Baked Zucchini Chips – Gluten-Free & Vegan

When I am out with friends at an Italian restaurant, I really miss having that tasty fried zucchini stick appetizer, so I decided to make my own healthy gluten and dairy free version. The thinner you slice the zucchini rounds, the crisper they will be. These babies are baked, not fried, so eat as many as you would like. Try them with some warm marinara sauce and vegan parmesan cheese. MANGIA!

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 large ZUCCHINI, sliced very thin
1/4 cup CASHEW MILK (or any alternative nut milk)
SEASONING
    1/2 cup gluten-free FLOUR (almond works nice)
    1/2 cup NUTRITIONAL YEAST
    1/2 teaspoon GARLIC POWDER
    1/4 teaspoon HIMILAYAN SALT
    Ground CAYENNE PEPPER to taste (1/4 teaspoon)
PARCHMENT paper
Paper TOWELS
Spray can of OLIVE OIL
Optional: Vegan PARMASAN CHEESE

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees F
PREPARE ZUCCHINI
- PLACE paper towels on a plate or flat baking pan
- SLICE zucchini as thin as possible (1/4″ or less). You can leave the skin on.
- LAY zucchini slices on the paper towels and SPRINKLE with salt
- Let the slices sit for about 10 minutes to draw out excess liquid
- PRESS rounds with a paper towel to BLOT up any excess liquid
- PUT dried zucchini rounds in a bowl (call this Assembly Step #1)
While the zucchini is doing its thing to get out the excess water, in a gallon size plastic bag, PREPARE seasoning mix of flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste. (You can use a bowl but I find the ‘shake’ method covers nicely.) Set to the side. (Assembly Step #2)
POUR milk in a medium bowl (Assembly Step #3)
PREPARE a baking pan (I reuse the one I dried the zucchini on) with parchment paper (Assembly Step #4)
ASSEMBLE
- MAKE AN ASSEMBLY LINE of all the ingredients starting with Step #1 the bowl of zucchini, Step #2 the bowl of milk, Step #3 the bag of seasoning, and finally Step #4 the baking pan
- With a sharp fork (or a clean hand), DIP the dried zucchini in the milk
- Then TOSS the milked zucchini into the seasoning bag and flip around until the slice is coated on both sides
- With a sharp fork (or a clean dry hand) remove the zucchini slice from the seasoning bag and LAY it on the parchment paper in the baking pan
- Repeat steps 1 through 4 until all the slices are coated.
- LIGHTLY SPRAY each slice with olive oil, ensuring not to remove seasoning
BAKE for 15 minutes
TURN over each slice and LIGHTLY SPRAY again if needed
BAKE another 15 minutes until everything is golden brown. NOTE: cooking time will vary depending on how thin you sliced your zucchini rounds, so keep an eye on them so that they don’t get burnt.
COOL the rounds on the parchment paper for a few minutes before removing
SERVE hot with your favorite tomato sauce and optionally sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese
Note: Try to eat them all while hot because they got soggy when they cool