I’ve done a lot of experimenting with these veggie chips to achieve a crisp chip-like texture and can assure you that they are delicious! They definitely stand up to any gourmet store-bought variety for a fraction of the cost. And have I mentioned they are also healthy?
Well, that’s exactly what I intended to do for a dinner party my husband and I hosted a couple of weeks ago. Except that as I browsed through the healthy aisle of the grocery store (looking for baked rather than deep-fried veggie chips, ya know), all I could find was a little tiny bag of veggie chips filled with air that cost $6! So I headed back over to the produce section, picked up a few different veggies – beets, sweet potatoes, yams, Brussels sprouts, kale, and collard greens – and made my own veggie chips at home.
Tips for Making Veggie Chips
There are two types of veggie chips – chips made from leafy greens and chips made from root vegetables. They differ not only in terms of flavor, but also texture. Veggie chips from leafy greens are thin, crispy, and light as air. They still have a bit of a “green” flavor to them, but mostly they taste salty. Veggie chips from root vegetables are much more substantial, crunchy, and very close to regular potato chips in terms of texture. A root vegetable chip is subtly sweet, but similar to the leafy greens chips, they do taste salty.
Ingredients for Veggie Chips from Leafy Greens
Just about any leafy green can be turned into chips. Kale, spinach, chard, collard greens, beet greens, dandelion greens, you name it. I decided to go with kale, Brussels sprouts (the outer leaves), and collard greens. If you’ve never made veggie chips at home, I would recommend that you start with leafy greens because they are really easy to make.
I like to also add some olive oil and salt. If you’re not a fan of oil, you can skip it. However, I find that the oil helps the veggie chips cook more evenly in the oven and adds a nice, rich flavor.
Technique for Veggie Chips from Leafy Greens
Before Baking
- Keep the pieces large – this step obviously applies only to kale and collard greens. The reason you want to tear the kale into large pieces is that it will shrink quite a bit when baking. Also, the smaller the pieces are, the easier they’ll burn.
- Wash – the best way to wash leafy greens is to get a bowl of water and let the veggies soak for a few minutes. This will allow for any dirt to sink to the bottom of the bowl.
- Dry thoroughly – once washed, place the veggies onto a dry paper towel and pat them dry. Remove as much water as possible. If there’s any excess water, the water will steam the veggies while baking.
- Massage – rather than just coating the veggies with some oil, massage the oil into the leaves to ensure that every piece of the vegetable is evenly coated. Just be careful not to bruise the leaves.
Baking
- Use a parchment paper or an oven rack – both parchment paper and oven rack work well because they allow water to escape. On the other hand, foils or waxed surfaces (e.g. baking sheets) trap water and the veggies steam instead of crisping up.
- Space them out – make sure the veggies aren’t touching. If you crowd them, there will be too much vapor surrounding them and they’ll steam rather than bake into crispy chips.
- Use low temperatures – oven temperature is probably the trickiest part. My experience is that the lower the temperature, the better. The chips might take a little longer to bake, but at least you don’t get any burnt pieces. I bake the chips at 200°F (95°C) first and then increase the temperature to about 220°F (110°C)
- You can achieve crispy chips with higher temperatures, but it usually means a lot more browning than baking at low temperatures. While some browning is inevitable, browning usually equals carcinogens.
- Rotate – whether surface you’re baking the chips on, rotate it half way through baking so the veggies crisp up evenly. There’s no need to flip the chips.
After Baking
- Cool for a few minutes – cooling the chips after they’re out of the oven helps them firm up even more. A few minutes is all that’s needed.
- Store – store the chips in an air-tight container to prevent the chips from absorbing any moisture from the air. If the chips lose their crispiness over time, you can put them in a warm oven to get the moisture out of them.
Ingredients for Veggie Chips from Root Vegetables
Have you ever had Terra chips? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Terra chips are veggie chips made from root vegetables, including sweet potato, yam, beet, carrot, taro, parsnip, and yucca. Not only do they have a very vibrant flavor, delectable crunch, and a very short list of ingredients, but they are also super expensive.
Terra chips were one of the reasons I started making my own chips at home. Making chips from root vegetables is a bit harder than making chips from leafy greens, but it is possible to make even root vegetable chips perfectly crispy by following the guidelines below.
Technique for Veggie Chips from Root Vegetables
Before Baking
- Slice them thin – the thinner they are, the easier it will be to get them crisp. Water needs to reach the surface in order to evaporate. So the larger the surface (more area for the water to evaporate) and the lower the volume (less water overall), the better.
