Zucchini Chips – Crispy, crunchy zucchini chips! Great alternative to potato chips.
These Zucchini Chips actually started out with one of those recipes that get passed around on Facebook. You know the ones. Recipes that everybody shares over and over, you have no idea where they came from, they look really good, but you just don’t know whether they’ll truly work. Yeah, those recipes.
I kept seeing this recipe for Zucchini Chips being passed around and I just had to give it a try.
So, you ask, did the original recipe as posted on Facebook work? Nope. Not even close.
The first batch burned to a crisp. The second batch was soggy. But, I knew it had the potential to work, so I kept playing with it until I got it right!
These chips are so light and crispy, you just might mistake them for a potato chip. The best thing about them? They’ll help you use up some of that flood of garden zucchini! Plus they go really well with drinks.
I do hope you enjoy this one. It’s easy but does require some patience and attention during the first phase of cooking. Let me know what you think.
Crispy, crunchy zucchini chips! Great alternative to potato chips. Click To Tweet
How to Make Zucchini Chips
Slice the zucchini
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Thinly slice the zucchini with a knife or mandolin. I used a mandolin to get really thin slices. My mandolin has three settings (1, 2, and 3) and I used setting #3. If you do use a mandolin, be sure to use the finger guard. Those things are basically razor blades with a handle, you know, so take precautions!
Toss with oil and spices
In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and paprika. Stir to combine.
Add the zucchini slices to the bowl and toss so that each slice is coated with the seasoned oil. Actually, you have to do a little more than just toss the slices. You do have to work at it to get each slice coated. They just naturally want to stick together so you have to coax them a bit, separating the slices and rubbing them with the oil. Just be gentle and don’t break the slices into pieces.
Place slices on baking sheets and cook
Place the zucchini slices on the prepared baking sheets. You don’t have to space them very far apart since they’re going to shrink up while they cook.
Bake for 8-15 minutes watching very closely. Don’t walk away during this time. When the zucchini starts to show some brown spots immediately remove from the oven and set aside.
NOTE: This is the tricky part of the recipe. The baking time is going to vary wildly depending on how thickly you sliced your zucchini, how much moisture is in the zucchini, how humid the day is, and the alignment of the planets around the sun :-)
Seriously, it can take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, but be aware that once they start to brown, they will go from beautifully golden to BURNED in about 30 seconds. Watch them like a hawk.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180-200 degrees.
When the oven has reached the lower temperature setting, return the zucchini to the oven and cook for an additional 20-60 minutes or until the slices are crispy. Again, the cooking time will vary but they won’t likely burn during this part of the cooking.
Keep checking every 10 minutes or so and when the thickest slices are crispy, they’re done!
Remove from the oven and cool.
Enjoy!
Related Posts on Never Enough Thyme:
chip recipes From Other Bloggers:
- Homemade Apple Chips from The Italian Dish
- Baked Butternut Squash Chips from A Couple Cooks
- Smoky BBQ Potato Chips from Leite’s Culinaria
- Baked Beet Chips from A Cozy Kitchen
- Kale Chips from Gimme Some Oven
- Parsnip Chips from I Breathe, I’m Hungry
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Zucchini Chips
Crispy, crunchy zucchini chips! Great alternative to potato chips.
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini, washed and dried
- 1 tblsp. olive oil
- Scant 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Thinly slice the zucchini with a knife or mandolin.
- In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and paprika. Stir to combine.
- Add the zucchini slices to the bowl and toss well so that each slice is coated with the seasoned oil.
- Place the zucchini slices on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-15 minutes watching very closely. When the zucchini starts to show some brown spots remove from the oven and set aside.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180-200 degrees. Return the zucchini to the oven and cook for an additional 20-40 minutes or until the slices are crispy.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
Notes
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 80Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 586mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g
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Lana Stuart is the author, photographer, cook, and occasional traveler at Never Enough Thyme. A former IT professional, she enjoys time in the kitchen and the art studio.
Laura says
SOOO good…and (almost) guilt free…I added a little Italian Dressing for more flavor…great idea!
Erika says
Great recipe! Made a big batch for a family gathering and everyone raved. Delicious!
Jen says
Just tried these with a medium to large yellow squash that I accidentally broke the stem off today when I picked it from the garden. It was a good opportunity to try this chip recipe! This is the fourth recipe I’ve tried, and FINALLY — it’s a winner! So excited! Based on my experiences with the other recipes, I decided to change yours up just slightly – instead of coating with the seasoned olive oil, I lightly sprayed the parchment paper with spray oil, put the slices on, then I drizzled pinches of the seasoning over the slices, followed by another light spray oil coating. This recipe is outstanding! Thank you!
Lana Stuart says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jen!
Gabrielle says
Question for you! Each time I try to make there I end up with excess oil on the parchment paper that seems to leave my chips a little soggy. Any tips for that?! The ones that actually crisp up are delicious!
