Crispy Baked Zucchini Chips Recipe

Zucchini chips are one of my favorite recipes, especially when you get the craving for something crispy and salty and you can’t eat potatoes. They are so easy to make and so delicious to eat, that I can eat the whole tray of them myself in one sitting.

These oven-baked zucchini chips are totally healthy and guilt-free and as you can see, they fit into so many different diet plans…everyone can eat them unless you just don’t like zucchini. 

In this recipe, we are going to show you exactly how to make the best zucchini chips! Don’t worry, they are so easy to make using just very thin slices of zucchini with a little salt, and olive oil and are baked in the oven.

When you take them out, they will be so crispy and yummy and if you are like me, you will want to eat the whole tray yourself, and I do!!

What are Zucchini Chips?

To put it simply, potato chips are slices of potatoes, so zucchini chips are likewise just slices of zucchini. They are baked in the oven until crispy with a little olive oil and salt.

In our opinion, the small-medium zucchini make the best chips because they don’t have many seeds, are firm, and not watery so that means that they will crisp up better.

What do they Taste Like?

To tell you the truth, after the oven-baked zucchini chips are done and are out of the oven they are so crispy that I forget I’m eating zucchini, I almost think I’m eating chips. They have a slight zucchini taste, with a hint of olive oil and salt, which you can adjust to your liking. It’s that simple.

They are very similar to our Zucchini Fries recipe which are just as tasty!

Are Zucchini Chips Healthy?

Zucchini chips are a very healthy snack. Zucchini itself is very healthy, like most vegetables, full of vitamins and nutrients. 

It is low in carbs and low in calories so you can eat a lot of it and stay on whatever diet you are doing. Zucchini is also full of water so it fills you up with water, without calories! 

Now that you know that they are healthy let’s show you how to make zucchini chips, it’s really easy!

What Ingredients are in Zucchini Chips

What’s nice about this zucchini chip recipe, there are only 3 ingredients which makes it easy.

• Zucchini – A very healthy veggie that is low in calories and carbs which is the main ingredient obviously in zucchini chips. 
• Olive Oil – A good oil for using on the zucchini chips to give them a real chip flavor and crispy texture.
• Salt – What’s a chip without a little salt which enhances the flavor.

What Kind of Zucchini is Best for this Recipe?

For this zucchini chips recipe you can use any kind of zucchini that you want to but in my opinion, the small ones are the best because they are more firm, without as much water and seeds. 

However, you can use any size zucchini that you want, especially if your garden in the summer is full of them and you are looking for a way to use them. It will just take the larger ones a little longer to bake crispy.

In case you were wondering, yes you can also use yellow zucchini too, the same way as the green ones, the color makes no difference.

Best Seasoning Mix

You may be wondering how to season your baked zucchini chips, especially if you want to make different varieties, like the different varieties of potato chips.

A little seasoning goes a long way because after all, these chips are small and thin. Use seasonings but just don’t overpower them with too much. 

My favorite seasoning for these chips is just a bit of salt. If you want something different, here are a few ideas, and you can mix and match them according to your taste buds. 

Try one today and another one the next time, or try a bunch of varieties on the same tray of baked zucchini chips.

• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Black Pepper

When I want something other than salt flavor on top of my zucchini chips, my favorite flavors are always garlic and onion, so a mix of garlic powder and onion powder is great.

Different Variations of Baked Zucchini Chips

Even though zucchini chips are really great with only salt on them, just the same way potato chips are good with just salt on them. However, just as potato chips have numerous flavors, zucchini chips can also be flavored in a variety of ways too.

• Salt and Vinegar
• Everything Bagel Seasoning
• Ranch
• Parmesan
• Spicy
• Lime
• Garlic
• Onion
• Paprika
• Chili Powder
• Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tools You Need

The best tool to use in order to slice the zucchini real thin making them into chips is a mandoline slicer. It slices the zucchini paper-thin and they all come out evenly at whatever setting you put it on.

You could use a dehydrator to take the water out of the zucchini, but that’s the same process that is happening when they are baking slowly at a low temperature in the oven.