- Soak them in water – this technique works surprisingly well for the sweet potatoes. You simply soak the potatoes for about 10-20 minutes to help release some of the starches into the water. The starch in potatoes hinders moisture from evaporating and prevents the potatoes from getting crispy. Just keep in mind that the longer you soak the potatoes, the more nutrients you lose. So, soak them briefly, swirl them around, and give them a good rinse.
- Get as much moisture out as possible – moisture plays a big role in how crispy the veggies get. It’s difficult to get anything crispy if it contains a lot of water. That’s why dehydrators work so well. So, pat the soaked veggies dry with a paper towel.
- Sweat – sweating in culinary lingo means to cook something on a very low heat to release the moisture. But according to Sommer from Spicy Perspective, you can use salt to achieve the same result. So toss the sliced veggies with salt and let them sweat to release any excess moisture.
Baking & After Baking
The same steps from leafy greens apply.
If you’re wondering if you can also make homemade chips from fresh corn – yes, you can! And yes, they are as addicting as potato chips.
Tools You’ll Need
1. Food Processor (Breville Sous Chef) | 2. Mandoline Slicer (Chef’s Inspirations, Stainless Steel) | 3. Knife Set (6 Pieces, Utopia, Stainless Steel) | 4. Cutting Board (24″x 18″, Michigan Maple Block, Maple) | 5. Mixing Bowls (Set of 3, Pyrex, Glass) | 6. Cooling Rack ( Stainless Steel) | 7. Measuring Spoons (Set of 6, 1Easylife, Stainless Steel)
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Veggie Chips - Baked 5 Different Vegetables
Ingredients
Root Vegetable (Beets, Sweet Potato, Yams) Chips
- 1 beet, peeled
- 1 sweet potato, peeled
- 1 yam, peeled
- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
Leafy Vegetable (Kale, Brussels Sprouts) Chips
- 1/2 bunch kale*
- 10 Brussels sprouts
- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Root Vegetable Chips
- Preheat oven to 200°F (95°C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Using a food processor or a mandolin, slice the veggies consistently as thinly as possible (1/16 inch/1.6 mm at the most). This will ensure even baking and crispiness. If you have some ninja skills, you can also use a sharp knife.
- For extra crispiness, soak the potatoes in cold water for 10-20 minutes to help release starch from the potatoes. Once soaked, rinse the potatoes under cold running water.
- Spread the veggies onto a paper towel and pat them dry. Place them into a large bowl. Add oil and salt. Toss well. The beets will discolor the other vegetables. So, if that's something you want to prevent, use a separate bowl for the beets. Let the veggies sweat for about 15 minutes until they release their natural juices. Then drain off any excess liquid.
- Place the veggies into a single layer onto parchment paper (or an oven rack). Make sure the veggies aren't touching.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 200°F (95°C). Then increase the temperature to 220°F (105°C), rotate the parchment paper/oven rack, and bake for additional 30 minutes. Be sure to watch closely past the 45 minute mark as the chips can burn quickly.
- Allow to cool.
Leafy Vegetable Chips
- Preheat oven to 200°F (95°C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Tear kale away from the stem and roughly tear it up into large pieces. Remove the leaves of the Brussels sprouts (you may need to keep cutting away the stem as you get deeper into the sprout).
- Wash and spin the leaves until thoroughly dry. If you don't have a spinner, place the leaves in a large bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for a few minutes to allow any dirt to sink to the bottom of the bowl. Place the leaves onto a paper towel and pat them dry.
- Transfer the leaves into a large bowl and massage in the oil and salt.
- Place the veggies into a single layer onto parchment paper (or an oven rack). Make sure the veggies aren't touching.
- Bake for about 45 minutes until the leaves are dry and crispy. Rotate the parchment paper/oven rack half way through baking. Be sure to watch closely past the 30 minute mark as they can burn quickly.
- Allow to cool.
How long does it take for them to crisp up? I did thin carrot slices on a wire rack at 375 for 30 minutes,and they are not crispy after 5 minutes of cooling. Does it take hours? I read it takes hours to crisp up. Thank you.
