Crispy zucchini chips are a fabulous healthy keto snack. Learn how to make these easy zucchini chips in the oven, air fryer, or dehydrator. They will quickly become one of your favorite keto snacks!
Hungry for a crunchy, salty snack that doesn’t derail your keto diet? Then you’ve got to try this recipe for zucchini chips.
They’re so delicious, and when you add a little smoked paprika for seasoning, they taste just like the famous Canadian ketchup potato chips. But really, the sky’s the limit. You can season them any way you like best.
Zucchini is such a wonderfully versatile low carb vegetable and I am always finding new uses for it. It adds moisture to keto zucchini bread, and it’s also a great replacement for pasta in zucchini lasagna.
But who can resist the allure of a super thin, crispy chip? Zucchini is perfect for that too!
How to make crispy zucchini chips
I’ve been making these keto zucchini chips since 2012, and I’ve tested out a number of ways to make them truly crispy. You have some cooking options here, including:
- Oven baked
- Dehydrator
- Air fryer
There are pros and cons to each of these methods. I personally prefer oven-baking my zucchini chips, as it allows me to do more at once and I can check on them frequently to make sure they crisp up properly.
Air frying is the fastest method by far but you can’t do very many at a time, since the zucchini slices need to be laid out in a single layer.
A food dehydrator works well too, but not everyone owns such a contraption. It is also the method that takes the longest, as the chips need to dehydrate for about 8 to 10 hours to crisp up.
Baked zucchini chips
One of the tricks to getting zucchini chips nice and crispy is the advanced prep. By salting the zucchini and patting it dry, you reduce much of the initial moisture content, allowing them to crisp up much faster. Here’s how it works:
You will need:
- A mandolin slicer or food processor
- 1 large or 2 medium zucchini
- Oil or oil spray
- Seasonings of choice
Method
- Slice the zucchini very thinly. You want them no more than ⅛th of an inch thick. It’s very difficult to do this with a knife, so I recommend using a mandolin slices. If you happen to own a food processor with an adjustable slicing disk, that can work too.
- Layer and salt the slices. Arrange a single layer of slices in a colander in the sink and lightly salt it. Add another layer and more salt, and continue to do so until all of the zucchini slices are used up.
- Drain 1 hour. Allow the salt to do the hard work of drawing out the moisture.
- Pat dry. Lay the slices out on a tea towel pat them dry with another tea towel or rag.
- Arrange on parchment and lightly grease the tops. Parchment paper works best, as silicone mats will keep the zucchini chips from drying out properly. You can use a spray like avocado or coconut oil, or you can brush the tops with a bit of liquid oil.
- Season as desired. Sprinkle lightly because the seasoning becomes more concentrated as the slices shrink in the oven.
- Bake until crisp. Depending on how thin your slices are and how much you managed to dry them, this can take an hour to 90 minutes.
Air Fryer Method
- Prep the zucchini slices as outlined above, with salt, oil, and seasoning
- Set the air fryer to 350F.
- Lay in a single layer.
- Air fry 10 minutes or so, until crisp.
Dehydrator Method
- Prep the zucchini as outlined above, with salt, oil, and seasoning.
- Set the dehydrator to 135F.
- Lay the zucchini in single layers in the dehydrator discs.
- Dehydrate until crisp, anywhere between 8 and 12 hours.
How to season zucchini chips
How you choose to season your zucchini chips is up to you, but I do have some tasty suggestions!
As I mentioned earlier, smoked paprika makes them taste like the ketchup flavored chips I grew up with. Truth be told, that was never my favorite flavor, as I always loved sour cream and onion best. But I know they’re hugely popular with other people.
Pork King Good has just come out with some delicious keto friendly seasoning shakers, including Ranch, Dill Pickle, and Sour Cream and Onion. I am already planning another batch of these keto zucchini chips just to test them out. Yum!
More delicious keto chip recipes
- Keto Tortilla Chips
- Brussels Sprouts Chips
- Zesty Nacho Kale Chips
- Portobello Mushroom Chips
- Baked Cucumber Chips
- Air Fryer Pepperoni Chips
Baked Zucchini Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- ½ teaspoon salt divided
- Avocado oil spray (or 1 to 2 teaspoon liquid oil)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- Additional salt to taste
Instructions
- Slice zucchini crosswise into ⅛ inch thick slices using a mandolin slicer or food processor.
- Place the zucchini in layers into a colander or sieve, sprinkling with a little salt with each layer. (You will use about ¼ teaspoon salt). Let drain one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 225F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lay the zucchini slices out on a tea towel and pat dry with another tea towel. Then lay them out on the prepared baking sheets, close together but not touching. Spray lightly with the avocado oil spray or brush lightly with liquid oil.
- In a spice shaker, combine the paprika, pepper, and the remaining salt. Sprinkle over the tops of the zucchini.
- Bake 70 to 90 minutes, until dry, browned and crisp, rotating sheets halfway through baking. If some chips are crisp early, remove them from the pans and return the rest to the oven.
- Sprinkle with additional salt to taste. Serve immediately.
- Store in a covered container on the counter for up to 3 days. If they soften as they sit, simply re-crisp them in a warm oven.
Marla Baker says
I made these last night and was pleasantly surprised at how good they were! I made one sheet pan with just fine sea salt, and the second sheet pan with cumin, garlic salt and red pepper flakes. They were really good! I did find that mine took about twice as long in the oven (3 hours) as the recipe says; I assume that all depends on how much moisture is patted out before putting them in the oven. And next time I made them I will use one of the HUGE zucchinis that I usually pass up, since they shrink by about half their size after having all the moisture pulled from them. But really good!
Zoey says
Boyfriend swore these were potato chips!
My oven lowest is 250°F so I used that and reduced the cooking time some and they came out perfect.
My mandoline does 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm. After baking, 2 mm replicated the thickness of a Lay’s Classic Potato Chip, 4 mm was the thickness of a Lay’s Kettle Chip or Lay’s Baked Potato Chip.
6 mm sliced lengthwise was the thickness of a dip style corn chip strip, 6 mm chip works good for chips and dip without breaking.
4 mm and 6 mm, I increased the cooking time some.
I used fresh ground Himalayan pink salt and fresh ground rainbow peppercorns for salt and pepper chips along with the paprika.
Alex Leko says
Baked these for about 20 minutes on 400 and they came out completely burnt to a crisp.
Carolyn says
Yes, well of course they would. Because the recipe calls for baking them at 225ºF for over an hour. Not sure why you attempted 400ºF.
Yvonna says
Your response is classic. 😀 Thanks for the giggle.
Corie says
These are actually 10 stars! I made for first time last night, used mandolin and lightly dressed with smoked paprika and everything bagel spices and placed in my oven on dehydrate setting. This am they are complete and are an absolute delight. Crispy and flavourful. My mandolin setting was extremely thin and so I will make again but a bit thicker. These really are fantastic and you won’t be disappointed and well worth the effort. Tasty snack to satisfy any munchies that comes along and keeps you Keto! Thanks for this fantastic recipe and great instructions!
Sheri Ruiz says
Love your content!!!! Is there a Mandolin you recommend?
Carolyn says
I have this one: https://amzn.to/44uUAlC
Steph says
Could you freeze them to keep them longer? I freeze a lot of keto food until I am ready to eat it so I don’t waste it!
Carolyn says
No, these will not freeze well.