How to Make Crispy, Crunchy (and Nutritious!) Beet Chips

Beets are a quintessential summer ingredient. You may serve grilled beets at your next cookout or toss crispy beet greens in your lunchtime salad. But did you know you can also enjoy this colorful produce as a tasty snack? Today, we’re going to show you how to bake up crispy, crunchy (and healthy!) beet chips.

Guess what: Beets are even more flavorful and delicious when you grow them yourself or buy them fresh at the farmers market. Learn more about the root veggie in our ultimate guide to beets.

Taste the Rainbow

To add extra flair to your dish, look for different colored beets. These juicy roots come in magenta, yellow, white and even striped varieties that will make for a beautiful rainbow of chips. They’ll also taste delicious in these unbeatable beet recipes.

How to Make Crispy Beet Chips

You may have seen beet chips in the snack section at your grocery store. We’ll show you how to make your own.

Ingredients

• 4 large beets, washed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Step 1: Prep for baking

Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside for later.

Step 2: Slice ’em up

The key when making beet chips—or, really, any kind of chips—is to slice them as thinly possible. If you have a mandoline slicer, put it on a thin setting, then carefully slice the beets into rounds. Alternatively, you can use a sharp chef’s knife to slice up the produce.

Editor’s Tip: Make sure you use cut-resistant gloves to keep your fingers safe. It’s an important step in mandoline safety!

Step 3: Let them sweat

If your beets are fresh, they probably have quite a bit of moisture in them, which can lead to soggy chips—no, thanks! You can coax some of the water out with an easy process called sweating.

Simply arrange the beet slices on a paper towel or cutting board, then sprinkle a layer of salt over them. Let them sit for 10 minutes or so, then dab up the moisture that’s beading on the surface. Flip them over and repeat the process. If you’re craving a crunchy chip ASAP, try our best-loved potato chip brand.

Step 4: Season the chips

Once you’ve sweated out the excess moisture, toss the beet slices in the oil and sprinkle them with salt. If you want to switch things up, you can also flavor them with pepper, rosemary or chives.

Step 5: Bake!

Lay the chips in a single layer on your prepared baking sheets. Bake them in the oven for 25 minutes, then flip them over. Bake for another 20 minutes or until crispy and starting to brown around the edges.

Keep an eye on your beets toward the end of the timer, as they’re prone to over-crisping. Let the chips cool for a few minutes to really crisp up.

Did you know you can make homemade chips with a spiralizer, too? Here’s how.

How to Enjoy Beet Chips

Like most fresh chips, these beet chips are best enjoyed immediately, but you can also put them in an airtight container to eat later. However, be warned they might lose some of their addictive crunch.

Many people have no problem devouring these crispy little wafers plain, but they’d also be delicious with some kind of dip—maybe one of these cheesy beauties? Yum.

If you have more beets than you know what to do with, learn more about cooking ’em here.

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