Air Fryer Zucchini Chips

At a glance

What stands out: Try air fryer zucchini chips and you’ll never open another bag of boring potato chips. Try them and you’ll see what we mean! They’re crispy, salty, but still good for you.

How long it takes: 17 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: air fryer, knife or mandolin, paper towels
Servings: 2

Surprising Veggie Chips

It’s probably pretty presumptuous to claim that zucchini chips will replace potato chips in your life. We admit that. But really? Try these air fryer zucchini chips and you’ll see what we mean.

Zucchini chips are crisp, lightly golden brown, buttery tasting, rich. These are chips, not breaded fries. No breading, no cheese, no egg, no cholesterol, no gluten. Just zucchini and your air fryer. Air fryer, we love you! You make us feel so happy and satisfied. Will you marry us?

About Zucchini

Zucchini is a good-for-you vegetable. Really good! According to Healthline, zucchini has loads of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, especially in the dark green skin. It’s so low in calories, it’s practically a “free” food, and it has lots of fiber which promotes digestion.

Straightforward zucchini chips

This recipe is simple, more of a technique. You can easily transform a humble green summer squash into irresistible chips with the help of your air fryer.

Is your garden overflowing with a zillion zucchini? Reliable! We see lots of chips in your future.

Air fryer zucchini chips also happen to be keto and Whole30 compliant, non-dairy, vegan, gluten-free, and all that good stuff.

What goes in

• Zucchini: Start off with one medium sized zucchini (about a half pound) but you’ll almost certainly want to make more because the chips are so good!
• Olive Oil: Just one teaspoon of this heart-lighter oil is all you need. You could also use avocado oil, if you prefer.
• Salt and Pepper: Sprinkle it on to taste. You may want to experiment with other seasonings, too.

How it comes together

Slice the zucchini. Begin by slicing a zucchini into thin rounds, about ⅛ inch thick. We usually use a mandoline but a good sharp knife works, too. The outer skin of zucchini squash is tender and there’s no need to remove it. In fact, the skin contains most of the antioxidants found in zucchini. Just wash the zucchini well and it’s ready to cook.

Need a Mandoline?

We love using a mandoline (but be careful!) for many recipes. This is a great one and makes straight or crinkle cuts, and julienne cuts (reliable for fries!).

Buy it on Amazon

Dry the zucchini. For a standby chips, pat the slices dry with a clean towel or paper towel to remove excess water. Remember the mantra: Dry = crispy.

Season. Toss the slices in a bowl with a bit of oil and season with salt and pepper.

Air fry the zucchini chips. Arrange the zucchini slices on the rack of your air fryer, in a single layer, and air fry them for five minutes. Shake them to flip them over, air fry for five more minutes, shake one more time, and let them cook a couple more minutes.

They should be golden brown and crispy. If not, stick them back in for a couple more minutes. Don’t burn them though!

Enjoy them right away!

Dip Recipes

If you want, make a dip to use with the zucchini chips. Try this from-scratch French onion dip (we've made it a little healthier for you) or lighter ranch dressing. French fry dipping sauce is tasty (it’s good on French fries, too). Lately, we’ve been loving bang bang sauce and yum yum sauce!

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Experiment with seasonings. Try taco seasoning or chili powder. Or go more to the sweet side with cinnamon, or apple pie spice.
• Use yellow summer squash instead of zucchini, or a mix of the two.
• Try them with no oil added (they won’t be quite as crispy), or use a different type of oil such as grapeseed or avocado oil.
• Rather have breaded zucchini fries? Try these air fryer zucchini fries with chili ranch dip. They are good!
• Not a fan of zucchini? Try air fryer Brussels sprouts, air fryer green beans, or air fryer tater tots.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Prep the zucchini ahead of time. Slice it, put the slices between paper towels to drain, and refrigerate. You can do this up to a day in advance.

Keeping leftovers

Well, you probably won’t have leftovers. One person can easily eat one whole zucchini prepared this way. If, by some crazy circumstance, you do have some chips leftover, cool them completely and store in a covered container. Re-crisp them briefly in your air fryer for a minute or two, if necessary.

• Yield: 2
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 12 minutes
• Total: 17 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini (about ½ pound)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, or to taste

Method

1. Slice zucchini into ⅛ -inch rounds. A mandoline works great. For best results, pat zucchini slices with paper towels to dry them.
2. In a small bowl, toss zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Turn air fryer to 400ºF. Put zucchini slices on rack in a single layer.
4. Cook 5 minutes, shake, cook an additional 5 minutes, shake and cook 2 minutes more, or until zucchini is golden brown and dry.

Notes

Get a head start: If desired, you can prep the zucchini ahead of time. Slice it, put the slices between paper towels to drain, and refrigerate. You can do this up to a day in advance.

Change the seasoning. Experiment with seasonings. Try taco seasoning or chili powder. Go more to the sweet side with cinnamon, or apple pie spice.

Use different squash. Try yellow summer squash instead of zucchini, or a mix of the two.