You will need a non-stick baking pan so that the chips do not stick to the pan or you could use a sheet of parchment paper over the baking pan for the same purpose. Both ways have the same success. I love the parchment paper, it’s become one of my favorite tools in our kitchen, it makes it easy to clean!!

How to Make Baked Zucchini Chips 

Now that you have learned about the zucchini and how to season it, and what tools you need, let’s see exactly how to make the yummy oven-baked zucchini chips…

Preparing the Zucchini

1. To prepare the chips for slicing, wash the zucchini and dry them off thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Next, cut the ends off the zucchini. Now it’s ready to be sliced into paper-thin slices.

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3. Set your mandoline slicer at the appropriate thickness, depending on how thin you like your zucchini chips. Usually, there are 3 settings, 1, 2, and 3 and sometimes half number settings in between.

Our recommendation if you like them crispy is to do them as thin as possible.

Hold one end of the zucchini in one hand and the other one on the slicer. Place the other end onto the slicer and start to run your squash in one direction over and over again until all of the zucchini is sliced.

One word of caution though, don’t slice it too close to the last piece of the squash that’s left because if you get too close to your fingers you may cut them. The mandoline is sharp like a razor blade and as many times as we have used it, it never gets dull so be careful of your fingers.

Baking Zucchini Chips in the Oven

Once you prepare your zucchini, then it’s time to place it on a baking sheet and then bake them in the oven. Baking zucchini chips in the oven is so easy. 

4. The first thing that you do is line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.

5. Take all of your sliced zucchini pieces and line them up on the baking tray in a uniform way and be sure not to overcrowd them or they will not cook evenly.

6. Gently brush olive oil all over the slices of zucchini.

7. Lightly sprinkle the chips with salt (coarse salt flakes or kosher salt work best).

8. The best temperature to bake your zucchini chips is at 225 degrees for 1-2 hours or until crispy.

The reason to bake them at a low temperature is so that the water will bake out and the chips will become crispy. (NOTE: If you cut the chips thin, then 1 hour should be enough. If you cut them on the thicker side or your oven is older, it may take as many as 2 hours.)

9. About half way through the baking process, flip the chips over to allow the underside of them to crisp too.

TIP: To speed up the baking process of your oven-baked zucchini chips you could begin with the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes and then lower it to 225 degrees for the rest of the time. 

Alternative: Another way is to start off at 225 degrees and then toward the end turn up the temperature for a few minutes or broil them for a minute. Just keep your eye on then closely so that they do not burn because by the end of the cooking all the moisture has already baked out of them.

How to Tell when Zucchini Chips are Done Baking

The zucchini chips are done baking when they are crispy like a chip and not soggy which means that they are still not cooked enough to get the water out of them.

10. Once they are done and crispy, remove them from the sheet and enjoy! If you want to sprinkle more salt on top you can. You should put them on a plate with a paper towel under them or directly on a plate or bowl for snacking.

Best Tips for Zucchini Chips

When you are making a recipe that you have never made before it really helps if someone gives you helpful tips, so we hope these tips will be useful to you when making this recipe for zucchini chips.

• The best tip that I can share with you is to make your zucchini chips as thin as you can in a full slice.
• Make your slices of zucchini uniform in thickness so that they will cook evenly. 
• The best tool for slicing the zucchini as thin as possible is a mandoline. The only caution is that the blades are razor sharp so please be careful and don’t slice your finger…it’s been done and it’s not fun.
• Bake the zucchini chips in the oven at a low temperature, around 225 degrees, slowly which will ensure that the chips will be crispy but not burn.
• Small to medium zucchini make the best chips because they have less seeds and less water content. 
• When baking your zucchini chips in the oven be sure to use a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Also, space them evenly apart without overlapping so that they will crisp up easier.

Making Zucchini Chips Crunchy

What makes your oven-baked zucchini chips crunchy is a slow baking process, 225 degrees for 1-2 hours (depending on how thick you slice the zucchini). This acts like a dehumidifier, and it sucks the water out of them so that they will get crunchy.

Make sure to flip the zucchini chips over about halfway through baking them, to ensure that both sides will be crispy.  

The parchment paper underneath the chips also helps to crisp up your zucchini chips.

