Scottish Oatcakes are rustic gluten free crackers perfect for cheese boards and charcuterie platters ~ they’re delicious and so easy to make!
These humble little Scottish oatcakes are having a moment ~ you’ll spot them in all the fancy cheese shops and gourmet markets lately. In Scotland they’re called oatcakes or biscuits, but here in the States, we’d call them a cracker.
They’re a bit different than most crackers you’re used to. Think rustic, nutty, and a little shaggy around the edges. People in the British Isles have been snacking on them for centuries, with tea or alongside cheese and savory toppings. I love them with a sharp English cheddar or a creamy blue and a little drizzle of honey. (They’re also weirdly great with peanut butter.)
Best part? They’re super easy to make. The naturally gluten-free dough is made with oats, oat flour, and walnuts and comes together with soft butter and a splash of buttermilk. A quick bake turns them crisp and golden.
Notes on making Scottish oatcakes
- Be sure to process your walnuts and rolled oats enough ~ they should be finely ground for a smooth cracker.
- The dough should be moist and hold together when pressed between your fingers.
- No need to chill the dough, just roll and bake.
- You can roll these crackers thinner or thicker depending on your preference. Just adjust the baking time.
Why use both oats and oat flour?
- Oats (usually rolled or pinhead/steel-cut) add a rustic, nubby texture and give the oatcakes that classic crumbly bite.
- Oat flour (or finely ground oats) helps bind the dough together and provides a more cohesive, tender texture so the oatcakes don’t fall apart.
Using both creates an oatcake that’s hearty but not too coarse, crisp but not dry ~ basically the best of both worlds.
how I’m serving Scottish oatcakes
Scottish oatcakes are very much a farmhouse staple with deep roots in Scottish history. They date back centuries and were a daily bread substitute for rural Scots. They might not seem like much at first to modern Americans, but their true beauty shines when you pair them up:
- Aged English or Scottish Cheddar
- Stilton or another blue cheese (with a drizzle of honey)
- Creamy Brie or Camembert
- Topped with smoked salmon (I add a layer of cream cheese first)
- With butter and jam or marmalade
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Scottish Oatcakes
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup walnut pieces
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup soft or melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put the 1 cup old fashioned oats and the 1 cup walnut pieces in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground
- Add in the 1 1/2 cups oat flour, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda and pulse to combine.
- Pour in the 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup soft or melted butter and pulse until the dough comes together.
- Turn out onto a floured surface and bring the dough together. If it feels wet, knead in a little more flour. If it feels dry add a bit of buttermilk.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place the cookies on your parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart. You can prick the crackers with the tines of a fork if you like the look, but it's not necessary, the dough doesn't rise or puff up.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes until just starting to turn golden.
- Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.
These turned out amazing! I was on vacation in Scotland and fell in love with oatcakes. Was super excited when I found this gluten free recipe. The walnuts are a nice bonus too. I made my own oat flour in the food pro. I baked them on convection at 325 for 22 min and they came out nice and crisp. I new staple recipe!
That’s great to hear, this recipe was inspired by my time living in London, and we’ve got nothing here in in the US like them.
Any idea how many calories are in one oatcake?
I’m not sure Phyllis, I recommend running the ingredients through a nutrition calculator to see.
I just ran it for you and came up with 103 calories.
I recently discovered you and have made alot of your recipes. The Lemon Poppy Seed Cake has quickly become a favorite. I recently made these and whilst the flavor is great, they didn’t crisp up. I rolled them out to about a 1/4 inch. Left them in for about 25 mins. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? I really want to master these.
Hey Suzanne! I’m so glad you like the lemon cake, I do too 🙂 As for these biscuits, keep in mind that the traditional oat biscuits don’t really get crisp, they have more of a soft bite, even when fully cooked. It’s a little difficult to describe because, to me, they’re uniquely British, we don’t really have any equivalent here in the US to compare it to.
Well I guess I already mastered them and didn’t even know it! They are definitely going on rotation 🙂 Already printed off the bean salad and am going to try that this weekend. We don’t eat alot of meat in my house and we are always on the lookout for different takes on salads. So glad I found your website.
So glad to have you here <3
We had some commercial oatcakes for Christmas. Ok but had some stuff in them we didn’t want to eat. Then my brother bought some really expensive ones but with walnuts. My wife then searched the web and found these little rippers! I made them and now having trouble keeping up a supply for children and grandchild as the simply inhale them. They are so good and the walnuts just add that extra dimension. Thanks for sharing.
So happy to come across your recipe. I was so anxious to make these, and then realized I did not have any oat flour or buttermilk. Something this minor has never stopped me yet, so I made oats into oat flour in my food processor and then splashed a small amount of vinegar into my milk and voila, I was ready to bake. Also, I substituted pecans for walnuts. I’m trying these out for possibly using at my granddaughters engagement party, and her Mommy does not like walnuts. They turned out delicious!
I’m so glad you were so resourceful Lynda!
Hi Sue.
When you say old fashioned oats do you mean the large flaked rolled oats or steelcut oats? These crackers sound like a lovely addition to a charcuterie board.
I mean the rolled oats, Quaker calls them Old Fashioned to distinguish them from the quick cooking.
Phew thanks for asking I had thought it might mean whole oats not rolled oats?
Can you substitute the walnuts for Brazil nuts? They are high in selenium which is good for thyroid.
I haven’t tried that, but I think it would be worth a try!
Hi!! So happy to have found these. I made them the other day – when do you know to remove them from the oven. Mine are turning out to be a little more brown than yours. If you press down on them, should they be hard and a tad soft? My oven may run differently, it’s a convection oven. Let me know when you can!
Great question, I think you can cook them to different textures, but if you want them really crispy they can cook a little longer. I love them firm but also a little soft when you bite into them. They will firm up as they cool, so you can take them out of the oven when they are slightly soft, if that makes sense. If you love them you can experiment, or, do what I do, bake a test cracker or two to see how your oven performs.
I recently discovered oat cakes. What temperature did you bake the biscuits at?
I bake them at 350F Lisa.
Just seeing these now, since you said you had them on your blog. To be honest, I’ve never tried anything other than plain oatcakes, but these sound wonderful! They look absolutely perfect, too!