RECIPE: Raw “Breaded” Italian Zucchini Chips

If you follow me on Instagram, chances are you saw the teaser for these last week! This crispy little snack is super addictive like your favorite bag of chips, but without the oil or guilt. Willow and I couldn’t stop eating them right off the dehydrator trays – so they’re also kid-approved!

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

They’re cheezy, zesty, and slightly buttery…and did I mention that they’re addicting? And hey, if you’ve got a picky eater, I promise the veggie taste goes completely undetected!

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

RAW “BREADED” ITALIAN ZUCCHINI CHIPS

{raw, oil-free, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free}

What you Need:

  • Three small bowls, tongs, whisk, dehydrator.
  • 2 small-medium organic zucchinis
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened, homemade, raw almond milk (or your choice of plant-based milk)
  • 1 teaspoon coconut aminos*
  • 4 Tablespoons blanched almond flour*
  • 2 Tablespoons unfortified nutritional yeast*
  • 1 heaping teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

* Can omit the coconut aminos and use a pinch of Himalayan salt in the breading instead.

* We use Honeyville’s blanched almond flour and buy it for a great deal at Costco. You can replace the almond flour and/or nutritional yeast with homemade (or store-bought) vegan Parmesan. You can find my recipe for a simple homemade Parmesan HERE (omit the nutritional yeast if you can’t have it). I have made it both ways, but prefer the almond flour-nutritional yeast combo as it provides a perfect “cheesy” flavor and the finely ground almond flour sticks to the zucchini really well.

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

How To:

  1. Wash, peel, and thinly slice your zucchini. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the milk and coconut aminos.
  3. In a second bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients; break up any clumps from the almond flour or Parmesan.
  4. Fill a third bowl with warm water.
  5. Using tongs (or fingers if you don’t mind getting a little messy), dip zucchini slices, one at a time, in the almond milk mixture. Tap any excess off and then dip it in the “breading” mixture to coat the slice evenly. Place the slice on a mesh dehydrator sheet and then dip your tongs in the warm water to remove any excess breading. Tap excess water off and repeat this process until all the slices are coated. I highly recommend whisking the “breading” after every few slices to break up any clumps.
  6. Place trays in the dehydrator and set it at 115° for 8-12 hours. Times will vary depending on thickness of zucchini slices or how much “breading” you used. You’re looking for a crispy texture.
  7. Store any chips that you don’t eat in a glass jar with a lid….but be warned…you will most likely just eat them right off the tray!

I realize that the process to make these can be a bit time consuming with dipping each individual slice in the breading, but this ensures that they’re evenly coated…you can thank my perfectionist tendencies for that! You could try throwing the breading ingredients in a Ziploc bag and shaking the slices in there, but I cannot vouch for the results. If you make these, please let me know! Come back and leave me some feedback or tag me on Instagram 🙂

UPDATE!! My best friend gave this recipe a try using the oven and my suggestion to use aquafaba. She omitted the almond milk and used just aquafaba (and breading recipe) and baked it at 175° F for 30 minutes and then at 400° for another 30 minutes. Oven times will vary depending on how thin you slice the zucchini. She recommends checking on them after 15 minutes. Thanks, Jen!! xo

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

RECIPE: Raw "Breaded" Italian Zucchini Chips

Thank you for stopping by!

Comments

28 responses to “RECIPE: Raw “Breaded” Italian Zucchini Chips”

  1. tedanddiana Avatar

    As soon as I can get my hands on organic zucchini I’m making these! I know you’ve said it before but I forgot to write it down – what brand of unfortified nutritional yeast do you use? Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Diana!! I think you’ll really love these! We bounce between a few brands and I will usually check to see who has it for the best price. There’s one through Vitacost that we order occasionally and the other two are Dr. Fuhrman’s and Sari Foods….Here are links to them on Amazon:
      http://goo.gl/zCs3vd
      http://goo.gl/2VkNbn

      I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend!! xoxo

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Ken Avatar
    Ken

    Hello! Would you mind sharing the brand of your dehydrator? As someone who has zero experience with dehydrators, what is the difference between a dehydrator and an oven than can be set to as low as say 115? Sorry if this is a dumb question 🙂 Thanks!

