Root Veggie Chips Recipe – Healthy Lunch Idea for Kids
Serve up a taste of fall with these colorful, nutritious baked chips made from a rainbow of root veggies.
Folate, vitamin C, beta carotene, antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber, enzymes… these are just a few reasons why including root veggies in your diet is beneficial. And if there is one way that may be the easiest for kids to love, it’s sliced thinly and baked, just like chips! These are so delicious, you’ll want to make plenty for everyone.
What Veggies Can You Use for Veggie Chips?
The root veggies we used for our chips included:
- Yucca
- Sweet Potato
- Turnip
- Rutabaga
- Golden Beet
- Parsnip
- Russet Potato
- Red Beet
Root Veggie Chips Recipe
How to Make Root Veggie Chips
To turn your root veggies into chips is easy. First, we washed, peeled, and sliced them as thin as we could. We used a mandolin, which is actually the best way to get uniform thickness. This helps in baking because you don’t want some thin slices and some thick ones. The thin ones become burned while the thick ones never cook through. However, I hate the mandolin! As I posted yesterday on Instagram, the mandolin seriously took a huge chunk out of my finger! I would NOT recommend letting your kids use the mandolin. I’m totally regretting letting myself use it!
After you have your slices, then place all your veggies in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Mix it around until both sides are coated with olive oil.
Arrange your slices on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Check occasionally. You want the slices to be dry and crispy, but not burned!
Then, serve with lunch! This is a great way to get some vegetables in your kids at lunch, or even as a healthy snack. They pack well, so you can send them to school too!
As always, we love your feedback!
Root Veggie Chips
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash, peel and thinly slice vegetables (to 1/8 inch or thinner).
- Place all veggie slices in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
- Arrange slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until your veggies are crispy, but not burned!
Nutrition
Let us know if you try these and what your kids thought of it! Someday, we will compile a “kids favorites” list, and I have a feeling this will be on it!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Mandolins can be hazardous! Hope you heal soon! Also, you could buy some cut resistant gloves they sell them on Amazon for under 20.00 if you use your mandolin a lot it might be worth it.
Thanks Amber-I need those gloves! this is my second kitchen accident in a few months- the first one, I cut a tendon and had to have surgery, all from the lid of a tin can.
Amy, some Mandolin come with a root veggie holder. If not, don’t slice until the end of the root, use those for soup or stew !
I don’t know are you a vegetarian , if not you can make Chinese Turnip Soup. If you wish it is more aroma, go to the Chinese supermarket to buy some dried octopus or cuttlefish – optional. Wash 1 small one and cut into 1″ and crush some peppercorns and simmer both for 1 hr. Then add in any bones and turnips that have diced, cook until they are tender, season it ! Or Use Pressure cooker to cook the dried octopus or cuttlefish for 10 mins, stand for 1/2 hr, then add in all ingredients to cook to tender. Please don’t add in carrot, we used to do that but it seems both — carrot and turnip together will give out bad toxic to us. You can throw all and cook but to me this way the soup will taste much better and much aroma.
How long do these keep? Storage advice?
Kristin- This is always the hardest question for me to answer, because my kids can be little piglets. We hardly ever have leftovers.
My best advice would actually be to store them in a paper bag (an airtight container would re-moisturize them and leave them soft, not crispy).
Then, I would only keep them for a few days max. Maybe 3-4 days.
Thanks for sharing. It seems like a very simple way of adding more healthy food to kid’s lunch boxes. Nice post.
Can these be done using carrots too?
I haven’t tried it Jolene- but let us know if you do!
Do you have experience doing these in a dehydrator?
I don’t Dana- but I did just buy a dehydrator last fall and can’t wait to try it.
Any idea of the carb content on a serving? My nephew has type one diabetes and this sounds like a good alternative!
How do you get these crisp without them burning. I’ve tried these and they burned. I was watching them too.
Great idea! My third grader was “complaning” that he has the healthiest lunch in his class because he is the only one not having chips or cookies on snack time.
I had the same accident with my mandolin, now, everytime I use it I start sweating!
Could you do these with a dehydrator?
I haven’t tried it Danielle. However, I understand you can, but boil them first. Here are some instructions
http://www.livestrong.com/article/540953-how-to-make-crispy-potatoes-in-a-food-dehydrator/
LOL Sylvia- I Hate the mandolin now. lol
Honestly Tammy – it took me several times making these before they turned out perfect. Make sure your chips are dry (no water), and then test them at different intervals. But most of all- PRACTICE PRACTICE!
