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White flour or starch dressed up with a smidgen of veggies, olive oil, or nuts—some crackers aren’t all they’re, um, cracked up to be. Here’s how to find the best...plus a few of our faves. Scroll down to see how to decode cracker claims.

1. Compare equal serving sizes.

The Nutrition Facts labels for most crackers (like Triscuits and Wheat Thins) use the number of crackers that comes closest to 30 grams (about 1 ounce). But for other crackers (like crispbreads, saltines, and Ritz), the label’s serving size—and therefore the calories, sodium, etc.­—is only half that much.

Why half? They consider themselves “crackers that are usually not used as a snack.” They may be served as appetizers with toppings, for example. (As if Triscuits couldn’t?) Our chart uses the larger serving for all crackers, which makes it easy to compare their sodium, sugar, and other numbers.

2. Get whole grains.

Check the front of the box  for “100% whole grain.” “Made with whole grain” isn’t enough. It often means “made with mostly refined grain”.

If the label doesn’t say what percent of the grain is whole, check the ingredient list for names like “whole wheat flour” or “whole rye flour” or “brown rice flour,” not simply “wheat flour” or “rice flour” (those are refined white flours).

Or just pick a Triscuit, any Triscuit. They’re all 100% whole-grain shredded wheat. And they all earn a Best Bite  or Honorable Mention. (Original Triscuits miss a Best Bite by just 10 milligrams of sodium.) Nice!

3. Keep a lid on sodium.

Our Honorable Mentions  have less sodium than the usual suspects (like Ritz or saltines), which easily top 200 mg per ounce. If you’re tacking on toppings that add salt (like cheese, cottage cheese, hummus, or tuna salad), consider our Best Bites, which have 150 mg or less.

4. Watch the sugar.

It’s not just grahams and other cookie-like “crackers,” which we didn’t include here. Even some seem­ingly savory crackers can add up. We’re looking at you, Wheat Thins. Each serving has 4 grams (1 teaspoon) of added sugar. Why go there? Our Best Bites  and Honorable Mentions have 1 gram or less.

5. Think outside the cracker.

A crispbread like GG or Wasa Whole Grain is an easy way to get fiber-rich whole grains and go light on sodium. The subtle flavor is a blank canvas for toppings. 

Going topping-less? Try thinner, crispier Finn Crisps. They’ve got enough flavor and salt to stand on their own.

Need to go gluten-free? Lundberg’s Thin Stackers whole-grain rice cakes are unsalted or light on salt, so they’re perfect for toppings.

Tip: Check gluten-free crackers for fiber. Even brown rice doesn’t have much. To get more, look for seeds and/or quinoa in the ingredient list.

Try some of our favorites 

 From left to right:

• Lundberg Thin Stackers Red Rice & Quinoa: Gluten-free, salt-free, cracker-like thin rice cakes.
• Finn Crisp Original: Fiber-rich, thin, crunchy, wholegrain sourdough rye crackers.
• Triscuit Hint of Sea Salt: Just one-third the sodium of original Triscuits.
• Wasa Whole Grain Crispbread: Scandinavian crispbread crackers are perfect for toppings.
• Mary’s Gone Crackers Original: Brown rice, quinoa, seeds. One of the best gluten-free crackers.

Seeds or starch?

“Our seed flour blend delivers protein, fiber, antioxidants and valuable nutrients to fuel your body,” says Simple Mills Original Seed Flour Crackers. The crackers’ first ingredient is indeed a “seed & seed flour blend” made of sunflower, pumpkin, and flax. But the second and third ingredients are starchy cassava flour and tapioca starch. So each serving ends up with a measly 1 gram of fiber and 2 grams of protein.

Our top seed: Flackers Flax Seed Crackers deliver more protein and fiber because they’re nothing but whole flaxseeds and seasonings. Each serving has around 8 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. No starches here! And Flackers soaks, then dehydrates, its seeds, so they’re surprisingly crispy.

Hidden veggies

Repeat after us: Advice to “eat more vegetables” means actual, whole vegetables. That’s partly because chewing your way through fresh veggies’ intact plant fiber and high volume (from their water content) helps you feel satisfied without overeating.

Crackers that are made with cauliflower—plus potato, brown rice, cassava, cassava starch, rice flour, potato flakes, and palm oil—don’t do that. Instead, try a side of carrot sticks with your whole-grain crackers and hummus.

Grain-free starch

Absolutely Gluten Free Original Grain Free Flatbreads bill themselves as “real” and “wholesome,” yet they’re mostly tapioca starch plus potato starch and potato flakes.

And if you think “grain free” means “low carb,” think again. A 2-cracker serving has 12 grams of carbs. And that’s for a small, half-ounce serving. Turns out they have more carbs than Original Ritz.

If you’ve gotta go gluten-free, you’re better off with whole-grain Best Bites or Honorable Mentions like Mary’s Gone Crackers or Lundberg Thin Stackers or with Flackers Flax Seed Crackers.

Not many nuts

Blue Diamond Hint of Sea Salt Almond Nut-Thins are “made with real almonds.”

How many? The faint type in the bottom right corner is a clue: “Rice cracker snacks with almonds.” And the first ingredient is rice flour. Sigh. They’re mostly refined grains.

Then there’s Simple Mills Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers. The ingredient list starts off strong with a “nut & seed flour blend” (almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds). But the second and third ingredients are—drumroll—tapioca starch and cassava flour.

Want nuts? Snack on some almonds.

Olive ploy

Expecting olive oil to be the main oil in Milton’s Olive Oil & Sea Salt Gourmet Crackers? It’s not. The crackers have more “sunflower and/or canola and/or safflower oil” than olive.

So gourmet.

Those other oils are also largely unsaturated (as are the oils in just about all crackers), so health-wise, the sneaky swap is no big deal. Bottom line: Oil is pretty much a non-issue in the cracker aisle.

Sorta whole

Pop quiz: If Ritz Baked with Whole Wheat Crackers have “5g whole grain per 15g serving,” what percent of their grain is actually whole?

Answer: You don’t know. Or at least you didn’t know until Ritz put the “44% of grains are whole grains” disclosure on its front label. (“5g whole grain per 15g serving” simply means that whole grains account for a third of the crackers’ total weight.)

That disclosure makes it easier to see why “baked with whole wheat” Ritz can’t hold a candle to crackers like Triscuits (100% whole grains). Neither can Cheez-It Made With 8g Whole Grain (40% whole grains) or Premium Saltine Crackers with Whole Grain (34%).