When it comes to snacking, we used to get away with murder. We didn’t know it at the time, but sheesh—we know it now… we were awfully lucky “snackers.”
If you crave snack foods, then you know how difficult it is not to overdo it–and there was a fleeting (and dreamy 😉 ) time in our lives where we didn’t have to pay the consequences. Our entire childhood and teenage years we played sports competitively and we were so active that we’d polish off a bag of pretzels like nobody’s business. We never thought twice about it. And funny enough, a bag of pretzels was just the “appetizer” of our snack. From there we’d move on to the next food, often a large bin of raisins for Tammy and a large container of dates for Lyssie… and then on to the next food!
Yes, those were the days! It never phased us—being so athletic, we burned up all of the calories. But those days are gone…sigh…when we stopped playing sports so competitively we quickly learned that we couldn’t down an entire bag of pretzels on a daily basis and not suffer the waistline consequences, so we started making lightened up delicious creations like our Homemade Mini Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers and our I Beg Your Parsnips and our Ginger Cinnamon Apple Chips and our Guilt Free Kale Chips! And that’s why we created this crispy snack!
These zucchini chips are flavored with smoked paprika for a BBQ-like experience. Instead of a fried potato chip, these zucchini chips are baked with olive oil for a healthier spin on a normally high calorie snack!
This light delight might as well be a mood-boosting, anti-aging snack! 😉 Here’s why:
Paprika contains potent anti-inflammatory properties that help to fight aging and protect against disease. The zucchini is rich in vitamin C to boost immunity and B vitamins to help to keep you happy (people who don’t get enough often show more symptoms of depression and anxiety).
Smoked Paprika Zucchini Chips
Makes about 100 chips,
Serves 5 (20 chips each)
Ingredients
2 zucchini
Olive oil in a spray bottle
3 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp salt
1.5 tsp pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you’re using a convection oven, be sure to set the oven on true convection. If your oven does not have this option, rotate the pans once or twice during the baking time to ensure that one side doesn’t get burnt or undercooked.
Prepare two 12 x 17 cookie sheet pans by lining with foil and placing wire racks on top of the pan so that the zucchini can be placed on them. The foil catches the extra spices and the wire racks allows the air to get under the zucchini chips, making them extra crispy. (If you’re wondering what wire racks to use, metal drying racks or a wire rack from a toaster oven works too!)
Slice the zucchini into thin slices. If you have a mandolin, set it to 1/8th -inch thick. (If you are slicing by hand be sure not to slice the zucchini too thin as this will cause them to burn easier!)
In a bowl, spray olive oil on zucchini and mix well to make sure that it is evenly distributed. Then place the slices on the wire racks in the pans, and sprinkle on the smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning or rotating the pans several times to ensure that one doesn’t get burnt or under cooked. Cook until crispy. After the chips have been taken out of the oven, sprinkle the salt on top and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 35
Carbohydrates: 2 g
Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Protein: 0.6 g
Sodium: 120 mg
Sugar: 1.2 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
12.4 % RDA vitamin C
- 2 zucchini
- 2 tbsp olive oil in a spray bottle
- 3 tsp smoked paprika
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp pepper
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you’re using a convection oven, be sure to set the oven on true convection. If your oven does not have this option, rotate the pans once or twice during the baking time to ensure that one side doesn’t get burnt or undercooked.
- Prepare two 12 x 17 cookie sheet pans by lining with foil and placing wire racks on top of the pan so that the zucchini can be placed on them. The foil catches the extra spices and the wire racks allows the air to get under the zucchini chips, making them extra crispy. (If you're wondering what wire racks to use, metal drying racks or a wire rack from a toaster oven works too!)
- Slice the zucchini into thin slices. If you have a mandolin, set it to ⅛th -inch thick. (If you are slicing by hand be sure not to slice the zucchini too thin as this will cause them to burn easier!)
- In a bowl, spray olive oil on zucchini and mix well to make sure that it is evenly distributed. Then place the slices on the wire racks in the pans, and sprinkle on the smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning or rotating the pans several times to ensure that one doesn’t get burnt or under cooked. Cook until crispy. After the chips have been taken out of the oven, sprinkle the salt on top and enjoy!