Zucchini Chips with Spicy Salsa
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When many people hear the world “chips” the next thing that pops into their mind is “potatoes.” As we all know here, however, chips can be made out of any number of vegetables. Parsnips, beets and rutabagas work well and as Diana pointed out with her snack recipe submitted to the Primal Blueprint Cookbook Challenge (current theme: Primal Snacks), so do zucchini and yellow squash.
Diana uses a dehydrator to make her chips. But since not all of us have a dehydrator, let’s start with the kitchen oven. Although we’ll be honest: making chips of any kind in an oven is tricky. To get a crispy, crunchy chip that isn’t burned, the slow method is best. And by slow, we mean practically a whole day at your oven’s lowest possible heat level. Some people recommend leaving the door slightly cracked so air can circulate. If you don’t have that kind of time, try this fast method: slice zucchini thinly, dip in egg white and then a light coating of coconut flour. Bake in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes, flipping once. This will make a flavorful and fairly crunchy chip. For even more flavor, add onion powder or grated parmesan to the coconut flour.
However, it can’t be denied that by far the easiest and most fool-proof way to make chips is in a dehydrator. You can walk away and let the dehydrator do the work without worrying about the chips staying soggy or burning to a crisp. They come out crispy and crunchy every time, which is exactly the texture we want when a snack-attack strikes.
A dehydrator is also a kitchen appliance worth considering if you’ve been wanting to make jerky or dried fruit. If an electric dehydrator isn’t in your budget, then you might want to consider some homemade versions, and let us know if they work.
If you are using a dehydrator, Diana’s recipe for zucchini chips is as good as we’ve ever tried. We love the simplicity of it. Make sure to try her salsa too, because nothing makes a chip taste better than a little something to dip it in.
Chip Ingredients:
- 1 or more large zucchini and/or yellow squash
- 1 dehydrator (or your kitchen oven)
- salt (optional)
- onion powder (optional)
Instructions:
Cut squashes into 1/2 inch slices. Season lightly with salt, onion powder or any other spices you like. Dehydrate in the dehydrator. If you’re using an oven, set oven to low, place squash directly on the racks and let them dry. It may happen over night, or may take a couple of days.
Serve with home-made “roasted” salsa.
Salsa Ingredients:
- 6 roma tomatoes
- 2 bell peppers
- 3 jalapenos (more or less for hotness)
- 1/2 onion
Chop veggies into medium to large chunks, coat with olive oil and roast in oven at 400 degrees until lightly roasted.
Add:
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lime, juiced
- cayenne pepper sauce to taste
Lightly pulse in food processor until chopped.
OR: Chop veggies into small pieces by hand, mince garlic, place in a bowl and mix in olive oil, lime juice and cayenne pepper sauce.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
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Alright, that sounds interesting. Not sure if I want to go through all that trouble tho
Keeping your diet interesting, fresh and actually tasting good is half the battle of eating right and getting your body where it needs to be. Thanks for dropping some ideas out there on how people can do just that. Great post.
I am a chip lover and have always had trouble getting them out my of life. I haven’t had any grain-based chips in a long time, but sometimes I just crack a crunchy snack!
I am hoping that this will do the trick- as I can make these once a week or every two weeks and kick my potato chip habit!
Yum! These sound delish! Just one more reason I want a dehydrator…
I think I might try out one of the home-made versions until I have the money for a real one.
What an interesting timing! I just bought a dehydrator as I have plans of making jerky…
I’ll give this one a try, too!
This recipe is a bit unseasonal, but I’ve got to remember it when I start getting buried under zucchini and yellow squash this summer. Never occurred to me that they’d be any good dehydrated!
I’ve had better luck with sweet potatoes than zucchini, at least using the oven method. I think it’s the water content of the zucchini. (I know sweet potatoes are marginally primal.)
@Marissa: I toss squash seeds in oil and spices, then roast ‘em up. Satisfies my cravings for a crunchy / salty snack. Well, usually.
Tortilla chips are one of my bad habits preventing me from being 100% primal. I’ll have to try this. We were grocery shopping tonight and I was looking for something to dip into salsa. I’ve tried celery, carrots, etc. but nothing quite does it. This might if I could get them crispy enough…
Thanks for posting this! Here’s the dehydrator that I’m gonna buy with my tax refund.
http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Chef-4-1-Dehydrator/dp/B00337Y01M/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IQDB8JAGJHNHE&colid=7LGXUVSVL6XL
It can dehydrate fruit, nuts, meat and yogurt.
I never actually knew that chips could be made out of something that was not a potato. But I guess it makes sense it’s just a chip of something. Nice post.
Yummy!!!
I’ve had chips made out of beets in a restaurant before and they were awesome! I’m sure theirs were deep fried, but I always wanted to try to make a healthier version. I may have to break out the dehydrator and try this with a few different vegetables!
just did this today, loved it! thanks
I have to say these do look delicious! I’ve tried bits similar to this before but not exactly this one.
I will surely have to give it a whirl sometime.
Thanks,
Richard Huntley
RH Martial Fitness
Totally tried the Zucchini chips….SOOOO good.
Perfect timing! I’m planning our food for the Super Bowl this weekend, and while my husband will eat the “real stuff,” I want primal substitutions. He made a whole bunch of homemade salsa just a little bit ago, so he definitely wants chips and salsa to be part of the food. So zucchini chips are the perfect thing for me! And eggplant pizza, burgers on a portabella mushroom, and, well, beer. Because otherwise it just isn’t the Super Bowl.
I usually hate zucchini. But I love chips. Much to my sorrow. I’m not Primal per se but LCing… these would be ideal, as zucchini is not that high carb of a vegetable.
I already knew you could make chips out of other veggies. There’s a snack brand out there, actually, that makes them. I forget the brand name but the bags are black. They’ve got sweet potato and a bunch of other root veggies, including taro. Yum.
Zucchini is not a type of vegetable, it is a fruit.
Botanically, zucchini is a fruit (as are tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, etc.). However, “vegetable” is a culinary term that effectively refers to all non-sweet produce.
100% correct! I love it how we all think of cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. are veggies when they are really fruits!
Of course when we think of fruits we immediately think of our favorite “sweet” fruit… its just how we role
I made these chips tonight for the super bowl and they were amazing!!! I am going to make them again real soon!
We are making these today for the Super Bowl! I can’t wait to try them!
I made these, they were awesome … had to fight my kids for them (and the dehydrated crispy kale we made at the same time). But my zucchini chips shrank up to about dime size … how did you get the ones in the picture to stay so big?
Got these in the dehydrator as we speak (type?). Cannot wait!