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Hi! We have an Excalibur and love it! My family all chipped in on a refurbished one for our wedding seven years ago – definitely worth the money! And totally not a dumb question!!! If your oven can be set that low, then you don’t even need to worry about getting a dehydrator! We have a pretty crummy oven and are unable to set it at a temperature that would keep the food “raw.” I do like the dehydrator though for the mesh trays which provide even “cooking” and doesn’t require flipping.

      Let me know if you try this! 🙂

      Like

      1. Ken Avatar
        Ken

        My oven cannot but my mom’s can go as low as 120. I will visit her soon and try these in her oven. We’ll change ours so I’m thinking maybe we can get one that can go that low. I heard there are also ovens with dehydration function, I wonder how well those work. I don’t care if they are raw or not, my only concern is to get my son eat veggies, so do you think I can make these in the oven? They have to turn out crispy because that’s the only way he would eat, sigh 😦 then I can pass them as crackers 🙂 thanks!

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      2. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
        Be Sol-Ful Living

        My mom actually has an oven with a dehydrator function…I’ll have to ask her if she’s used that…but I’m pretty sure you could make these chips in the oven, but be sure to flip them halfway through. I’m not sure how long to bake them for…I’ll try and run a trial soon and let you know. And if you’re not concerned whether they’re raw or not, you could probably just bake them at your oven’s lowest temp and keep an eye on them.
        I hear you! My daughter needs that crunch/crispy factor, so these were perfect 🙂

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    2. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Hi! I hope you get this comment! My best friend made these today in the oven and they turned out great! She omitted the almond milk and used aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) instead…baked it for 30 minutes at 175F and then another 30 minutes at 400F.

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      1. Ken Avatar
        Ken

        Hi! Thanks so much for letting me know! I will try as soon as I get a chance. Actually I have four giant zucchinis from our garden waiting to be used but I am just too tired 🙂 when you get a chance do you mind sharing with me the brand and model of your mom’s oven (that is if she is happy with it)? Thanks!

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      2. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
        Be Sol-Ful Living

        Of course! As for the oven, my Mom really likes it, but her only complaint is that the depth isn’t as deep (probably due to the convection fan). She has the Kitchen Aid Gas Range Architect Series II and she hasn’t used the dehydrator function yet, but I guess it can be set as low as 100 degrees and will shut off automatically after 12 hours (or you can turn off when needed). Sorry for the lengthy (and delayed) response! Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂

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      3. Ken Avatar
        Ken

        Thanks for your detailed response! We will buy a new oven in a couple of months but I am always skeptical of 2 in 1 gadgets 🙂 I will check this one out!
        Btw–my zucchini chips trial was an epic fail 😦 I forgot to grease the rack I baked them on, so it was impossible to remove them. I did the second batch on a parchment paper but I guess I cut them too thin, they turned out like paper! They still tasted good but my son would not eat them as they were. Sigh! The kitchen smelled so good, though. I’m sure they taste great if made properly!

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      4. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
        Be Sol-Ful Living

        Oh, no!!! I am SO sorry that they didn’t turn out that well for you 😦 Such a bummer! I appreciate the feedback.

        Like

  3. Jenn Avatar

    Oh my gosh, those look so super crispy!! LOVE!

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Eeeeep! Thank you, Jenn!!! Hope you have a great holiday weekend! xo

      Like

  4. Strength and Sunshine Avatar

    YES!!!!!!!!!!! I was waiting for these 🙂 The wonderful things we can make in our dehydrators! I think I would be snacking on these 24/7 ❤

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Awwww!! YAY!!!! Right?! I’d love to hear some of your favorite dehydrator recipes…I’m always looking for new ones! These are dangerously addicting. Happy weekend, my friend!! xo ❤

      Like

  5. Angela @ Canned Time Avatar

    Oh my, my. I so need this for my time off this weekend Mandy….do you deliver? I miss my dehydrator now ;(

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      I can’t tell you how much I wish we lived closer to one another!!! How fun would that be?! Wishing you a beautiful weekend, Angela! Big hugs! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Natalie Avatar

    So many regrets about getting rid of that dehydrator now because these look so crunchy and amazing! Very additive I’m sure, but it’s just zucchini so I’m totally fine with that. Even the toasty brown color is perfect, your perfectionism and patience pays off 🙂 Need to attempt in the oven!

