How to Make Baked Beet Chips

Baked beet chips are a healthy snack, but how do you achieve a crisp chip when it isn’t fried? These are my tips to getting a crisp beet chip from the oven that I’m betting you too will be squealing over.

Hearing good news about good people makes me squeal. I mean literally squeal. EEEEEK! There she goes again. My daughter makes fun of me for all my squealing (“MOM! You do it ALL the time!) because I think in her mind squealing is just so.not.mom-ish. I mean, I’m not 13 you know.

So when I hear about the engagement of a friend who’s patiently been waiting for the question to be popped, or the news that someone FINALLY got that new job promotion, or that a friend or family member just adopted a new to them puppy aka old-dog-in-need-of-a-new-home, squealing and smiling and clasping my hands in happiness go, well, hand in hand.

So when I heard that a blogging couple I admire so much, and who had been through years of wishing and wanting and waiting, were finally blessed with the adoption of their new baby boy, you can bet I let out a squeal. And for that , I think my Smudge would approve.

So what does this have to do with beets? Well, I squeal for beets too. And this is the recipe where beets and babies meet.

The couple loving on their new bouncing baby boy is Sonja and Alex of A Couple Cooks, and if you haven’t discovered their blog filled with healthful and inspiring recipes, it’s high time you high-tailed it over to see it for yourself. With the announcement of their new baby boy (how cute is he!) a few of us are dedicating recipes for their virtual baby shower. Cue the baby blue balloons and let’s all play the oh so popular How to Diaper a Vegetable game!

The theme of this baby shower is healthful snacks, and as any new parent soon realizes, snacking is one of the main meals of the day when all you can do is keep up with a grab and go.

Here are a few more snacking ideas to celebrate the happy family of three:

Flourishing Foodie  |  Avocado and Asparagus Tartines with Basil Pesto
The Full Helping  |  Individual Strawberry Chocolate Crisps
Snixy Kitchen  |  Roasted Lemon Mint Pesto Tartines, Two Ways
This Mess Is Ours  |  Coriander & Lime Scented Cashews
Making Thyme for Health  |  Hemp Ranch Hummus
Two Red Bowls  |  Buttered Eggs on Toast, with Radish & Parsley
Cookie and Kate  |  World’s Greatest Guacamole
Dolly and Oatmeal  |  Sunshine Mung Bean Spread w/ Gluten-Free Za’atar Bread
Edible Perspective  |  Tropical Oatmeal Snack Cookies
Eat This Poem  |  Red Pepper and Walnut Hummus
Brooklyn Supper  |  Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro-Avocado Sauce
Gather & Dine  |  Muffin Tin Granola Cups with Lemon Greek Yogurt and Berries
The Fauxmartha  |  Laura’s Sunshine Crackers

And now, back to the squealing for beets.

When I was at Smith’s the other day, I was struck by the squeals again. Odd looks from other shoppers? You bet, I got ‘em. Did I care? Not one whit. Because it was the first time I’ve seen candy cane striped beets in my grocery store instead of searching for them at the farmers market. And so while everyone else was freaking out over Unicorn Frapaccinnos, there I was in the produce aisle acting like I’d just seen Santa slide down the chimney.

And that’s when I knew exactly the healthy snack I wanted to share: Baked Beet Chips in all their colorful, striped, glory.

Knowing that candy cane striped beets, or chioggas as they’re more commonly called, are typically smaller in stature than their solid-colored beet cousins, I knew adding a few more varieties to the fold would be wise. Why? Because when baked, beets shrivel to half their size. Or maybe even less. Or would that be more? Hence why I am neither a scientist nor a mathematician.

Slicing the beets very, very thinly is one of the keys to getting them crisp when not using a deep fryer. I use my mandolin to achieve a very thin slice. This is one that I’ve found as a worthy investment piece, or try this option as if you’re in need of one that’s more budget friends. I also have this hand-held version the I probably use the most often, however it works best with smaller vegetables than slicing paper thin large beets.

If you don’t have a mandolin, use a very sharp knife to very carefully and skillfully slice your beets as thinly as possible. There’s no need to peel your beets, simply scrub them well under cold water and trim off any of the rooted ends.

Homemade beet chips that crisp up with some crunch rather than steam into a limp lolly is the baked beet challenge. Here are my tips to getting a crisp beet chip:   

Having more than one baking sheet will make this process go much, much faster so if you have them at your disposal pull them all out. The baking sheets should be prepared with just the scantest bit of olive oil that will help them release from the pan after baking, but won’t steam them in oil where they’ll become too soft.

I’ve baked these beets in the oven set at 350°, 375° and 400°F and have discovered that cooking the beets on the scantily oiled sheet on the bottom rack of the oven at 400°F results in the crispest chip. I cook two sheet pans at a time and rotate halfway through.

My baking time typically comes in at 15 minutes, but I would suggest you check your beets toward the end of cooking time since all ovens are slightly different and cooking time will very much depend on the thickness of your beets

After pulling from the oven, do not move the chips from their spot on the baking sheet until they’re cooled. This I’ve found helps the chips crisp even more.

While the beets are still hot, I season them with the herb flavored flake salt so that it has a better tendency to stick to the beets since they’re still warm. I created my own flavored salt by using flake salt with crushed dried chives in this recipe but you could use any herb you desire. Rosemary, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, peppercorns, even curry. The gamut is wide and options are plentiful.

Once the beets are cooled, transfer to a platter or bowl. If the beets aren’t quite as crisp as you’d like, cool longer on a cooling rack and repeat with baking the rest of your beets.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

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4.59 from 29 votes

How to Make Baked Beet Chips

Healthful beet chips are baked in the oven and sprinkled with chive flavored sea salt for an easy, guilt-free snack.

Servings 3 -4 cups

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium to large beets
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flaked sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dried chives

Instructions

• Trim the beets of greens and the roots. Scrub the beets well under cold water, but leave the skins on. Use a mandoline to slice the beets 1/16” thin. If you don’t have a mandoline, use a very sharp knife to thinly slice the beets.
• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Drizzle a very scant amount of olive oil to a baking sheet pan, then rub the oil over the pan with your hands or a paper towel. You want this to be a very scant layer, just enough so the beets don’t stick, but not enough so they cook in the oil or they will steam instead of bake and come out limp instead of crisp. Layer the sliced beets onto the pan being careful not to overlap. You will need more than one sheet pan, and/or reuse the pans in batches of baking.
• Bake the chips on the bottom rack of the oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on how thin the beets are cut and how large they are.
• While the beets are baking, pour the salt into a small bowl and crush the dried chives into the salt. You could do this step ahead of time as the longer the herbs are in the salt, the more flavorful the salt becomes.
• Remove the rack from the oven and sprinkle with the chive salt. Allow the beets to cool on the pan, they’ll crisp as they cool. Once cool, transfer to a cooling rack to continue to dry and crisp. Repeat with the remaining slices of beets.

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