Crispy baked vegetable chips are my new obsession.
This week our CSA delivery included 2 of the biggest honking carrots I have ever seen. First I laughed, next I opined that they probably wouldn’t taste very sweet, and then I looked on in wonderment as my husband peeled and chopped one of them into at least 20 rather large carrot sticks. They were delicious.
But that only used up one carrot; I still had the other one and my imagination. Taking a cue from my sweet potato chips adventure, I scavenged several beets from the back 40 of my refrigerator and set to work figuring out the best way to make them into crispy baked vegetable chips.
If you wonder why bother with homemade vegetable chips, you haven’t tasted how intensely flavored they are, or how addictive they can be with just a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Think homemade pita chips, but healthier and more colorful.
But first – a digression. Ours is not your average get-the-stuff-that-sells-at-farmers-markets kind of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture.) Hungry Harvest recovers surplus produce and when they deliver us a bag of fruits and vegetables, they make a matching donation on our behalf through nonprofit “donation partners” that include a food bank, a church and a gleaning network.
We joined because it seemed like a good idea and a way to help with 2 problems at once – food waste in the US and hunger in our community among those who don’t have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Although we’ve only been with Hungry Harvest for a couple of weeks, I’ve been impressed. Sure an occasional item has looked a bit weird or had a bad spot (easy enough to cut off), and in one case a bag of spinach was not up to “snuff.” But mostly the deliveries have been a varied selection of tasty, healthy, and wonderful produce. And now, back to our originally scheduled afternoon of merriment baking crispy vegetable chips.
- I used a mandoline that my kids gave me for Chanukah for slicing. It was faster and resulted in more uniform slices than using a knife, but either way works.
- Although I used parchment-lined sheets, afterwards I decided that I should have tried the wire-rack-on-cookie-sheet method recommended by Food & Wine. My chips were mostly crisp, but a few of the centers were slightly moist and the wire rack probably helps on that score.
- Reprising my sweet potato adventure, I tried several temperature settings. But this time I tried four settings: 300 degrees F (for about 50-60 minutes), 350 degrees (for about 30-35 minutes), 375 degrees (for about 20-25 minutes) and 400 degrees (for about 15-20 minutes.) The first three all worked, but at 400 degrees too many of the chips burned and it was too difficult to grab them up before they did. Yes, I know a bunch of bloggers and online recipes recommend baking at 400 degrees F or even 425. I have no idea how they got a full batch of decent chips that way. This time 375 degrees worked best (for carrot and beet chips), even though 300 degrees seemed better for the sweet potato chips.
- One recipe suggested salting the beet slices and letting them rest to draw out water before drying them off. I tried that but didn’t think that it made an appreciable difference.
Note: Beets stain like crazy. The red juice will come off your hands with scrubbing, but don’t use any towels you care about to dry your hands or the beets. Also, if the base of your mandoline is white plastic (as mine is), don’t hope for it to return to its formerly pristine color anytime soon.
Crispy Baked Vegetable Chips
Servings – 4 snack-size bowls Cost – $2
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of carrots, peeled
- 3-4 medium beets, peeled
- 2 tablespoons oil (I used extra virgin olive)
- Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Optional: a bit of herb such as rosemary or thyme, or a spice such as cumin
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Slice the carrots and beets as thinly as possible and pat the slices dry with paper towels.
- Place them in a bowl (1 for each), add 1 tablespoon oil to each bowl, lightly sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper (and any optional herbs/spices), and toss them until they are all coated with oil.
- Lay the slices on the parchment or wire rack, close together but not overlapping. They will shrink. (The carrot slices curl up considerably – not sure why and it occurred no matter what I did to try to prevent it.) Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan in the middle of the cooking time. It’s best to do one baking sheet at a time. If you do two at once, rotate them midway through, so they each get a chance to be on the upper tier. Check the slices periodically and remove any that are finished early, which can happen, especially if some are thinner or smaller than others. A few may take longer than 25 minutes.
The chips are crunchiest within a few hours of being baked.
Kim Kelly - Liv Life says
Holy giant carrots!!! I’m so glad these beauties were sweet still at that size, and what a treat they must be! I have a recipe for baked chips like this and just haven’t gotten around to putting it together. You have me inspired!
motherwouldknow says
Kim, Massive carrots take over the world – or at least my kitchen!! I’m kind of sad they’re gone now, they were such fun. I’d definitely recommend trying this recipe, as I mentioned – perhaps with a rack instead of the parchment.
Kate says
How long does it take for chips to get crisp? Thank you
Laura says
At 375 degrees, my batches took 20-25 minutes each, baking one batch at a time.
Kristina says
that carrot IS massive, ha! I love veggie chips because, like you said, SO flavorful! I like them nice and thin, so they are crispy. these sound fantastic!
motherwouldknow says
Kristina, I thought it was so funny how the carrot was massive and the chips shrank to rather cute little curls. Thanks for stopping by.
Josie says
These colorful veggie chips look amazing! Wish I had a mandolin so that I can cut them nice and thin like yours in the picture! Love this!
motherwouldknow says
Josie, Thanks. I’ll bet you can cut them pretty thin with a knife, though I’ll admit the mandoline is handy.