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Right?! When we made our first trial, I plowed through over half of the batch for breakfast and at first I felt a little guilty, but then I said, it’s just zucchini! Veggies for breakfast! Ha! I’m going to try making zucchini fries in the oven with this breading recipe and see how that turns out. I’m pretty sure these chips would work in the oven…I’ll have to try it! Let me know if you do 🙂 xo

      Like

  7. veggiesdontbite Avatar

    What a great idea to use a dehydrator! These sound delicious Mandy! Great snack to have around. I’d be breaking out my best sauces to dip these in!

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Thank you, Sophia! I just added an update for how to make these in the oven. These definitely are a great snack to have on hand, although they disappear fast! Oh, man. I can think of a lot of sauce recipes of yours that would pair perfectly with these!! Hope you’re having a great holiday weekend! xo

      Like

  8. tedanddiana Avatar

    Hey hey hey it’s zucchini for breakfast this morning! I made these yesterday and dehydrated them overnight and they are perfect! Not only delicious (and dangerously addictive!) but so pretty! Not gonna lie – half way through the meticulous process of individually breading them I almost cheated on the rest of them and threw them in the ziploc to shake but I persevered and each one is a work of art! Hubby is stuffing them in his mouth as we speak! The breading is truly to die for! I was thinking about baked breaded fries too! Great job Mandy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for this wonderful feedback!! I am so excited to hear that you enjoyed them! And YAY for zucchini for breakfast – you can’t resist especially after waiting for so many hours! Haha!! 🙂
      Oh, man. I hear you on the process – during my trials I was so tempted to just throw it all in a Ziploc, but the breading clumps really easily if there’s too much moisture and liquid…you’re a trooper for staying strong! I laughed out loud when I read that Ted was stuffing his mouth…that makes me so happy!!!
      I ran a trial (after posting this) and tried making zucchini fries in the oven – so they were cut thicker – the breading fell off as soon as I picked one up off the tray. My mom and I brainstormed and thought…AQUAFABA!! Haha!! So I was super excited to hear that Jen had so much success with the chips in the oven using aquafaba – such a magical, versatile ingredient. Anyways, this comment is way longer than I intended! Ha! Thank you, again!! Love you, friend! XOXO ❤

      Like

  9. The Vegan 8 Avatar

    Gosh, finally getting over here to comment and HOLY MOLY I would eat that entire tray Mandy, seriously!! I LOVE zucchini and one of my favorite things to eat before going vegan and oil-free was fried zucchini chips, so good but so unhealthy! I just love these and I’m definitely going to try out that oven version since I don’t have a dehydrator. That seems like a long time to cook them in the oven, they didn’t burn? I guess that is what makes them super crispy, I can’t wait to try them because they look incredibly delicious and insane!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Right?! Same here!!! They were my absolute favorite, but I would always have a tummy ache after eating them because of all the oil! It does seem like a long time in the oven, but the 30 minutes at the super low setting helps set the breading and then Jen said she baked it for another 30 at 400…but it just depends on how thin you slice your zucchini and/or how crispy you want them. She did mention in her IG post (and I did in mine) to double check them after 15 minutes. (I just went back and added that in the update). My oven requires longer baking times, so I guess it also just depends on your oven. Thank you for the comment and kind words! These really are our new favorite snack! Let me know if you ever try them 🙂
      xo

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  11. Harmony à la Carte Avatar

    I love thes Mandy. I’ve made something very similar but I can never get the breading to stick or the crisp I’m going after because I don’t have a dehydrator. I saw your tip on Instagram about baking so I’ll have to try it.

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Living Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful Living

      Thank you, sweet friend!! Right?! Same here…the breading would always fall off as soon as I picked up the zucchini. I can’t vouch for the baking results myself since it’s too hot to use an oven here, but I’ve had two people report back to me and say that the aquafaba (omit milk) worked like a charm! Let me know if you give these a try! xoxoxo

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