Cooking with crickets: a look at edible insects

Published October 26, 2026 · The Cricket Depot, San Antonio, Texas

To most Americans, eating crickets sounds like a dare. To a large part of the world, it's simply dinner. Crickets and other insects have been part of human diets for thousands of years, and in the last couple of decades they've started showing up in protein bars, pasta, chips and baking flour in the US and Europe too. Here's a practical look at how people cook with crickets, what they taste like and why they've drawn so much interest.

An old food with a long history

Eating insects, called entomophagy, is far from new. Researchers and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimate that insects are a regular part of the diet for around two billion people worldwide, with well over a thousand species eaten in total. Crickets are among the most popular. In Thailand, fried crickets are a familiar street snack, and Thailand has a large commercial cricket farming industry. In Mexico, chapulines, which are grasshoppers, a close relative of crickets, are toasted with lime, chili and salt, especially in Oaxaca. Insects are also eaten in many parts of Africa, East and Southeast Asia and Latin America.

In Western countries insects mostly fell off the menu, but that's been changing. Cricket-based foods are now sold in many countries, usually as powder or flour rather than whole insects.

Nutrition, in general terms

Crickets get attention because they pack a lot of nutrition into a small animal. In general:

• Protein: dried crickets are high in protein by weight, and the protein contains all the essential amino acids.
• Vitamin B12 and iron: crickets are reported to be a source of both, which are nutrients often associated with meat.
• Fiber: unlike meat, insects contain fiber, mostly from chitin in the exoskeleton.
• Fats and minerals: they also provide fats and minerals such as zinc and calcium.

Exact numbers vary a lot with the species, what the crickets were fed and how they were processed, so check the label of any product you buy rather than relying on a single figure.

Cricket flour (cricket powder)

The most common form you'll find in stores is cricket flour, also called cricket powder. It's made from food-grade crickets that are cleaned, cooked, dried and milled to a fine powder. It looks a lot like whole wheat flour and has a mild, slightly nutty, toasty taste.

Because it has no gluten and behaves differently from wheat, it's usually blended with regular flour rather than used on its own. Bakers commonly swap a small share of the flour in a recipe, often somewhere around 10–25%, for cricket flour. Using too much can make baked goods dense and dark. It's also easy to stir into smoothies, oatmeal, pancake batter or energy bites.

Roasting and seasoning whole crickets

Whole roasted crickets are crunchy, a little like a light, toasted seed or a very thin chip. The general method people use with food-grade crickets goes like this:

1. Start with food-grade crickets. They're usually sold frozen, freeze-dried or already roasted.
2. Rinse and dry. If they're frozen, thaw, rinse and pat dry.
3. Cook thoroughly. Many cooks boil them briefly first, then roast them on a sheet pan in a low oven until fully dry and crisp. Some people remove the legs and wings, which can catch in the teeth.
4. Season. Toss with a little oil and your seasoning while they're warm.

Popular seasonings include:

• Chili, lime and salt, in the style of Mexican chapulines
• Garlic and soy sauce
• Smoked paprika and sea salt
• Cinnamon and sugar for a sweet snack
• Curry powder or a Cajun spice blend

Simple recipe ideas

If you're curious and you've found a food-grade source, these are easy places to start:

• Chili-lime crickets: roasted crickets tossed with lime juice, chili powder and salt. Good on their own or sprinkled over tacos.
• Cricket trail mix: roasted crickets with nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
• Protein pancakes or muffins: replace a small part of the flour with cricket flour.
• Smoothie boost: a spoonful of cricket powder blended with banana, peanut butter and milk.
• Energy bites: oats, nut butter, honey and cricket powder rolled into balls.
• Crunchy topping: chopped roasted crickets over salads, rice bowls or soup, like toasted nuts.

What do crickets taste like?

Most people describe roasted crickets as mild, nutty and earthy, sometimes compared to toasted seeds, sunflower seeds or popcorn. They don't have much flavor of their own, which is why seasoning matters so much and why cricket flour blends into baked goods easily. The texture of whole crickets is light and crunchy.

Why the interest?

Besides nutrition, people point to the environmental side. Insects are generally reported to need less land, water and feed than traditional livestock for the same amount of protein. You can read more about that, with the caveats, in our article on crickets in nature.

Our crickets are for your pets

We love that crickets are part of food culture around the world, but we raise our house crickets for one job: feeding reptiles, amphibians, spiders and other insect-eating animals. They're sold as live feeder crickets and aren't raised, handled or sold as human food.

If you keep a bearded dragon, leopard gecko or other insect eater, crickets are a staple worth getting right. Our care guide covers keeping them healthy and gut-loaded, and the size chart helps you pick the right size.