A few years ago, I set out to recreate a childhood favorite, fried zucchini chips, sans the oil. Like most Americans, I am watching my waistline and avoiding excess calories wherever and whenever possible. That’s why the invention of the air fryer was like manna from heaven. The ability to achieve the crispy golden taste and texture of frying without any oil, is amazing!
Add to that the fact that during the growing season you can purchase locally grown produce at fantastic prices and Voila! both your wallet and your waistline are happy.
Seasonal produce is a FANTASTIC way to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your food budget!
Zucchini chips are:
- Crispy
- Refreshing
- Salt free
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Oil free
- A great way to use zucchini!
- Perfect for parties!
- Incredibly inexpensive to make!
We like to lightly bread zucchini with gluten free flour and then stick it in the air fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer, no worries! You can just place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned.
Step 1: Slice zucchini into even rounds
Each slice should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Don’t get them too thin, or they will burn. Try to keep them all the same, general thickness.
Step 2: Dip each piece into a small bowl of water.
If you happen to have some aquafaba on hand, it works as a great binder. If not, plain old water will provide enough moisture to make the flour stick to the slices of zucchini.
Step 3: Lightly bread each piece
Roll each piece of zucchini in the seasoned GF flour mixture. You don’t need a thick coating of the flour. If there’s too much on the zucchini, the flour will just fall off during baking or air frying anyway. So, don’t go overboard. You can get thin, crispy slices (like chips) with just a little flour.
Step 4: Air fry or oven bake
Air fry at 400 degrees for 18 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Oven bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, turning half way through. No matter how you choose to cook them, watch them carefully after they start to show a hint of brown. They will burn quickly.
Step 5: Enjoy plain or topped with salsa or marinara sauce
Ingredients:
- Fresh zucchini
- 1 cup gluten free flour (I used 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill GF flour and 1/2 cup almond flour)
- 2 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp salt free seasoning (your choice) a small bowl of water
Directions:
Make Seasoned Flour: In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of GF flour with the rest of the seasonings. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Slice Zucchini into even rounds, about 1/4 of an inch thick. Dip each round briefly in water. This will insure that the coating sticks. Drench in the seasoned flour mixture one piece at a time.
Air Fry: Place in air fryer and fry at 400 degree for 18 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Check to see that the chips are lightly brown and slightly crispy. If not, return to air fryer for another 3-5 minutes. Watch them carefully! They will burn quickly once they start to brown!
Traditional Oven Directions: Place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, turning half way through when the first side has browned. Watch them carefully! They will burn quickly once they begin to brown at the edges.
Serve piping hot with salsa or marinara.
Serves 6.
For a free, downloadable PDF of this recipe, click here.
