These crunchy beet chips make a tasty and healthy snack that will satisfy your cravings and feed your body with healthy nutrients. Flavoured with chives and sea salt these oven-baked colourful beet chips are an irresistible treat.
Let’s start with the good news. Chips finally made their way to the healthy food department. Moreover, they became an easy way to consume your daily dose of veggies along with the fibre, minerals and vitamins they provide. I am talking about vegetable chips, in particular, homemade beet chips. While commercially sold chips often contain starch and a little bit of veggie powder these crunchy beet chips are packed with nutritional ingredients.
Beetroot with its wide spectrum of benefits is becoming a superfood and nowadays many sportspeople – athletes, footballers or bodybuilders implement beets in their daily diet.
Are beet chips good for you?
Low in calories and high in fibre beetroot is a great source of minerals (manganese, potassium and iron) and vitamins (B9 and C)
Thanks to its high nitrate content beets are also studied as a natural way to reduce blood pressure and consequently lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This ABC juice is a great way to implement daily intake of beet.
Taste of beetroots
Although we know that beets are healthy what about their taste? Beets are sweet and earthy and not everybody likes them. In fact, they rank number 5 on the “List of the most common “icky” foods that are actually incredibly good for you—and tasty” after Brussel sprouts, broccoli, fish and turnips.
I always thought I didn’t like beets until I discovered new ways of preparing them. Roasted very thin slices of beetroot coated with olive oil, chives and sea salt are just irresistible. I put them on a salad or eat them during the day. They also serve as an easy way to feed your kids with healthy veggies.
Just recently I discovered a handy way to store beets in the form of beetroot powder that can easily be added to yoghurt or a smoothie.
I also like to experiment with beets and use others than just the typical red.
With the various colours of beets grow their variety in taste. If you don’t like the typical earthy flavour of red beets, try Golden beets that are less sweet and less earthy. On the other hand, naturally striped Chioggia beets are more sweet and mild in their taste. When making beet chips it is good to try all types of beets that are available to find the one you like most. They also make a beautiful pallet of colours that are easy on the eyes.
Do beets have to be peeled before?
Don’t bother with peeling the beets before slicing them. Its quite difficult to peel them especially if they are small. The skin is edible and tasty. Just wash them thoroughly and get ready for slicing.
Baked beet chips
If you like to snack here and there vegetable chips or seeds are the best options to keep your cravings satisfied, feed your body with valuable nutrition and keep it in low calories.
Here are some ideas for healthy snacking
These crunchy and healthy Zucchini chips will not disappoint.
Roasted Pepitas with rosemary If you still prefer chips then Parsnip chips or Healthy baked carrot chips are a great choice.
These candied brussels sprouts can also be served as a side dish but I like them as a snack.
Lately, I have been hooked on this avocado chutney
How to cut the beets.
I like the slices very thin as you see in the video so I used a hand slicer. If you like them a little bit thicker you can use an electric mandolin or salad shooter. Alternatively use Pampered Chef Simple Slicer where you can adjust 3 settings.
If you decide to make your beet chips thicker it is recommended to let them sweat a little to release their excess moisture before placing them in the oven to achieve crispiness and brighter colour.
These chips are also great in this beet cucumber salad.
Place the slices on the parchment paper
Selecting the herbs
Beets are delicious but we can still enhance their flavours. And that’s the time to select the right herbs and spices that can turn ordinary vegetable chips into extraordinary. Sometimes I use what I have in my garden but when it came to beets I wasn’t sure so I used this guide to help me decide.
The guide advised that as for the beets earthy and sweet taste they prefer basil or chives as well as coriander or sage. I decided to go for chives and felt that its mildly pungent flavour nicely complimented the beet chips giving them an extra hint. Chives are related to garlic and onion and belong to nutrient-dense food. They are very low in calories but high in vitamins C and A antioxidants and minerals.
Garnishing and flavouring the beets
using a basting brush, cover the beet slices from both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and chives thoroughly before placing them in the oven.
Baking time
Depending on the thickness of slices the baking time in the oven can vary. Check regularly as thin pieces can burn very quickly. I removed them after 15 minutes.
How long do the beet chips last?
We usually eat them right away. If you keep them in an air-tight container they last up to 2 weeks.
Can I make the beet chips oil-free?
You can use a dehydrator. However, without the oil, they will never be as crispy as from the oven. Nonetheless, they still make great snacks:)
Can I use cooked sliced beets?
It will be difficult to cut them into thin slices, I would cut them into wedges and roast them in the oven instead.
Can you use coconut oil instead of olive oil?
Sure, just make sure you use fractionated oil that is liquid in room temperature
What are your favorite vegetable chips?
Baked Beet Chips with Chives recipe
These crunchy beet chips make a tasty and healthy snack that will satisfy your cravings and feed your body with healthy nutrients.
- Presto® Professional SaladShooter Electric Slicer/Shredder- 02970, Black
- Mueller Austria Premium Quality V-Pro Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline Cheese/Vegetable Slicer, Cutter, Shredder with Precise Maximum Adjustability
- 6 beets (mixed)
- 6 tsp olive oil
- 1 handful chives
- sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 160 C (320 F) and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper
- slice the beets thin using any slicer that is convenient and lay the slices out in a single layer on parchment paper and put them on the side.
- Finally cut the chives and gently mesh in a mortar with sea salt.
- use a basting brush to cover the beet slices from both sides with olive oil.
- sprinkle the beet slices with salt and chives thoroughly and place it in the oven
- depending on the thickness of the slices the baking time in the oven can vary. Check regularly as thin pieces can burn very quickly.
- My beet chips were ready in 15 minutes.
- I like to eat them warm but you can also wait for them to cool down and store them in an air-tight container.
You can place two baking sheets in the oven at the same time, one of the top and one in the bottom and rotate them every 5 minutes.
So glad I came across this! I use to juice with beets for their health benefits, but I couldn’t stand the taste as it was far too sweet for my liking! But I am going to give these beet chips a try as I feel like your recipe is just what they need to tam the sweetness a bit!
These look delicious! I’m going to have to give them a try. Thanks for this!
These look absolutely delicious! I love beets. I have made beet chips by frying them before, but this method looks much better! Thank you!