Lana Stuart says
Hi Gabrielle – try cutting back slightly on the amount of oil you’re using. It really only takes just a little bit to coat the chips and the volume of chips will vary with the size of the zucchini.
Diem Sellers says
Try laying them on a baking cooling rack with grids to bake.
Jennifer says
I have four monster sized zucchini that I need to use up. So I thought “chips” since keto worthy chips are hard to find. Questions I have are: how easy do these crumble at this thickness? Can I say use them with a robust onion dip, which has been known to defeat even standard potato chips? If I were to increase thickness for durability, do you know how much of an increase in time would there be? And lastly, do these need to be flipped during either phase of baking?
Lana Stuart says
Hi Jennifer – these chips are fairly light and delicate, similar to a standard potato chip. The more you increase the thickness, the longer it will take for them to cook. Too thick and you might never get them to crisp up. For really thick chips, you’d probably have to resort to frying rather than baking. If you’ll notice, most baked chips are fairly thin for that reason.
The chips do not have to be turned during cooking.
Ilza says
These are a winner! Luckily I had 2 zucchini…I burnt my 1st batch. The bits that didn’t burn were tasty, so I just had to try again :-) These are great for dieting ;-) Thanks!!!
Lori says
Skip the oven! Try it in the warmest setting of your dehydrator (mine is 160F) and just leave them overnight. They get nice and crisp and never burn!! I use a bit of avocado oil and various herbs to mix up the flavors.
Lana Stuart says
The oven works well for those of us who don’t have a dehydrator.
Lana Sutherland says
These were delicious. I don’t think I let them brown enough in the first step, but I just had to cook them a bit longer in the second and they came out fine. I was wondering, have you ever tried this same recipe only in a dehydrator? Do you think it would work the same?
Cass says
This recipe is partial covered by an ad. How sad. It is very annoying and unethical.
Lana Stuart says
Cass, I’m very sorry you had an unsatisfactory experience when trying to view the recipe. I just tried myself and could not replicate what you reported.
Heather says
I made these today and they took much longer than 60 minutes to crisp up, but they did eventually get crunchy and they’re amazing! Even my chip-loving husband approves :) I’m very excited to make these again and know our family can have healthy veggies chips! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
ColleenB.~ Tx. says
Zucchini chips look Fantastic and what a great snack to munch on.
Thank you
Lana Stuart says
Hope you enjoy it, Colleen. The recipe does take some patience and attention, but very much worth it.
Melissa says
I am not sure what I did wrong, but mine never got crispy. Even when I left them in the oven for more time…and then some more… :(
Amelie Moore says
These are so delicious! Super simple to make. I’ve made these twice now. They are great for snacking…but don’t last long! Thanks for sharing.
Lana Stuart says
So glad you like them, Amelie. And you’re right – they do go quickly!
Rosemarie Puntenney says
Last summer when I had an abundance of zucchini in my garden I made these not knowing there was a recipe going around for them. I made them similar to Lana’s recipe, but toward the end of the baking time added a pinch of shredded parmesan cheese. My married children were coming over for dinner and served them as an appetizer. They loved them. Also did the same with eggplant. Lana gave more detail in making them which is excellent.
Doug says
One zucchini? Is this for 2 servings, or?
Lana Stuart says
Doug – I didn’t really designate what constitutes a serving of these chips. I used one medium zucchini sliced very, very thin and it filled two large baking sheets. How many chips you get and the cooking time will depend on thinly or thickly you slice your zucchini. You may use as many zucchini as you like.
Karen says
I have tried a few recipes for zucchini chips and this is the best one! Through trial and error during the second part of baking I have increased my oven temperature to 250 but thats just a difference in ovens. They turned out great!
Lana Stuart says
So glad you like them!
Bea W says
May I make a suggestion? You can draw out some water from the zucchini by putting a pinch of sea salt, tossing gently, another pinch, tossing gently. Leave to strain for 10 minutes. Then season as directed.
Danielle says
I have taken a few hits on recipes similar to this, every time burning to a crisp. :'(
I will not give up yet though. This recipe gives me hope! I have two questions: 1. Could you bake two trays at a time in one oven? 2. How do you store these to retain their crispness? Thanks!! :)
Lana Stuart says
Hi Danielle,
Yes, you can bake two two trays at one time but you’ll need to rotate them during baking. One tray make take longer to bake than the other.
Maintaining crispiness is difficult. They tend to become soggy pretty quickly.
Angela {Mind Over Batter} says
When I saw your first picture I thought; “YUM! But impossible!” I haven’t tried the pinterest fail ones, but I tried baked sweet potato chips once and my self esteem took a hit. I love how you explained the recipe in depth. Your zucchini chips are beautiful! I may finally muster up the courage and attempt chips again.
