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Your kids are going to love these Sourdough Goldfish crackers! They are fun to make and even better to eat! They make a perfect after-school snack that you can feel good about giving to your kids because they are free of preservatives and made with wholesome ingredients.
“I made these for my toddler and she loves them!” – Amanda
This homemade Sourdough Goldfish Cracker recipe is cheesy, crunchy, and even better than the store-bought version. It may seem intimidating to make your own crackers at home, but I promise it’s a simple process and so worth it!
This version is made with sourdough discard, so you get the benefits of the fermented discard in your goldfish crackers. If you love sourdough crackers, be sure to also try Sourdough Cheez-Its, Sourdough Graham Crackers, and Sourdough Animal Crackers.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this Sourdough Goldfish Cracker recipe
- Made with wholesome ingredients that you likely already have on hand.
- Great afternoon snack for your kids!
- Cutting out the goldfish crackers is a fun way to get your kids involved in the kitchen.
- They are easy to make and come together quickly in the food processor.
Tools to make the Sourdough Goldfish
Food processor or blender with a dough attachment: Using a food processor to make the dough helps blend it all together and makes the goldfish quick and easy! If you don’t have a food processor or blender with a dough attachment, you can mix it up in a stand mixer.
Fish cutter: This cutter is needed to make the signature goldfish shape, but you could also try other shapes or cut small squares with a knife or pizza cutter.
Ingredients for the Sourdough Goldfish
- Cheese – You can use shredded cheese, or cut your cheese into 1 inch cubes and then chop up in your food processor.
- Butter – Use cold butter that has been cut into squares. Salted or unsalted butter will work in this recipe. If you use salted butter just slightly reduce the amount of salt added.
- Paprika & Garlic Salt- Used for flavoring the goldfish
- Flour – Unbleached all-purpose flour is what I use but you could also use a whole grain flour.
- Sourdough discard – For the sourdough twist on the classic flavor.
How to make Homemade Sourdough Goldfish Crackers
Step 1: Add the cubed cheese to the food processor or blender with the dough attachment and blend to shred before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the dough forms. About 30 seconds to 1 minute. If the dough is still crumbly add a very tiny amount of water just until the dough comes together. If you are using pre-shredded cheese, you can add all the ingredients at the same time.
Step 3: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to a day.
Step 4:When you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge. If the dough is really cold let it sit out for 10-20 mins until it is soft enough to roll out.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out as thin as possible in between 2 pieces of parchment paper (about ⅛” thick). You want a thin dough so the Goldfish are crispy.
Step 5: Use a fish cutter to cut out the goldfish shape.
After cutting out the goldfish shape throughout the whole dough, make the dough into a ball and roll it out again to get more goldfish out of the dough. Repeat until you have used all the dough up.
Step 6: Place the goldfish cutouts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Step 7: Bake in a 350°F oven for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.
Recipe Tips
- The thinner the better on this dough. The thicker it is, the softer the crackers will be. To get the proper shape and crispiness, they need to be thin.
- When adding the dough to plastic wrap, make the dough into a square before refrigerating so it is easier to roll out.
How to store Sourdough Goldfish Crackers
Let the goldfish crackers completely cool and then you can store them in an airtight container such as a mason jar with a lid. They should last a few weeks on the counter.
Recipe FAQ
Yes. This recipe calls for cheddar cheese to give the flavor of the original goldfish, but you could try any type of hard cheese! White cheddar, sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, or parmesan would all work. You can also play around with the seasonings used. You could sub out the paprika for your favorite seasoning or spices such as garlic powder or herbs.
You could replace discard with active starter, however it might just cause the goldfish to puff up more than desired.
Yes. To long ferment the dough, leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
More sourdough Snacks
Fall Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Apple Fritter Bread
Fall Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Pumpkin Mini Muffins
Fall Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
Sourdough Snack Recipes
15+ Sourdough Snacks(with starter and discard)
Tried this Sourdough Goldfish or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients
- 226 grams cheddar cheese, cubed, 8 ounce block
- 114 grams butter, ½ cup
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 210 grams flour, 1 ½ cup
- 70 grams sourdough discard, ¼ cup
Instructions
- Add the cubed cheese to the food processor or blender with the dough attachment and blend to shred before adding the rest of the ingredients. 226 grams cheddar cheese, cubed
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the dough forms. About 30 seconds to 1 minute. If the dough is still crumbly, add a very tiny amount of water just until the dough comes together. If you are using pre-shredded cheese, you can add all the ingredients at the same time. 114 grams butter, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic salt, 210 grams flour, 70 grams sourdough discard
- Wrap the dough in cling wrap (tip make the dough into a square before refrigerating it so it is easier to roll out) and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
- If the dough is really cold let it sit out for 10-20 minutes until it is soft enough to roll.
- Roll the dough out as thin as possible in between 2 pieces of parchment paper (about 1/8" thick).
- Use a fish cutter to cut out the goldfish crackers.
- Place the goldfish on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 350℉ for 13-15 minutes or until they start to lightly brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! Love this recipe. Do you have an alternative flour I could use? I was thinking of trying it with white spelt flour. My toddler doesn’t tolerate all purpose well.
I haven’t tried any other flours but I think it would work well with spelt. If you try it let me know!
I made these for my toddler and she loves them!
Can you give an option for active starter and long ferment for gluten sensitive?! Love this recipe!!
You could let the dough sit in the fridge for an extended period of time to ferment. You could replace discard with active starter it might just cause the goldfish to puff up more than desired.
Hey there! Made these tonight and they were so great! My picky toddler loved them. Wondering if you could solve a mystery for me. The first bath turned out perfectly. The second batch shrunk significantly. By second batch I mean the discarded/leftover dough from the first batch. I re rolled and cut out more fish. Thanks!!
I should also mention that the first batch was airy like real goldfish and the shrunken batch was more dense like a risen bread
Hmm I haven’t had this happen but my best guesses would be:
1. Too much flour used when rolling out the dough so by the time the 2nd batch was rolled out it had a lot of excess flour
2. The dough got warm from being worked with so much which caused the shrinkage.
I would try placing the remaining dough in the fridge while you bake the others and see if that helps.