Hi Kate, thank you for the comment! Hmm, I have never tried carrot chips so I can’t really provide a specific answer. However, you said that you baked your carrot slices at 375 F. I always bake my vegetables at 200 F (I wrote more about the temperature in the blog post above). Basically, the lower the temperature, the better because you want to keep the vegetables in the oven for as long as is needed for them to crisp up. The thicker the slices, the more time you would need to completely dehydrate them. I always start at 200 F and leave the chips in the oven until I feel like they are crispy enough, They do crisp up even more after you take them out of the oven, but they should be pretty crispy even before you take them out. Every oven is different so you might need to bake yours longer than 30 minutes. Also, the thickness of the slices is super important (the slices shouldn’t be thicker than 1/16 inch). Hope this helps a little. If you’re still experiencing problems, feel free to reach out again! 🙂
Hi-looking forward to trying this out! I was wondering how to store them and how long they’ll last after making them? Thank you
Hi Erin – a great question. Technically, you should store the veggie chips in an air-tight container at a room temperature. However, I have to admit that we keep ours in an open bowl on the counter for up to a week and the chips always stay crispy. The trick is to make sure the veggies are completely baked (dry) before you take them out of the oven. If they’re not completely crispy, the moisture inside will soften them up over time.
Hi, would love to attempt these, as I think my 15 month old would love them (and me too!). Just wondering if they might freeze ok? I’m assuming probably not, as they’d probably go soggy once defrosted, but doesn’t hurt to ask 😉 Thanks!
Hi Meagan – a great question. I know you can freeze deep-fried chips by placing them in the freezer in a single layer to freeze, then transfer to a seal-able freezer bag. However, I have never tried it with oven-baked chips. I would say that there isn’t a lot of moisture in the chips to begin with (that’s why they turn crispy once they’re done baking). BUT I am not sure that freezing wouldn’t change their texture. I suspect the chips would lose their crispiness once defrosted, but it might be worth a try with a few chips to see what happens 🙂 We store our veggie chips on the counter and they are crispy even after two weeks (that’s the longest we’ve had them last – yes, we are kind of obsessed with them, lol). Please, let me know if you try to freeze them. I would love to know what happens.
Is is possible to make these ahead of time and store for later or does one need to eat ’em up right away?
Thanks
Hi Caroline – you can make them ahead of time. I usually make a huge batch and eat them throughout the week. The longest they’d lasted in our house so far was one and half weeks and they were still crispy 🙂
Thanks!
I’ll give it another try. Mine crisped up after removing from the oven but went limp after a few hours. Any advice?
Which chips did it happen with? (yam, sweet potato, beet, kale, Brussels sprouts)? And if it was the root vegetables, did the kale and Brussels sprouts chips turn out crispy? If you only made one type of veggie chips, that’s fine. I just wanted to double check this first.
That has happened to me with kale chips when I have tried to store them in an air-tight container. Just leaving them out honestly seems to work best!
Most of my veggie chips – I’ve only tried using greens like Swiss chard, collards, spinach, and kale – come out crisp using the low temp and parchment combo as Petra suggests. I keep reusing the parchment because that stuff gets to be expensive.
I now use only glass storage containers like a Glasslock because I’ve found the plastic still lets in humidity so the chips become soft within a few days. Humidity is a big issue most of the year here in South Florida.
But even following the above, sometimes the chips will still go a little wilty. That’s when I tried experimenting using silica gel packets. I use one of these in a batch, and they work great to keep my chips crispy for a few weeks (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYKTS9C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I’m always looking at ways to store food during hurricane season, and these packets work great.
So sorry, I though I posted my response. I used some home grown heirloom beets. They were not red but red and pink inside with red skin. I just purchased a regular Detroit Red and will give it another try tomorrow.
Thank you again for your help
Hi Caroline – thank you for your reply. I do have to say that beet chips are the trickiest to make (out of all the other veggie chips). When I was first experimenting with veggie chips, I failed like three times when it came to making beet chips. SO I have a few tips – really slice the beets as thinly as possible (and by thin, I mean “thin”, like paper-thin). Second, pat them dry with a paper towel to get as much moisture out of them as possible. This really helps! Third, beet chips burn the quickest out of all the other root vegetable chips. So baking them longer (when they are not turning crispy) doesn’t work here. Low oven temperature is your best bet. I just want to encourage you to stay patient. As I said, beet chips are really tricky, but they can be done. It might just require a bit of trial and error. Once you succeed though, it will be a breeze. I now make beet chips on a regular basis and never have them do limp or soggy (but that’s just because I have made them so many times now). Again, please, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need some more help 🙂
Figures I’d pick the trickiest to start with! I’m so glad I came across your site. I will take your suggestions and give it another try. I have one big Detroit Red but also purchased a standard yam. Thanks for your encouragement. I’ll keep you posted.
Petra,
Success! Excellent results with both yam and beets.
Thank you for your advice. I look forward to reading more on your web site!