Wendi Spraker says
These really look wonderful!!! I am going to have to try these this week!
motherwouldknow says
Wendi, Thanks for stopping by. I hope you try them.
cristina says
I need to find a good local CSA – I want carrots like that! 😉 Luv the colors of your veggie chips and how pretty they turn out with the curly edges. Tasty and healthy!
motherwouldknow says
Cristina, I’ve been a member of 2 CSAs and have never seen carrots like these before:) They were a blast to eat and cook with. thanks for stopping by.
Josie Godel says
Ooohhh my goodness. These chips look absolutely delectable. Thanks so much for sharing- I can’t wait to make them. Any recommendations for a good dip to accompany the chips?
motherwouldknow says
Josie, Thanks for stopping by. I’d recommend a light dip – these chips aren’t deep-fried so you can still taste the vegetable flavor. It would make sense to use vinaigrette, and mayo or thinned-out sour cream, maybe with a bit of mustard – or something similar. Of course, if you want to use them simply as a "platter" to hold guacamole or hummus, that works too:)
nibblesbynic says
I’m so obsessed with veggie chips! This recipe up my alley! Thanks for the nibbles 🙂
motherwouldknow says
Nicole, Thanks for stopping by – do try these, they are amazing.
LIsa says
Thanks for sharing your tips on baking vegetable chips. I have tried a few times and failed. I’ll try a different temperature and use the rack method next time.
motherwouldknow says
Lisa, I’m still working on how to keep them crunchy for more than a day. I think they must do something to the commercially fried chips to keep them crunchy – or maybe that’s a difference between deep-frying and baking. Hope you try them again.
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
That is the biggest carrot I’ve ever seen! These chips look amazing.
motherwouldknow says
Christin – I still laugh whenever I think about those carrots. But they were good!
motherwouldknow says
Christin, The carrot will live in the history of the veggies that have passed through this house! Thanks for stopping by.
Pam Greer says
I am definitely going to try these with all my CSA vegetables!
motherwouldknow says
Pam, A woman after my own heart. When I look at my CSA veggies, I have to get creative or they’ll sit in the refrigerator and make me feel guilty.
motherwouldknow says
Pam, It’s the carrot that ate up my afternoon! but at least it was fun.
Catherine says
I have to make this soon…it is such a healthy alternative and I bet it is so good! xo, Catherine
motherwouldknow says
Thanks for stopping by Catherine. Yes, do try them – or use other veggies. Such fun and so much healthier than deep-fried.
Rachel says
I can’t believe I’m just seeing these now! (Oh, right – I was in Spain.) Eli refuses to eat anything he can’t feed himself, and Sarah would probably love the idea of veggie "chips". I’ll have to try these ASAP.
Susan | LunaCafe says
EXCELLENT POST! Laura, I really appreciate all the research and testing you did to present us with more than just a recipe. You told us why and how (and compared other’s recommendations and results) and that’s essential to me. BRAVO! I will definitely try these now. I’ve never made oven chips. I did finally make oil-fried potato chips just last week and they were mind blowing. What a great way to use vegetables that have lingered too long in the fridge and pantry. 🙂
Terri Steffes says
These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them with my summer produce. Appreciate the information as well. Thank you!
motherwouldknow says
Terri, Thanks for your compliment. they worked wonders with my CSA bag this week and I’m sure I’ll be trying them again later in the summer.
Michelle Blackwood says
Thanks for sharing, my children will love these!
motherwouldknow says
Michelle – Yes, they are a kid-pleaser. Also great for those of us who never outgrew our love of potato chips.
Sara says
I have purchased veggie chips at the store but never made my own before! Can’t wait to try
motherwouldknow says
Sara – Definitely try these and you may give up the store-bought versions. You can even go "fancy schmantzy" and add a few spices – take that Terra Chips!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
I love these vegetable chips! Perfect for spring!
motherwouldknow says
Florian – And they would go so well with so many of your beautiful dips.
Rachel Cooks says
I love, love, love vegetable chips. These look perfect!
motherwouldknow says
Rachel – thanks for stopping by. Try these – or at least try carrot and beets if you haven’t "chipped" them already. They are awesome.
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago says
I’ve been really into Terra Chips lately – I bet these are so much better! Thanks for sharing.
motherwouldknow says
Kathryn, Thanks for stopping by. Yes, they give Terra Chips a run for their money.
Sam @ PW says
I burn mine everytime I try this. Made parsnip chips last night and only half burned, I’ll call that a success!!
motherwouldknow says
Sam, Try putting a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet and check the progress of the chips frequently as they bake. Those steps should help:)
Sherri @ Watch Learn Eat says
I love the idea of making these chips homemade – and they look so delicious, I wish I had some right now!
Laura says
Sherri, They’re easy to make – as long as you are careful not to cut your fingers:) Hope you’ll try them.
Catherine says
Dear Laura, I love this healthy snack option. I must give this a try…always good to have on hand! xo, Catherine
Rajeena Shakya says
I am going to try this for the little one; I will let you know if she picks it, examines it and eats it or not. Usually, we get to step 2 (picks it and examines it) and after that she feeds mommy since it’s not the right texture or feel!!!
Laura says
Rajeena, Hope she loves it as much as I love her:)
elle says
Superb blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of
any discussion boards that cover the same topics talked about here?
I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other experienced individuals
that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions,
please let me know. Cheers!
Laura says
Elle, I don’t know of any discussion boards, but there are certainly facebook groups where you can get good hints and ask questions. Just search in facebook for the keywords that you think would be useful and then ask to join the appropriate groups. Good luck.