A few months ago, I came across the Casabi Organics Gluten Free crackers at a “Vegetarian Festival“.

I am not one for any kinds of crackers these days, but these ones caught my attention as they were organic, gluten free, completely vegan and claimed to be 100% natural. I personally do not have a need for items to be gluten free, but have cut down my consumption of wheat to next to nothing these days for various health benefits, so that was a nice addition.

However, I know that for people who have Celiacs Disease, or an allergy or intolerance to gluten, gluten free foods are a must. Today there is definitely more variety when it comes to gluten free products, where as I know just a few years ago, the selection was really small. This is where these crackers come in very handy.

Casabi Organics Gluten Free Crackers are a completely unique type of cracker. For starters they are made from cassava. Cassava, also known as yucca, is a plant typically found in South America. It has an edible starchy tuberous root, which can be compared to a yam or potato, that is a major source of carbohydrates.

Secondly, these crackers only contain the pulp of the cassava and some flavors (see ingredients below). Other than that, they are indeed all natural, meaning they contain no artificial ingredients.

Finally what makes these so neat is that aside from being gluten free, they are also dairy free, nut free, baked not fried, vegan friendly, certified organic and non GMO. The crackers are not suitable for raw foodists, as the cassava normally has to be processed in some way, such as cooking to avoid getting sick from eating it.

As for nutritional values (per serving), they are fat free, almost protein free and sugar free. You might wonder then what is in them? They provide 70 calories per 5 crackers of complex-like carbohydrates. The sodium is a little higher than a desirable maximum ratio of 1:1 sodium to calories, but these would in no way be considered a high sodium food.

One of the things I loved most about these crackers is that they do offer the full ingredients for the ingredient called “flavor”. I think that is the first time I have seen that on a product. Most of the time the words say something like “natural flavor” and you really have no idea what is in it, but these offer full disclosure of what that flavor ingredient is. The crackers are a product of the Dominican Republic.

So how did I like them?

In terms of texture, the crackers are crisp, unless you leave them exposed to air for a day or so, in which case they go soft (stale). They have a gritty feeling to them on the outside, which in no way is negative, just unique.

As for taste, it really depended on the flavor. The Casabi Organics Gluten Free Crackers come in 4 flavors: original, onion, garlic, and cinnamon.

The original flavor is only good I found, if you use a dip with them like hummus or guacamole, or have them with a soup. Otherwise, on their own, it may feel like you are eating something very dry and tasteless.

The cinnamon I have to tell you was my favorite flavor, as I love cinnamon and these tasted nothing short of being cinnamon cookies. However, the only one small negative part about these is that they do contain brown cane sugar as an ingredient. And living today without any refined sugar, this would perhaps not make an ideal food choice for me. However in all fairness, the amount of sugar used must be really tiny as 5 crackers offer zero sugar and the sugar is listed only as part of the flavor ingredients, not actually as a full-fledged ingredient.

The garlic flavor was great on its own and had a nice enough garlic taste to be enjoyed and not be too strong. I did not try the onion flavor.

In the end, I do recommend them if you need a gluten free snack or to diversify your gluten free diet. One must consider though, that they are still a type of processed food and thus I don’t recommend eating them on a regular basis. They seem healthy enough to be used from time to time though. They can make some great appetizers or be served with hummus, or on their own, especially when you have guests over and want to offer a healthier option to a traditional chip, cracker or cookie.

Ingredients (Original Flavor):

• Organic Cassava (Yucca) pulp
• Sea Salt

Nutritional Information (Original Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 70 Calories
• 0 g Fat (0g Saturated Fat)
• 0.1 g Protein
• 18 g Carbohydrate (0g Sugar)

• 1 g Fiber

• 105 mg Sodium
• 0 mg Cholesterol

Vitamins & Minerals (Original Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 6% Vitamin C

• 2% Iron

Ingredients (Garlic Flavor):

• Organic Cassava (Yucca) pulp
• Natural Garlic Flavor made of:

  - garlic

  - sea salt

  - maltodextrine (corn starch based)

  - silicon dioxide (naturally found in many plant foods)

  - parsley

  - essential garlic oil

Nutritional Information (Garlic Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 70 Calories
• 0 g Fat (0g Saturated Fat)
• 0.1 g Protein
• 18 g Carbohydrate (0g Sugar)

• 1 g Fiber

• 105 mg Sodium
• 0 mg Cholesterol

Vitamins & Minerals (Garlic Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 6% Vitamin C

• 2% Iron

Ingredients (Cinnamon Flavor):

• Organic Cassava (Yucca) pulp
• Natural Cinnamon Flavor made of:

  - cinnamon

  - brown cane sugar

  - sea salt

  - tricalcium phosphate (naturally occurring set of minerals)

Nutritional Information (Cinnamon Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 70 Calories
• 0 g Fat (0g Saturated Fat)
• 0.1 g Protein
• 18 g Carbohydrate (0g Sugar)

• 1 g Fiber

• 105 mg Sodium
• 0 mg Cholesterol

Vitamins & Minerals (Cinnamon Flavor per 5 crackers):

• 6% Vitamin C

• 2% Iron

Packaging

The crackers come in small and larger packages. The small package is 120g and inside offers two individually packaged sleeves of crackers. The large package is 300g and inside offer 4 individually packed sleeves of crackers.

Price (as of this posting)

• Around $5.00 CDN for the small boxes
• Around $7.00 CDN for the large boxes

Availability

• Currently in Canada only at some grocery and health food stores, check for a location nearest you here
• Some Canadian based online stores like AmigoFoods.com
• If you live in the Toronto area, you can get them delivered to your door from Front Door Organics Inc.
• They are available online from Casabi Organics for all other customers, however the shipping may not make them worth it whether you are inside or outside of Canada

The Good

• Great texture
• Great flavors
• 100% natural
• Certified Organic
• Gluten free
• Wheat free
• Dairy free
• Nut free
• Fat free
• Vegetarian friendly
• Vegan friendly
• No artificial colors
• No artificial flavors
• No artificial preservatives
• Baked, not fried
• IMO certified
• Ingredients and nutritional information easily found on product label
• Full ingredient disclosure

The Bad

• Not easily available world wide (currently mostly limited to Canada and the Dominican Republic)
• Some may not find flavors or textures appealing
• Not suitable for raw foodists

WELLNESS RATING: Very Good

8 OUT OF 10

About the author:
Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.