What Bread Has Crickets in It? Exploring Cricket Flour Loaves

December 6, 2025 •

2 min read

While the idea might be unfamiliar in Western cultures, it's estimated that at least 2 billion people worldwide eat insects. Several innovative bakeries in countries like Finland and the UK have introduced loaves made with cricket flour, answering the question of what bread has crickets in it for the adventurous or eco-conscious consumer.

Quick Summary

Several forward-thinking bakeries have launched breads made with ground cricket flour, offering a protein-rich and sustainable alternative to traditional loaves. Pioneering companies in Finland and the UK have created these unique products, which possess a mild, nutty taste and deliver environmental and nutritional advantages.

Key Points

Pioneering Brands: Companies like Finland's Fazer and the UK's Roberts Bakery have successfully launched loaves made with ground-up crickets.
Nutritional Powerhouse: Cricket flour bread offers significantly higher protein content, essential amino acids, and vital micronutrients like iron and vitamin B12 compared to conventional bread.
Sustainable Production: Raising crickets is far more eco-friendly than traditional livestock, requiring less land, water, and feed while producing fewer greenhouse gases.
Mild Flavor: Despite potential 'ick' factors, cricket flour imparts a mild, nutty, or earthy flavor that often blends seamlessly into the final product, especially when combined with other grains.
Gut Health Benefits: The chitin found in a cricket's exoskeleton acts as a prebiotic fiber, which promotes the growth of healthy gut bacteria.
Careful Formulation: To ensure good texture, bakers typically replace only a small percentage of traditional flour with cricket flour, as it is gluten-free.
Future Potential: As regulatory frameworks evolve and consumer attitudes shift towards sustainability, cricket-enriched baked goods are expected to become more prevalent in the market.

Pioneer Products: Notable Cricket-Infused Breads

Brands like Fazer and Roberts Bakery have introduced cricket-infused breads, demonstrating the potential of edible insects in baked goods.

Fazer Sirkkaleipä (Finland)

Fazer, a Finnish bakery, launched Sirkkaleipä (Fazer Cricket Bread) in 2017, using approximately 70 dried, ground house crickets per loaf, blended with wheat flour and seeds. They promoted it for its protein and micronutrient content and sustainable benefits, with taste described as pleasantly familiar.

Roberts Bakery's Cricket Loaf (UK)

In 2019, Roberts Bakery in the UK collaborated with Eat Grub to create a limited-edition Cricket Loaf, containing ground crickets mixed with flour and grains. The loaf was noted for its higher protein content, sustainability, and wholesome, nutty flavor.

Why Cricket Flour in Bread?

Cricket flour offers nutritional and environmental advantages that make it a compelling ingredient.

Nutritional Advantages

Cricket flour is rich in high-quality protein, containing all essential amino acids. It's also a good source of iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B12. Research suggests iron from crickets is more easily absorbed than from beef. The chitin in cricket exoskeletons acts as a prebiotic, potentially improving gut health by promoting beneficial bacteria.

Environmental Benefits

Edible insects address the need for sustainable food sources. Cricket farming requires less land, water, and feed and produces fewer greenhouse gases and ammonia compared to traditional livestock. Crickets can also be raised on organic waste, further reducing environmental impact.

Cricket Bread vs. Traditional Wheat Bread

A comparison highlights the distinct features of cricket-enriched bread:


Feature	Cricket-Enriched Bread (e.g., Fazer)	Traditional Whole Wheat Bread
Protein Content	Significantly higher	Standard
Nutrient Density	Richer in iron, B12, minerals	Lower
Environmental Impact	Very low resource use/emissions	Moderate-to-high
Flavor	Mild, nutty, earthy	Traditional wheat flavor
Texture	Can be denser, often formulated for appeal	Soft/airy depending on process
Sustainability	Highly sustainable	Depends on practices
Allergen Risk	Shellfish allergy potential	Low (wheat allergy possible)

How Brands Create Cricket Bread

Cricket flour lacks gluten, requiring specific techniques in baking.

Partial Replacement: Bakers typically substitute a small percentage (5-15%) of wheat flour with cricket powder to maintain structure and add nutrients.
Flavor Masking: Techniques like incorporating ingredients or using fermentation can neutralize earthy undertones.
Fermentation and Processing: Fermentation can improve flavor, nutritional uptake, and digestibility. Processing methods like freeze-drying also enhance taste.

The Market and Future Outlook

The market for insect-based foods is growing due to interest in sustainability and novel proteins, despite cultural barriers. Successful products demonstrate potential, and evolving regulations support the industry. This trend is seen as a long-term solution for a sustainable global food system.

For more information on the broader edible insect movement, you can explore the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website.

Conclusion

Brands like Fazer and Roberts have shown that cricket flour in bread is a reality, creating nutritious and eco-friendly loaves. As techniques improve and awareness grows, cricket flour bread is likely to become more common, offering a sustainable and delicious food option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bread made with cricket flour generally has a mild, nutty, and slightly earthy flavor. Many people are surprised by how subtle the taste is, with some reporting it tastes similar to wholegrain bread.

Yes, bread made from crickets that have been specifically farmed and processed for human consumption is considered safe to eat. However, individuals with a shellfish allergy should be cautious, as crickets and crustaceans are closely related and can cause similar allergic reactions.

Crickets are added to bread, in the form of fine flour, to boost its nutritional content with a sustainable source of protein. Cricket flour adds high-quality protein, essential amino acids, minerals like iron and zinc, and healthy fats, with a much lower environmental footprint than animal agriculture.

For baking, crickets are typically dried and ground into a fine powder or flour, which is then blended with conventional wheat or other flours. This processing makes the final product more palatable and visually familiar to consumers.

Pioneering brands that have launched cricket-infused bread products include Fazer in Finland and Roberts Bakery in the UK. Edible insects are consumed in many parts of the world, but these European markets have introduced specific cricket flour bread products.

Yes, you can purchase cricket flour from various suppliers and use it in your own baking. It is recommended to replace a small portion (5-15%) of the wheat flour with cricket flour, as it lacks gluten and can affect the bread's texture.

Yes, cricket farming is significantly more sustainable. It requires substantially less land, water, and feed compared to raising cattle or pigs, and it produces a much lower volume of greenhouse gas emissions.