Over the past week I have seen my Grey Zucchini plant start to go crazy which means it is zucchini eating season! This year I did a better job spreading out my summer squash plantings. I have three plants (Grey Zucchini, Lemon Squash, and Patisson Strie Melange) which I planted about 2 weeks apart. Right now my Greg Zucchini is the one that is starting to produce tons of light green beauties and we are eating them like crazy to keep up with them. Last weekend we didn’t get to eating a few of them and more are ready to be picked on the plant so I turned to my dehydrator to help me make good use of my zucchini. Zucchini chips are a healthy, delicious way to have a tasty snack on hand for when the munchies strike and preserves the flavor of in-season squash. Also, is super easy to do!
Step One:
Thinly slice zucchini (a little less then 1/4 in. thick) and lay in a single layer on the dehydrator rack. (The thickness of the slices will determine how long you will need to dry them.)
Step Two:
Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on each sliced round of zucchini.
Step Three:
Set the dehydrator at the right temperature for vegestables (mine was set at 135 degrees) and dehydrate for several hours. Since each deydrator is different check on your chips every couple of hours or every hour toward the end. You will know that they are done when they feel leathery. They should not feel wet, yet they should not be super crispy either. We are not going for potato chip texture as these chips are more chewy than crispy but they must be dry enough that they won’t mold.
Step Four:
Store in an airtight container. These will keep for several months if dried properly.
There you go! Another way to enjoy the bountiful zucchini harvest!
This post is linked to Little House in the Suburbs,Carnival of Home Preserving, Whole Foods Wednesday, Frugally Sustainable, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Beyond the Peel, Simple Lives Thursday, and Your Green Resource.
8:44 am on July 27th, 2012
Great post! My children will eat these in place of potato chips if I sprinkle a little seasoned salt on them before I dry them. Thank you for sharing this post at the Carnival of Home Preserving!
10:02 am on July 27th, 2012
I will be trying this out this week to save for later in the season. My family is getting a bit tired of grilled zucchini. Thanks for sharing.
8:31 am on July 28th, 2012
LOL, I tried slicing my zucchini with a mandoline and they ended up as thin as paper. Intensely zucchini-flavored paper. They were good!
Since there wasn’t enough to bite into, I just placed them on my tongue–kinda felt like eating a communion wafer. . . . Next time I’ll try slicing them to the thickness in your photos.
8:47 pm on July 29th, 2012
Holly,hehe! A communion wafer! Thanks for the letting me know about the mandoline! I will be more specific about the thickness. Thanks for stopping by!
8:39 am on August 1st, 2012
What a great idea! Now I have something to do with all the squash in my farm baskets. Thanks for sharing
Pinning!
3:14 pm on August 1st, 2012
I saw this post on Whole Food Wednesdays. I never thought of doing that with my dehydrator; what a cool idea. Yet one more way to use the zucchini that takes over our kitchen in the summer. Great post, thanks for sharing!
10:58 am on August 3rd, 2012
I have been wanting a dehydrator for year…now I really want one! YUM! Thank you for sharing with us at Healthy 2Day Wednesdays! Hope to see you next week
7:54 pm on August 26th, 2012
I like my zucchini chips spiced up and dried super crispy. Pickle flavored zucchini chips sound weird but taste good. Spicy hot dried zucchini snack chips are my favorite.