Is it Cheaper to make or buy a Graham Cracker Crust?
Graham Cracker Crusts are a yummy base for many different desserts like a key lime pie, cheesecake, or a pudding-based pie. During the holidays, we bring desserts to family functions and the cost to make them keeps going up.
This made me wonder if I could save money by just making my own graham cracker crust instead of buying it already made. Let’s breakdown the costs to see which way comes out cheaper!
How much does it cost to make a graham cracker crust?
Making a homemade graham cracker crust is actually very easy and does not involve many ingredients. We will be using a basic recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch. Click here for full recipe.
Here is the cost breakdown of a homemade graham cracker crust.
| Homemade Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients | Cost |
| 1 1/2 cup of graham crackers (about 12 full sheets) | $0.85 |
| 1/3 cup sugar | $0.10 |
| 6 tbsp butter | $0.84 |
| Total Cost of Homemade Graham Cracker Crust: | $1.79 |
The total cost to make a homemade graham cracker crust is $1.79. We used generic brand graham crackers from Walmart to keep our costs lower.
Hopefully you already have sugar and butter at home and the only real cost is to buy graham crackers. Thankfully most kids love them, so you can use up the rest of the box for afternoon snacks!
How much does it cost to buy a graham cracker crust?
Now let’s head to the store and see how much a premade graham cracker crust costs.
| Premade Graham Cracker Crust | Store | Price |
| Baker’s Corner Graham Cracker Crust | Aldi | $1.39 |
| HY-Vee Graham Pie Crust | Hy-Vee | $2.67 |
| Best Choice Graham Pie Crust | Harp’s Food | $1.99 |
| Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crust | Price Chopper | $3.19 |
| Kroger Graham Pie Crust | Dillons | $1.59 |
| Keebler Graham Pie Crust | McKeever’s | $3.49 |
| Average Cost of Premade Graham Cracker Crust: | $2.38 |
The average cost of a premade graham cracker crust was about $2.38. This means that making your own pie crust can be a cheaper alternative.
It is worth noting that the store brand crusts available at Aldi and Dillons were cheaper than making your own graham cracker crust.
Is homemade graham cracker crust worth it?
Making your own graham cracker crust is actually very easy to do and only takes about 15 minutes. Thankfully it doesn’t involve a huge list of ingredients and they are not very expensive.
My biggest takeaway from this cost breakdown is that if you can find a good deal on a graham cracker crust by purchasing a store brand, then it would be worth buying it. Especially if you may not use up the remaining graham crackers.
If you normally buy name brand pie crusts like Keebler or Honey Maid, it is definitely worth the cost savings to make your own graham cracker crust. You will potentially save over 50% by making it yourself.
For more cost breakdowns of making it versus buying it, check out “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Chex Mix?” and “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Tuna Salad?“
