Tame the snacking monster with a batch of Air Fryer Zucchini Chips seasoned perfectly and fried until crispy. It’s a treat for your tastebuds without treating your waistline. And you can customize the fried zucchini to fit your preferences.
🍽️ Why This Works
Easy to make snack or appetizer. Slice, toss, and fry. The air fryer simplifies this dish and makes it so easy to crisp up your zucchini chips without nearly as much oil as the more traditional method of deep frying. Plus, the seasoning stays in place!
Healthy Alternative. Deep fried foods, even vegetables lose most of their nutritional value and take on the added detriment of unhealthy fats.
By air frying your foods, you will preserve more of the nutrients and use far less oil containing healthy fats.
This is a significant improvement and you end up with a low calorie snack. Air Fryer Zucchini Chips are perfect for any low carb diet such as keto, paleo, or Whole30.
A great use for zucchini. If you or your friends have ever had a huge zucchini harvest, you know how valuable this recipe will be come the end of July.
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Ingredients
📝 Ingredient Notes
Zucchini – Look for squash that is firm when lightly pressed and free of major scratches or bruising. Sometimes, this will be labeled green squash which is pretty much the same thing.
Seasoning – Paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Olive Oil – Not only does this help crisp up the zucchini chips, it also adds significant flavor. I do not recommend substituting with a neutral oil.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Mixing Bowl – You want to coat the zucchini slices all evenly in the spices and oil. The easiest way to do this is to combine everything in a mixing bowl.
Spatula – This handy tool allows you to scrape off the sides of the mixing bowl and make sure you get all the yummy spice onto your vegetables.
Air Fryer – A basket air fryer works great. We have so many great air fryer recipes on the site you will never lack for ideas of how to use this tool. We love to use our Ninja Air Fryer basket and these directions will work perfectly with your Cosori, Nuwave or Gowise. When using the toaster oven versions with trays (Instant Vortex or Cuisinart) the food will generally cook quickly.
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Slice the zucchini into 1/4” slices. Patting them dry with paper towel after slicing to remove excess moisture. The will help them crisp up even more. If you want perfect slices, use a mandolin slicer or food processor.
Step Two: In a large bowl, combine the oil and spices. Make sure your bowl is large enough for the zucchini you have sliced.
Step Three: Toss the zucchini slices in the oil. Scrape the sides of the bowl to get as much of the spices on the zucchini as possible.
Step Four: Add the zucchini in a single layer flat across the air fryer basket. If you have a rack, you can stack two layers separated by the rack. This will allow you to make more at once.
Step Five: Cook at 300°f for 20 minutes or until chips are golden brown and crispy.
Step Six: Enjoy these as a great snack alternative. Eat plain or use a dipping sauce like ranch dressing, marinara sauce or honey mustard.
All your burning questions: Can You Put Parchment Paper in Air Fryer? Can You Put Foil in the Air Fryer?
❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks
For a special touch, use a crinkle cutter to make your zucchini look more like potato chips!
A convection oven will allow you to make these en masse using an oven-safe cooling rack placed on a sheet pan, and the convection setting on 300ºF.
If you ever have a horde of snacking teens at your house this will come in handy.
You might see some recipes using the typical egg batter, flour, breadcrumbs or panko mixture. The truth is, there’s no need to use breadcrumbs to get nice and crispy zucchini chips.
This recipe is super easy and let’s you enjoy this crispy treat without added carbs.
Making sure your zucchini slices are as dry as possible is an essential factor but so is the olive oil. An even coating of olive oil will make all the difference when it comes to getting that perfect crispy texture.
If your air fryer has an issue with flying zucchini chips, we have a solution to try! This can happen when the zucchini chips are too thin or the air fryer has an extra strong fan.
Instead of laying your zucchini flat, try skewering them one inch apart on a skewer stick like what is used for grilling kabobs. This will allow air circulation while weighting down the zucchini.
🧑🍳 Storage and Reheating
These zucchini chips are best fresh. If you have leftovers and want to try using them, store at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag for up to a week.
You don’t really want a fully airtight container or they will become soft. You can toss them in the air fryer if you want to eat them hot or try to crisp them up again but it doesn’t always work.
Meal Prep
When you make a stir-fry or a different recipe and have extra zucchini, go ahead and slice it.
Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for up to a week before you make zucchini chips. How long it will keep will depend on how old it was when sliced.
If you have a huge harvest of zucchini, slice it up. Freeze the slices in freezer quality bags until you are ready for them.
Do not thaw before putting them in the air fryer. Use the frozen zucchini within two or three months.
Additions and Substitutions
Try different spices to mix things up! You might try za’atar, chili powder, cumin, ancho chili powder (for extra heat), dill, anise, or your favorite seasoning blend.
Try the same recipe with sliced yellow squash, kale, sliced mushrooms, or sliced Brussels sprouts.
Serving Suggestions
Make zucchini chips for an afternoon snack, or add it to any meal where you would eat potato chips. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, the answer is yes, zucchini chips would go great with a burger!
They make a great side for lightening up satisfying mains like this Air Fryer pork tenderloin, Instant Pot keto pork chops, or Air Fryer salmon.
Add the crispy treat to your sandwiches and salads. Dip the fried zucchini in your favorite dip, salsa or dressing.
If you aren’t sure which dip to try, consider hummus, marinara, olive tapenade, or ranch.
❓ Recipe FAQ
20 minutes at 300ºF. Since your air fryer might not have adjustable temperatures, you may need to adjust the time.
Half a cup of sliced zucchini has 14 calories. Add calories for the olive oil and that’s all you will find in this dish.
It is a low calorie snack. The exact number of calories will depend on the thickness of your slices.
Yes! You will love how crunchy and delicious these are on their own.
I remember the zucchini chips my Mom used to make with bread crumbs and they were always crunchy on the outside and mushy on the inside.
These are crisp all the way through and perfect.
While the salt does add something, if you are on a salt-limited diet try a no-salt seasoning blend instead.
The most common error is not cooking the zucchini long enough. Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your zucchini slices, the specific air fryer you are using and the number of slices you try to do at once.
For best results, cook a single layer and do not crowd your air fryer. Air fryers work by moving hot air with a fan. If the hot air can’t circulate, the food will not crisp up, so we recommend cooking these in batches.
In addition, patting your zucchini dry will help it crisp up better.
Finally, because cooking times will vary, continue cooking your zucchini chips until they reach the texture you desire.
Yes. The air fryer setting on your oven, or convection bake will both work in the same way. First, stack an oven-safe cooling rack on a sheet pan.
Then place the zucchini slices on it in a single layer with space between.
Next, cook the zucchini on this setting at 300ºF for 20 minutes, checking periodically after fifteen minutes for doneness.
Related Recipes
Air Fryer Zucchini Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 zucchinis medium size
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 300°f.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the zucchini into ¼" slices.
- Combine the oil and spices together and stir. In a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil mixture with the sliced zucchini and toss to combine.
- Using a single layer, add the zucchini to the air fryer basket in a single layer and leave room for the air to circulate around the squash.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chips are golden and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
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