Seeking substitutions for saltines on soup

September 3, 2020 7:46 PM

I don't eat many processed foods. Crumbling saltines on soup has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. During this quarantine I'm making more (healthy!) soups than I used to, but I'm consuming way too many saltine crackers, too. Do you know a good alternative? I'm open to even the most unorthodox, non-cracker suggestions!
posted by Junker George to Food & Drink (33 answers total)

Rice cakes?
posted by Francies at 7:47 PM on September 3, 2020

Buttered popcorn can be delicious with tomato-based soups. Also try dehydrated scallions.
posted by mezzanayne at 7:49 PM on September 3, 2020

Croutons? Parmesan cheese crisps?
posted by Red Desk at 7:51 PM on September 3, 2020

Yeah, croutons. Depending on how serious you are about unprocessed, that might mean toasting your own from real bread.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:53 PM on September 3, 2020

Some ideas, depending on what is too processed:
- croutons (you could make your own)
- pine nuts, peanuts, walnuts, other chopped nuts
- seaweed
- crispy fried tofu
- crunchy roasted vegetables
- crunchy salad toppings like wonton strips, tortilla chip strips
posted by medusa at 7:53 PM on September 3, 2020

Homemade Cheez-Its maybe? Or Crisp Rosemary Flatbread?
posted by mostlymartha at 7:54 PM on September 3, 2020

Frizzled onions! Or crispy fried garlic. Or fried sage.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:54 PM on September 3, 2020

Also, pork rinds in soup instead of croutons are the best thing in the universe and I think everyone deserves to know that.

(Some places you can get them made fresh. Depending on whether frying counts as processing for you, that might meet your definition.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:56 PM on September 3, 2020

Homemade kale chips?

This soup recipe includes kale chips and adds parmesan to them, but just oil and salt (or seasoning if you are trying to get off the salt) would be good.
posted by AnnaRat at 7:58 PM on September 3, 2020

Toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of sesame oil, a sprinkling of dried fenugreek leaves, or a slice of sharp cheese pan-fried into a crisp are my favorites.
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:01 PM on September 3, 2020

I switched from crackers to roasted chickpeas. There are lots of recipes online with different flavorings.
posted by FencingGal at 8:04 PM on September 3, 2020

Add some greens or vegetables at the last minute, so that they don't become soft by cooking. Celery greens have long been a favorite of mine, but you could do mung bean sprouts (a la pho), fresh broccoli florets, julienned or curly grated carrot, grated cabbage, etc.
posted by amtho at 8:12 PM on September 3, 2020

Tiny Popcorn? Said to be hulless too, because the thinner hulls "disintegrate" in the popping process.

There are probably a bunch of different suppliers of small kernel popcorns out there, of varying price. I just linked the first one. There is also an intriguing "half-popped" corn which might stand up to soup better.
posted by jamjam at 8:13 PM on September 3, 2020

Sunflower seeds are so very nice on a velvety butternut squash soup —
posted by mochapickle at 8:16 PM on September 3, 2020

SunChips are whole grain and very nice as soup crumbles. And there’s a variety of Goldfish crackers made with whole grain, so they’re fun and a bit healthier.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:34 PM on September 3, 2020

Goldfish crackers are my go-to
posted by Kitchen Witch at 8:51 PM on September 3, 2020

Corn tortillas, cut into strips and baked until they're crisp are the essential ingredient in tortilla soup, but they'd go great in other soups as well.
posted by zombiedance at 8:53 PM on September 3, 2020

Just... diced up toast?
posted by slightlybewildered at 8:53 PM on September 3, 2020

Homemade whole grain crackers? If you don’t care what shape they are they aren’t much hassle.
posted by clew at 8:54 PM on September 3, 2020

Crackers aren't difficult to make from scratch, which would allow you to determine exactly how much salt you want, sub some whole wheat flour, etc. I use this recipe, which assumes leftover sourdough starter, but the sources for these two recipes are generally reliable in my experience. The recipe I use, as well as the first of my two links, can go from flour to crackers in about half an hour, although it takes longer to cool them down. The downside is that they are so yummy you may wind up eating more crackers, instead of less.
posted by Superilla at 8:59 PM on September 3, 2020

Cheese in soup is fantastic. Just drop in some thin pieces when it’s hot.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:15 PM on September 3, 2020

Parmesan crisps are ridiculously easy to make, consist of a single ingredient (unless you want to add seasonings), and excellent on crumbled on soup. Or salads. Or just eaten on their own.

Fried sage leaves (whole leaves briefly fried in a tin layer of hot oil) and fried capers (whole capers fried briefly in a hot pan) are also really lovely on soups, especially creamy vegetable-based ones.
posted by rhiannonstone at 9:32 PM on September 3, 2020

We top soups with homemade sourdough croutons from the ends of baguettes or boules. Cut the (leftover, stale) bread into about 1” chunks, toss with olive oil, pepper, garlic and salt, roast until brown and crunchy.
posted by amaire at 9:39 PM on September 3, 2020

Everything bagel seasoning. Roasted pumpkin seeds.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 9:52 PM on September 3, 2020

I also love crumbling saltines into soup and, in my case, I add them until it becomes more of a sludge. I've found the best healthy alternative to me is to just add barley to all of my soups making them all various types of barley soup. The barley sucks up the broth in a way that satisfies in the same flavorful sludgy kind of way.

You might also experiment with dumplings.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 9:55 PM on September 3, 2020

Do you also have a quarantine sourdough starter? There are lots of recipes for stater-scrap crackers. A little salt and a little rosemary and a sheet pan!
posted by Grandysaur at 11:16 PM on September 3, 2020

Of all of the guilty processed-food pleasures in the world, saltines are pretty virtuous, straightforward baking soda crackers. Sure, they're mass-produced, but don't really contain anything much more exotic than homemade crackers would.

(But all of the above suggestions are delicious ways to change things up.)
posted by desuetude at 11:29 PM on September 3, 2020

Whole grain saltines! They give the same satisfaction, and compared to other crackers they're cheap. They're also not as flavorful as other crackers so I'm not tempted to eat too many.

I get them at the local supermarket, Premium brand, "with whole grain topped with sea salt."
posted by mareli at 4:38 AM on September 4, 2020

I read this first as restitutions for Saltines. I stand by my initial hallucination.
posted by Glomar response at 4:46 AM on September 4, 2020

OTC. (Original Trenton Crackers aka oyster crackers).
posted by james33 at 4:55 AM on September 4, 2020

If salt is the issue, matzo is essentially an unsalted cracker.
posted by sammyo at 5:02 AM on September 4, 2020

My immediate suggestion is a slice from a loaf of artisanal bread from the grocery store. It can be fresh or toasted, buttered or dipped in the soup, or prepared in any of the ways suggested above, e.g. made into croutons. But that doesn't really change the nutritional aspects very much.

It's not clear what you like about the crushed saltines. It could be saltiness, or the thickening effect on the soup, the fun of crushing the crackers, or just plain habit. There are lots of things that can be put into a soup to thicken it. Flour, cornstarch, crushed beans, potato, rice or other grains. That still doesn't change the nutritional picture much. I'd suggest choosing or changing the soup recipe to make the saltine topping seem less appropriate mostly by reducing the broth component.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:05 AM on September 4, 2020

Whisps! (either whole or cut in half or quarters...) They taste like Cheez-its or cheesy crackers, but they're actually 100% cheese. They might hit some of that crunchy buttery note that saltines have. The best deal I've found is at Costco, where you can get an enormous bag of them.
posted by ClaireBear at 6:12 AM on September 4, 2020