipe to get hers! I love the idea that we all enjoy sharing our recipes to make someone else happy — it’s all about the gluten free love man!
So I made a vegan version for my 6 year old son Jack and they were delicious. He is a SUPER picky eater, seriously, and he gobbled them up! I used “We can’t say it’s cheese” (http://www.wayfarefoods.com/node/5) instead of cheese, which is a vegan cheese-like spread (which he wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole and I was thrilled to use it up). The spread is moist so I didn’t need any additional liquid – they turned out perfectly. I actually made them twice! The 2nd time I added vegan Parmesan and they were fabulous again!
Keep up the great work!
Oh Ali, thank you so much for the kind words and the great vegan tips!! I have been lamenting on finding a good dairy-free version of this recipe for my 3 year old, but I will have to find some of the “We Can’t Say It’s Cheese” product you are referring to. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! xo