P.S. I wasn’t on the red white and blue bandwagon either. I went with just blue.
Lana Stuart says
Do give them a try, Angela. The key, I think, is cooking them at the lower temp until they become crisp. And cutting them very thinly.
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
Yeah, what’s this zucchini chip deal when it’s red white and grilling time?
I am just being the fool’s advocate—as opposed to the devil’s advocate.
Hey there are lot of parties and barbecues going on, so a fun appetizer and one that’s not potato chips is a winner this time of year.
Lana Stuart says
I know, Carol! I should be out there in my red, white, and blue apron with something on the grill. I am, however, enjoying the air conditioning and a cool drink indoors :-)
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
I actually did see the burned results on Facebook last week and you look like you nailed it this time. These sound yummy, Lana and I’m sure they make a nice, healthy substitution for potato chips.
Lana Stuart says
I think they’re a great alternative to potato chips, Renee. Not that I have anything against potato chips! But I do enjoy something different now and again.
Kelly says
Never had these — they’re officially a MUST TRY ;)
Lana Stuart says
You’ll love them, Kelly! Promise.
Colleen (Souffle Bombay) says
Oooh! Haven’t had these before! Yummy!
Julie says
Add this to the list of reasons why I need to get a mandoline!
foodwanderings says
Gosh I really would snack on these all day long. Funny thing I just made a quick zucchini start fry but I have two zucchinis left….
Susan says
Oh you are a smart lady there. I always wondered how these chips looked perfectly crisp when baked in the oven and mine, well let’s not talk about those okay?
LindySez says
Look good Lana! And you are right, from right to burnt happens pretty fast. Have a happy 4th!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
One of my favorite snacks and so easy to make!
[email protected] Food Ramblings says
I love zucchini, so I need to make these asap!
HappyForks - diet analysis tool says
Eggplants, kale, carrots, parsleys are another perfect vegetables for healthy chips. Fantastic alternative for fatty and highly processed snacks.
Lana Stuart says
I agree! Also, beets, turnip roots, etc. All make great snacks!
Lizzy (Good Things) says
Your zucchini chips sound yummy! Wish I’d known about these a few months ago when I had plenty in my garden! : )
Lana Stuart says
Maybe next year then, Liz?
Katrina says
I will have to try this. I made the Pinterest-fail ones a couple years ago and they did burn to a crisp. But I just remember them being at one temperature. So question, when you turn the oven way down, do you not put them back in (I’m assuming) until it is way down to the lower temperature? I can imagine they’d even still burn if you don’t wait until the oven is way down in temp. They look delicious!
Lana Stuart says
That’s correct, Katrina. Wait until the oven temperature goes down (leave the door ajar to speed that process) and then put them back in at the lower temp. I happen to have double ovens, so I start one warming to the lower temp while the chips are cooking at the higher temp in the other oven, but if you don’t have two you’ll need to wait until the temp is down before returning them to the oven.
Katrina says
Thanks. Hmm, I have a second oven downstairs. ;)
Rebecca {foodie with family} says
I ADORE zucchini chips. Love. Love. Love. These look great.
[email protected] says
They look nice and perfectly crisp!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
YUM! I love zucchini chips!! These look yummy!
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
I love zucchini chips! I make them and take them for a snack at work.
Marly says
What a healthy, crunchy snack. Perfect for a summertime appetizer!
Paula - bell'alimento says
I can’t wait to try out these crunchy beauties!
Samantha says
Just today I got 2 lbs of Zucchinis in my CSA box! Hooray for perfect timing recipes.
Lana Stuart says
How about that, Samantha! Happy I could help with a recipe at the right time.
Peg H says
Now THIS is a chip recipe I can love! I’m definitely giving these a try ASAP. (I still can’t get into the kale chips that so many people are raving about. They’re GREAT when they fresh out of the oven, but after a few hours they just start stinking up the house and are so odorous I can’s eat them.) Thanks for this recipe!
Lana Stuart says
I agree, Peg. I can manage the kale chips in very small amounts but I’ve never been a huge fan. These zucchini chips, though – oh yeah.
Angie says
These look so good! My mom use to deep fry zucchini chips in cornmeal i think. It’s been a while, but I like these better, so much healthier!
Lana Stuart says
I like the fried ones, too, Angie! But I think I like these even better. They’re very crispy and light.
Jean Campbell says
We’re enjoying eggplant chips these days because eggplant is what we have. Tasty.
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
These are also in the latest edition of a food mag I get; think it was Bon Appetit? But no matter; I saw them first when you shared your first batch. Yes, these do look better; a whole lotta yummy better!
Lana Stuart says
Had no idea, Barb! I haven’t seen Bon Appetit in ages. That first batch was a huge failure, but I’m glad I kept trying. Second time was the charm.