Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips

Get ready for the most perfect zucchini chip you've ever made! And don't let the name fool you. These salt and vinegar zucchini chips are actually low sodium, and sacrifice zero flavor doing it! Crispy, tangy, salty, and even low calorie and low carb! They do take about 2 hours to bake, but the active time is only about 10 minutes, so you can get busy doing something else.

Ingredients

Zucchini

Zucchini is low in calories, which, along with its relatively neutral flavor, makes it perfect to make just about anything. I’ve sometimes seen it substituted for apples. Zucchini isn’t over the top in terms of the nutrients it contains, though it does have some vitamin C. Check out the rest of the nutrition profile for zucchini if you’re interested. I love zucchini for its high water content/low calories, and for how easy it is to grow – or if you don’t garden, for how widely available it is at grocers.

In this recipe, you're essentially dehydrating the zucchini, so the water content will be quite low. But that's what ensures the crispness! A perfect substitute for fried potatoes!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is pretty much my all purpose vinegar. A must for salt and vinegar chips, its tangy quality tends to play on your taste buds similar to salt. So I was able to use less salt for a heart healthier treat. 

Olive Oil

My go-to oil. High in monounsaturated fats, it’s one of the heart healthiest oils you can get. Extra virgin olive oil is considered the best. It's not great for high temperature cooking. It does work great in these zucchini chips though, because you cook them at a low temperature! If you want a great all purpose oil, regular olive oil is good. You can also use grapeseed oil or avocado oil. A neutrally flavored oil is best for this recipe.

Pepper

Black pepper is known for its high antioxidant content, and has been used for centuries as a flavor enhancer, immune booster, and treatment for various conditions. In fact, it was used as a currency in Europe for a time (as well as the reason for the enslavement and/or slaughter of countless tribes in India and surrounding areas). An interesting read on the subject is a book by Marjorie Shaffer called Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice. Pepper is also high in vitamin A, vitamin K, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and phosphorous.

It's mainly used as a flavoring today, but it can still add to the healthfulness of foods! Use pepper as much as you like!

Salt

Okay, so salt isn't something I use much of in my recipes. But what are salt and vinegar chips without salt?! Besides, a little is fine, and this recipe does have only a little. Just enough to taste! Yum! Learn more about Sodium and Blood Pressure in my article.

Dill

Dried dill is optional in this recipe. It's not really traditional in salt and vinegar chips. Fresh dill would be great, too. It kind of brings out a pickle-like flavor with the vinegar. If you don't care for it, leave it out.

Herbs and spices, like dill, are high in antioxidants, and great for heart health and keeping inflammation in check, so use as much as you like!

How to Make Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips

Easy peasy zucchini squeezy! First, preheat your oven to 225 degrees F. Slice your zucchini very thin. Like around 1/16th of an inch. The thicker they are, the longer they'll take to bake. Use a mandolin slicer to get nice, even, paper-thin slices!

Now, mix the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl large enough to hold the zucchini slices. Whisk to combine. Dump the zucchini slices into the bowl, and toss to combine. Make sure to coat both sides of each slice.

Then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, or two, lined with parchment paper. They can touch each other, but not overlap. They'll shrink down considerably as they bake. Bake them for at least two hours. Depending on the type of baking sheet you have and the zucchini thickness, they may take longer. Keep an eye on them around the two hour mark.

Once the zucchini chips come out the oven, sprinkle them immediately with as much dill as you like (or no dill!), fresh or dried.

Cool completely, and store in an airtight container. If there is a lot of humidity in the air, the chips may lose their crisp quickly, but will still delight!

If you make these healthy zucchini chips, tell me about it in the comments!

📖 Recipe