Basic Summer Squash Chips Recipe Using Zucchini

This is our squash chips recipe using two different preparation techniques depending on your personal taste and preferences.

For years we always made squash chips the same way, by mandolin slicing different types of summer squash and dehydrating them with coconut oil, sea salt and seasonings. This creates a potato chip-looking shape that is crunchy and slightly chewy with a delicious mild sweet taste.

We also, however, discovered another way to make them if you don't prefer hand slicing through 9 or more zucchini. Our other new method is to process the squash with herbs and spices and then add in soaked chia seeds to create another type of chip.

This version makes it easier to add in other ingredients and herbs if you so desire.

By far, our favorite types of squash to use when making raw chips are the summer squash varieties, including zucchini (or "courgettes"), yellow crookneck squash and other summer squash heirlooms. Summer squashes, when dried provide a deliciously concentrated sweet taste and unique flavor that is sometimes not as apparent when steamed as a vegetable.

These are squash species that are tender and more edible in their raw state, as opposed to hard winter squashes that typically need to be cooked first. Although some people do use other types of squash, like raw butternut, or even root tubers, like raw yams or potatoes, we find that they can be harder to digest as a raw dehydrated snack.

Making a squash chips recipe is an excellent way to use up all the summer squash which can grow prolifically in backyard garden space. They also make a much healthier alternative over the standard potato and corn chip variations that are filled with refined vegetable oils and transfats. Having a batch of raw dehydrated chips on hand makes them a convenient snack food to reach for when you get the craving for something salty to munch on.

In this recipe we use zucchini squash, but you can use yellow summer squashes as well. For these seedier types, however, it is best to slice them in half and remove the seeds first as they become hard to chew on when dried. Zucchini does not need to be seeded and can be sliced whole.

Squash looses a lot of water content when dehydrated and will shrink up substantially, almost 8 times less than its original size. The key to creating the perfect squash chips recipe is in the thickness that you slice the chip. This should be about 1/8 an inch thick, more or less will make it too hard or so thin it will disintegrate. The thickness can be easily adjusted if you are using mandolin slicer.

This recipe takes up about 6 Excalibur dehydrate trays, but of course you can always fill up your dehydrator if you happen to have a 9-tray model.

This is our original squash chips recipe that can be expanded upon over time by utilizing different herbs and spices or creating savory sauces that can be brushed on. You can virtually make any kind of chip you can think of and we have made them all over the years. This may include BBQ chips, pizza chips, curried chips or even raw vegan ranch-style chips.

At some point, we will share some of these recipes, but for now this basic recipe is a great place to start.

• 9 med sized squash
• 1/4C coconut oil
• 1t sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
• 1t black pepper

1. Slice your squash into chip-like pieces using either a mandolin slicer or a food processor with the blade-slicing attachment. (This is best achieved if you slice the chips at an angle as you will generate more surface area and bigger chip pieces.) Slice close to 1/8 inch thick.
2. Transfer your bowl of sliced squash onto dehydrator trays with screens, bunching them close together as they will shrink considerably.
3. Brush your chips with coconut oil using a pastry or basting brush.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place into a dehydrator on medium setting or at 118° F (48°C).
6. It is best after 4-5 hours to take a metal spatula and loosen them from the screen as they sometimes tend to stick.
   
7. Dehydrate until crisp, usually about 7-8 hours.

You can store your squash chips recipe in an airtight glass jar to preserve freshness and keep them in a cool, dry, dark location, like a pantry or cupboard space.

Instead of slicing up your whole squash, in this recipe you will be processing your ingredients and spooning them onto dehydrator non-stick sheets.

• 4 zucchini (or seeded summer squash)
• 1/2C chia seeds (soaked in 1C pure water)
• 1/2C nutritional yeast
• 2T sun-dried tomatoes (soaked briefly and strained)
  
• 2T pizza spices
• 1t sea salt

1. Soak 1/2C dry chia seeds in 1C water, stir to avoid clumping.
2. In a food processor, process all ingredients except the soaked chia seeds.
3. Mix the chia seeds with processed ingredients together in a big bowl.
4. Allow to sit for 15 minutes for soaked chia to absorb the zucchini juice.
   
5. Place tablespoon size proportions of the mix onto your dehydrator non-stick sheet with a screen underneath. Leave enough room around edges as they will spread out some when drying.
   
6. Flip over after 4 hours onto the screen.
7. Dehydrate until crisp, usually about 7 hours.

For more raw vegan recipes or other chips and crackers, check out our sprouted rye crackers, homemade cheez its or our kale chips recipe.