Hi Caroline, you don’t even know how happy I am to hear that the chips turned out! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
can i make bottlegourd chips
Hmm, I have never tried making chips out of bottlegourd, so I’m not sure. Sorry! You could try making a small batch and see how it goes.
Great recipe. Could I use a dehydrator instead of an oven to dry out the chips, will it yield the same result?
Hi Shannice – YES! I use my dehydrator for these chips more than I use the oven 🙂
Hi, I am trying to do veggie chips in a dehydrator, and then dry out really well but don’t go crispy.
My aubergine/eggplant ones have the texture of cardboard.
Where am I going wrong (have been using 52 degrees C in my dehydrator)
Cheers
Hi Helen – let me ask you a few questions.
1. What eggplant are you using? Japanese, Globe (American), Indian … ? I find that Japanese eggplants are the best for chips. American eggplants, which are what you’re most likely to see in a store, have a tougher, meatier texture than other varieties. So, that can play a role.
2. How thick/thin are your slices? Thicker slices may certainly turn out more rubbery rather than crispy.
3. Are you using any oil? Spraying the eggplant slices with a little bit of oil will help a lot!
4. I typically dehydrate eggplant at about 135 F (about 57 C) for 4-5 hours until fully dried and crisp. You’ll want to check the trays around 3-4 hours as some thinner slices may be done sooner.
Hi Petra, thanks for your comments.
I have no idea what sort of eggplant it is … we only seem to have one type in the UK. Purple and fairly large.
I cut them by hand as thin as I could, and they did seem to dry out in a few hours at 52 C.
I don’t think I used any oil on them … so that will be the next thing to try.
What about carrots, cucumber or courgette? All of these go chewy rather than crispy, and I have tried oil on those.
I will keep experimenting … .had great success with kale today so am happy 🙂
Yea, I believe that it would be the Globe eggplant.
1. I would not use cucumbers for chips. Cucumbers are made up of more than 95% water, so they are not ideal for chips. Carrots and kale are excellent (only 84% and 85% water, respectively), zucchini and eggplant are fine (about 90% water). I should mention that I have never tried dehydrating zucchini, but oven-baked zucchini chips have always worked for me.
2. I use a mandolin to slice the vegetables and aim for a maximum 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick slices (not thicker!). A food processor works for slicing as well. Mandolin (or food processor) are ideal because you can slice the veggies consistently thin.
3. Another thing that can help to get crispier chips is to lay the sliced (raw) vegetables on paper towels in a single layer. Cover with more paper towels and press down, applying slight pressure, to help squeeze out some of the moisture. The less moisture, the more the veggies will crisp up.
4. I always use a little bit of oil. I have a spray bottle, which works great. Another option is to use a brush and lightly brush the top of the veggie slices.
Let me know if you have more questions. Hope your next batches of veggie chips turn out crispy 🙂
Hi, I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks great! I was just wondering why you don’t put the baking rack onto a sheet pan to cook the chips? Do they cook better that way for some reason or was it simply to save using more dishes than necessary?
Thanks for all the great recipes and excellent videos!
Hi Sonya, I wanted as much as air circulating in the oven as possible (and a sheet pan would prevent that). However, it might be enough to have the baking rack on a sheet pan since there would still be some air circulating. You could make two batches (one with the sheet pan and one without) and see if there is any difference 🙂
Hello from Indonesia thanks for making such a great video on Youtube, I’ve watched it over and over about the crispy veggie and yam chips, and I got inspired by you, it inspires me to sell the homemade chips (like your recipe) in my country, and I want to ask, how the chips would last? I mean the expired, and is the chips still crispy if I put on a plastic (for selling it)? And I would like to ask you again, how if I dont use olive oil for seasoning the chips? What if I only use pink salt? Is it ok and still crispy? Your advise and answer are so mean to me, thank you in advance.❤
Hi Vi, thank you for your comment! I don’t have much experience with storing chips for commercial purposes. A little amount of oil helps the chips bake more evenly, but you can make the chips oil-free. Commercial chips keep for a long time, in a sealed bag. Often they contain no preservative other than salt, so it would seem that it is doable. However, they are sometimes “packaged in a protective atmosphere” – that is, the gas in the bag isn’t normal air. Humid environments will make chips go bad and become stale quicker.
Thank you so much for the reply, Petra. Cant wait to try to make the chips!
Hi Petra! I love your recipies and videos! Your attention to detail and effort to make things clear and straight to the point really shows through! And also, love how sweet you are (in your videos and in your comments). I’m so glad I’ve found your blog – your recipes are helping me more creative in my vegetarian dishes.