Don’t Burn Them

It’s important to keep an eye on the baking process, especially toward the latter half of the baking time so that the chips don’t burn. You want them to be crispy zucchini chips, but of course not burnt. 

As they start crisping up, keep watching them cause they will start to cook fast. Keeping the temperature low will make them crispy but not cook too quickly.

Alternatives to Baking Zucchini Chips

If you are looking to use another method of cooking other than baking in the oven to make this recipe for crispy zucchini chips, here are a couple of suggestions:

Air-Fryer Zucchini Chips

1. If you want to use the air fryer to make your zucchini chips prepare them the same way by slicing them thin with the mandoline.
2. Spray the air fryer basket with non-stick cooking spray, they make an olive oil one that is really good.
3. Add the zucchini chips in a single layer.
4. Air fry your chips at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes. Then flip them over and fry for an additional 9 minutes, or until they reach a nice crispiness.
5. When they are done then you can sprinkle the chips with seasonings.

Frying Zucchini Chips

In my opinion, it’s hard to fry zucchini chips and get them to be crispy and I wouldn’t recommend it. 

Most people bread them if they are going to fry them, which is a different end result and they end up more like Keto Fried Zucchini. I think the oven is the best way to make this recipe for zucchini chips rather than frying them.

Making them with a Dehydrator

The dehydrator just works to suck the water out of the zucchini which will make them crispy. But so does the oven. 

• The biggest downside for using the dehydrator is that it takes so long, about 8 hours to make a batch of chips. 
• The good thing about the dehydrator is that it’s harder to burn the chips in there since they dry out so slowly.

1. Go through the same steps to wash the zucchini and slice it in the mandoline.
2. Fill the racks with the zucchini slices, spacing them apart, just like you place them on a baking tray for making them in the oven.
3. Dry them at 135 degrees for about 10 hours. You may have to move the lower trays to the upper position and visa versa at the 5-hour mark.

How Many Carbs Do Zucchini Chips Have?

If you need to count your carbs then this recipe for oven baked zucchini chips is a good low carb snack.

Lays potato chips (my favorite chips) have 15 carbs for 15 chips, that’s way too many carbs because we all know you can’t eat just one!

These oven-baked zucchini chips are such a great alternative because they are only 1.6 NET Carbs for 20 chips. So as you can see you can eat a lot of chips for so few carbs.

Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Gluten-free – Veggies are certainly gluten-free and so are these chips.
• Keto/low carb – Zucchini is one of the best veggies for keto, its low carb, and full of water which also makes it low in calories and a win-win!
• Vegetarian – A perfect vegetable for a vegetarian way of eating.
• Paleo – Zucchini is in the long list of acceptable and approved vegetables.
• Vegan –  This is also a diet plan that allows lots of good veggies like zucchini.
• Nut-free – If you have a nut allergy, rest assured there are no nuts.
• Dairy-free – There are just 3 ingredients in this recipe and no dairy.

What to Serve with Zucchini Chips

You can serve anything with zucchini chips that you would with potato chips. They go well with sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, etc.

They also make a good stand-alone snack when you feel like eating salty, crispy snack food, just reach for your oven-baked zucchini chips.

Dipping Sauces

Even though the zucchini chips are really thin, you can still serve them with dipping sauces if you choose to. Personally I think they are so good all on their own, the simple way, but you can certainly dip them in one of the many sauce options out there.

• Marinara sauce always seems to be a good choice.
• Tzatziki Sauce is a favorite.
• Dipping chips in BBQ Sauce is a great choice.
• If you want to get creative you can try using Italian dressing as another good option.

How to Store

If you have any leftovers, Baked zucchini chips can be stored in the refrigerator in either a Ziploc plastic bag or in an airtight plastic container on the counter. If you are like me I finish them in one day so I don’t have to worry about storing them.

If they become a little soft while being stored in the refrigerator then it’s a simple fix…just put them on a baking sheet and heat them up in the oven to crisp them up again, or just put on the broiler for a couple of minutes but be careful and watch them closely so that they do not burn.

More Zucchini Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Zucchini Recipes then try our:

• Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• How to Make Zucchini Noodles
• Keto Zucchini Bread
• Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
• Crispy Low Carb Fried Zucchini
• Easy Zoodle Salad

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit at your next party!

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