Zucchini Chips

We’ve been having a ton of fun lately, turning all kinds of fresh produce into veggie chips and other dehydrated food.

Not only is the finished product usually fantastic - we’ll be sharing a few favorite recipes in the coming weeks - but drying food is also a great way to cut back on food waste.

The best part? Home dehydrated chips can be made FAR more cheaply than any comparable product you can buy - especially if you find a great price on seasonal produce!

These homemade zucchini chips are an especially great option for someone like me, who’s on a keto diet. These crispy chips satisfy the craving for potato chips, just in a low carb format!

We’ve gone through SO much zucchini since we started making the perfect crispy zucchini chips.

They’re wildly addictive - you can eat several zucchinis worth of chips in a sitting, if you’re not careful!

So, we’re definitely looking forward to late summer this year, to take full advantage of the local zucchini season.

Anyway, this recipe needs only 3 basic ingredients, but really... you can flavour your dried zucchini chips any way your taste buds would like - I’ll tell you about that in a second.

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need for making your homemade zucchini chips!

Ingredients

This easy recipe uses only 3 really simple ingredients - you won’t have any trouble finding what you need in any grocery store.

As always, I have some notes for you.

Fresh Zucchini

This recipe starts out with raw zucchini - and medium-sized zucchini is your best choice.

Small zucchini slices will dry down to almost nothing in the drying process, and large zucchini are usually full of seeds - which don’t dry down the same way as the zucchini flesh will. It’ll be edible, just not a great texture.

You can also use yellow squash, if you prefer.

Olive Oil

We use plain olive oil, as we find it gives the best taste to the dried zucchini. Any neutral flavoured oil will work, though.

Also: Consider using infused olive oil, to impart the flavour of your choice onto the homemade zucchini chips.

We have a “Gremolata” olive oil that would be fantastic - “ lemon zest, minced garlic, Italian flat leaf parsley and a hint of mint.”. Yum!

Salt

Not really much to say here. A flaky sea salt is always nice, you can use smoked sea salt for a bit of smoky flavour... but regular table salt works just fine!

Optional Flavouring

While there are only 3 ingredients NEEDED, there are all kinds of different ways you can season your chips, in addition to the salt.

A few great examples:

Garlic powder, onion powder, and/or ground black pepper are some great basic flavours.

If you want a cheesy flavor, try some Parmesan cheese - the dry, shaker kind. Cheesy flavour but vegan? Use a bit of nutritional yeast.

For a bit of crunch, try some sesame seeds.

Want to make salt and vinegar zucchini chips? You can buy powdered vinegar - or just use a salt and vinegar popcorn seasoning.

Equipment

There are really only two pieces of equipment you’ll need in order to make dehydrator zucchini chips:

A Food Dehydrator

While you can apparently make homemade zucchini chips in a regular home oven, I’m not a fan of running one for hours on end.

A year or two ago, we upgraded our old dehydrator to a Cosori 6 Tray Food Dehydrator, and LOVE it.

It was only like $200 Canadian, and it’s paid for itself MANY times over, between all the Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips and jerkies I’ve been making!

We find we can usually run a few pounds of zucchini in a batch.

Mandoline Slicer

Optional, but it’s really helpful when it comes to getting your zucchini slices to an even thickness.

I have a Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline Slicer.

I ABSOLUTELY love it. We use it all the time, no complaints!

How to Make Dried Zucchini Chips

The actual recipe - with nutritional info - is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the visual walk through:

Prepare the Zucchini

First step: wash zucchini, peel if desired (we don’t.)

Using a mandolin slicer or sharp knife, cut your zucchini into thin slices. Aim to keep them around the same thickness - I like about ⅛" thick.

Place zucchini slices in a large mixing bowl.

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the cut zucchini rounds, and sprinkle with a bit of salt. (Measure with your heart, not a measuring spoon! For best results, you want a light coating, not to drown them. If you have too much oil on them, blot with paper towels).

Gently toss to coat the sliced zucchini and distribute the salt.

Dehydrate the Zucchini

Dehydrate at 135 F for 5-6 hours. (The actual dehydrating process time will depend on the thickness and water content of the zucchini slices.)

To test for doneness, remove a zucchini chip from the dehydrator and let it cool to room temperature.

It should feel dry to the touch, and be crispy. It should snap if you try to bend it. (Note: If any have too much olive oil on them, they can be dried through and still not snap. That’s ok - judge by the ones that aren’t overly oily!)

Once zucchini chips are all fully dehydrated, allow to cool to room temperature before packing and storing. See below for information on conditioning and storing your zucchini chips.

Condition the Zucchini Chips:

Keep an eye on the vegetable chips for the first 3 days or so.

If you see any evidence of residual moisture in that time frame - droplets on the bag, etc - return the mango leather to the dehydrator and let it dry a bit more.

If at any point you see any evidence of mold, throw the batch out.

Once you’re sure the zucchini chips are fully dry and moisture isn’t coming out, transfer them to an airtight container for longer term storage.

Dehydrated Zucchini Chips Storage

Zucchini chips should be stored in an airtight container, with as little oxygen - and light exposure - as possible. You can use an air-tight glass container - like a mason jar - but you’ll still want to store chips out of the sun.

If sealed into an airtight container WITHOUT OXYGEN, they should be good for a month or so in a dark, cool place.

They do taste best when eaten within a few days, though.

Note: Zucchini chips have a shorter shelf life than regular dehydrated zucchini, on account of the oil. The oil and salt is what makes this a snack food, rather than a pantry item for making soups out of, though!

More Dried "Chip" Recipes

Looking to make chips out of fruits, veggies, or more? We have a few more recipes for you:

Bananas Foster Banana Chips
Cardamom Pear Chips
Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips
Pepperoni Jerky