I’ll be following your work!
Love from Portugal,
Sara
Aw, thank you so much, Sara! I am so happy you like my videos and recipes. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment ❤
How long can I store the extra veggie chips?
Hi Fatima – ideally, you would store them in an air-tight container because they lose their crispiness if they absorb moisture from the air. I have had them on the counter (in an airtight container) for 5 days and they were still crispy. If your chips do lose their crispness, you can always put them in the oven for a few minutes, and they will get crispy again.
Hi Petra,
You inspired me to try making greens chips beyond kale. I’ve made Swiss chard, collards, and spinach (large leaves). OMG are these addictive!!! The key is, as you say, to use low temps. I find switching between 250 and 275 degrees F. I also cram the leaves on parchment-lined baking sheets. This might make the chips take longer to crisp, but I’m also impatient because a slow oven means longer cooking times.
Making these tasty veggie chips have come in handy as I live in South Florida a few hundred miles from where Hurricane Dorian is now. I was able to make the veggie chips in time to have them on-hand for the storm.
Thxx again. And thank you for your elegant way in the kitchen. I don’t know how you can use small bowls for mixing and don’t make a mess with food overflowing.
Haha, you made me laugh! Trust me, I do make a mess at times, especially when testing new recipes 😉 I am glad you like the veggie chips so much ❤️ My entire family loves them too (and it’s a sure way to get more vegetables into my kids). Hope you’re all safe!
All safe here. Miracles abounded. Veggie chips still holding up. I found storing them in Glasslock containers keeps them crispy better. But I ran out of those containers, so I used plastic and these rechargeable silica gel desiccant packs (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYKTS9C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
Next up is to make your root veggie chips and flax bread recipes.
I want to see your kitchen when you’ve been recipe testing and not yet cleaned up!!!
Thxx again for your wonderful Web site.
I made too many slices for my oven size,& the long cooking time. Have leftover yam & parsnip.
Please, best way to store them until I can put them in the oven?
Many thanks
The best way to store the slices is to drop them in cold water (you can use ice water if it’s an option) and refrigerate. Wrapping the slices tightly in plastic wrap might also work, but I haven’t tried it.
Thank you, this article really helped me, and this article is not confusing to read or understand.
Thank you Elizabeth! ❤️
Whats up are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any
coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
I am sorry, I am not sure I understand your question. If you’re asking whether I use WordPress, I do. You do not need any coding experience to use WordPress.
Hello petra…
Thanks for the recipes. Currently, i’m really concern about foods, i’m really into healthy foods. So, i found your channel at Youtube and its incredible.
I want to ask you something about this recipes. I find a comment that you say you often use dehydrator to make this chips. How about the temperature and time if i use dehydrator instead? And, the crispiness of chips from dehydrator is same as a chips from oven? Because, my oven is so small and of course it take a lot of electricity. I read that if i use dehydrator is more efficient and low cost. Thanks a lot.
Hi Vina! So happy you’re enjoying my content. Yes, you can totally use a dehydrator. It does take longer than using an oven though. The result is pretty comparable although I think that you can get the chips slightly crispier in a dehydrator. I dehydrate the chips at 125 F until crispy. Leafy greens (kale, chard, etc.) chips take ~ 3 hours. Root vegetable chips (beets, potatoes, etc.), take anywhere between 6 to 11 hours, depending on the thickness of your slices. If you increase the temperature to about 150 F, the time will be shorter, of course. Kale chips at 150 F, for example, take ~ 1 hour. I usually let the chips in the dehydrator (set to a very low temperature, ~ 115 F) for a few more hours after they are done dehydrating so they are super dry and flake when crushed. FYI, the dehydrating time will vary depending on where you live (the humidity level), how spaced out the chips are (the closer the vegetables are to each other, the longer they will take to dehydrate), how large/thick your vegetables are, etc. Let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
Good Morning Petra,
Your video has wonderful and delicious content! I’ve been wondering whether to purchase a dehydrator or use my three tiered mesh hanging air dehydrator for sliced veggies and fruits? For the oven rack, is rack placed at the center
Thank You,
Babe
I completely missed your comment! So sorry for the late reply. It depends on what you’re looking for. The hanging air dehydrator you have is great for two reasons – it doesn’t cost any money to run (you’re saving energy) and you’re not relying on an external power source. However, electric dehydrators are more powerful and efficient. So, if you prefer the speed and convenience of modern conveniences, then an electric food dehydrator might be a better choice.