@Melissa- Depends on the weight and which roots you are using.. but it would be the same as the veggie itself. You can look it up on nutritiondata.self.com
I know this is s VERY longtime after the original question about calculating carbs, etc., but I feel compelled to tell you, Amy, your answer is WRONG. Comparing fresh raw vegetables to these crisps is olike comparing apples to oranges. The fresh, raw veggies contain their natural amount of water, which changes the weight of the serving size. Once you bake the veggies into crisps and remove the weight of the water, a serving of the same weight as raw will contain much more veggies and, consequently, far more carbs per serving. If you’re not a nutritionist or don’t refer to one, it’s best not to give nutritional advice. You could (certainly unintentionally) send a brittle diabetic’s blood glucose skyrocketing.
I’ve used a mandolin for years and wouldn’t be without it in the kitchen. I bought one after working in a summer camp in France where the chef used one rather than a food processor even though he was preparing food for 70+ people at a time. It is REALLY important to use the holder they provide (and use it correctly) in order to save shredding your fingers. The only time I’ve ever hurt myself when I was using my slicer was when I didn’t bother using the holder. The ones with a V-shaped blade seem to work much better than the ones with the blade simply at an angle.
GET the cut resistant gloves!!! They are so worth it. I paid $15 for my pair from Amazon (I have the Showa 540, the listing doesn’t say so but they are food safe, I checked) and I tell ya they saved my hands when I sliced **40 POUNDS** of apples on my mandoline to can apple pie filling. I chucked the hand guard in a drawer and I keep the gloves rubberbanded to the mandoline.
BTW, save the silicone packets that come in the box with shoes, electronics, etc. Slip a few inside one of those little muslin teabags and drop that in your container of chips – they’ll stay crispier. (They are not poisonous, they say “do not eat” because the granules absorb the liquid in your digestive tract and can cause a blockage.)
Thanks for the recipe; it certainly looks really good – but I am wondering how much healthier they are than traditional potato chips. Oil, salt, frying … enzymes, folic acid, vitamin C and alike are not going to survive 30 min @ 400 F.
Adriana- traditional chips, being deep fried absorb so much of the oil, literally saturating the potato. These chips, with a drizzling of oil, just stays on the outside for crispiness.
To those who are concerned about the “chips” burning: Set the oven at 250 or 300 and let them roast for a longer time. They won’t burn if you keep an eye on them. Also, most cookie sheets warp when hotter than 350. If you use 400 degrees you need a rimmed baking sheet.
I’ve been thinking to try homemade chips because in the store they’re pretty expensive. This recipe is so easy that I finally got the courage to try it. Let you know my final result!! Thanks a lot!
Anyone tried to use the slicer accessory plate that comes with a food processor? I had a mandolin, but it broke the 2nd time I used it, and it was a present, so I haven’t looked into buying a new one. I know the food processor slicer can do mushrooms and sponge-y produce pretty well, but root veggies are thick and dense…hence the question 🙂 These look deelish!
Megan- as long as it’s wide enough, it would work great! If I had that plate, I would for sure prefer it to the mandolin.. too many accidents with the mandolin!
There is no statement of how many servings in the recipe. Is this for the usual four servings?
I’m a diabetic and going to try making veggie chips for the first time to reduce the fat and carbs in my snacks. Your nutritional info gives the carbs and fiber per serving, but does not give a serving size. What good is that? Am I supposed to guess?
Oh, and by the way, I’ve been using various mandolines for most of thirty yeas. The only time I ever got cut was when I went against the written directions and common sense and DID NOT use the finger guard. The finger guard may be a little awkward, but not as much as trying to cook, type, clean, etc. with a bandage on a finger/thumb you can’t apply pressure to.
What is with people being rude?! If a reader is diabetic, it’s their job to do their own due diligence when following a recipe. Some people just need to look at them selves and ask” why so serious”? You yourself are responsible for what you eat .. not the author. Do what needs to be done yourself Lorraine geeeez.. be nice! !
Thank you, the reviews are very helpful, so you want this to be easy, it looks easy and fun.
It looks good for me but I don’t know what about my kids. They don’t like potatoes much.