Crispy Baked Zucchini Chips

Zucchini chips are served on a white plate.

These Parmesan zucchini chips are the perfect way to use up summer zucchini. They bake up golden and savory, and can be served as a snack or side dish.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 10

Servings servings

Calories 143kcal

Author Vered DeLeeuw

Ingredients

Olive oil spray
2 medium zucchini 6 ounces each
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt see notes below
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup Parmesan grated, not shredded

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper and coat it with olive oil spray.
Olive oil spray
Slice the zucchini into ⅛-inch-thick rounds.
2 medium zucchini
Arrange the zucchini rounds on paper towels. Sprinkle them with salt and let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to draw out excess water. After 30 minutes, blot them thoroughly dry with paper towels to remove the surface water and some of the salt. There's no need to rinse them.
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Spray them with olive oil. Bake them for 15 minutes. Please see the notes section below for important tips.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with black pepper, garlic powder, and grated Parmesan. There's no need to flip the zucchini.
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ cup Parmesan
Return the pan to the oven and continue baking until the zucchini slices are browned and crisp, 15-20 more minutes. They won't all crisp at the same time, so check them every 5 minutes, remove the ones that are ready to a plate, and keep baking the ones that are still soft. Please see the notes section below for important tips.
Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Salting the Zucchini

Salting the zucchini slices before baking removes excess water, which helps achieve crispiness. Please don't skip this step. I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has about half the sodium of other salts, including other kosher salts. If you use any other salt, you might need to use less to prevent the chips from being too salty.

How Long to Bake

This recipe is not difficult, but the chips do require constant attention and monitoring. They won't all be ready at the same time. Bake them for the first 15 minutes, season, and then check them every 5 minutes during the second stage of baking. Remove the browned ones to a plate, then return the pan to the oven.

If you're OK with devoting more time to baking, you can bake them at 400°F or even 350°F for longer. This should promote more even browning, but you'll still need to watch them carefully.

Don't wait until the chips are super crispy before removing them. They should be browned and dry but not necessarily crispy. They will crisp up as they cool.

Don't expect them to be crispy like store-bought chips or those made in a dehydrator. This is a quick and simple oven method, so the results aren't perfectly crispy, but they are incredibly delicious. I make these chips weekly in the summer.

Storing Leftovers

The leftovers keep okay in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, but they lose their crispiness. You can get some of the crispiness back by baking them uncovered at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Nutrition

The nutrition info assumes that after blotting the zucchini slices, about half the salt remains on them. It also assumes that the olive oil spray used equals 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Nutrition