See, I told you that I would use up the beets from our CSA share. I wanted to do something fun and different with the beets, since I usually just juice or grill them. My husband, Mark, absolutely HATES beets, he despises them and won’t try them no matter how good I tell them they are. He thinks they are gross and taste like ‘ground’ or ‘dirt’!
Well, I can officially say – I have WON the beet war in our house! I got Mark to eat beets and he actually liked them. I didn’t even have to sneak them into something else. I just said “here, just try this beet chip, don’t be a jerk”. He tried it and he liked it, then he had another and then a few more. Then he proclaimed “I have never,ever liked beets before, ever, but these I actually like!” S U C C E S S !
These beet chips are super easy to make and you can keep them simple with just a little sea salt, or you can add some fun things like onion powder, or rosemary or any other spices or herbs you desire. I used a mix of both golden beets and red beets that we got in our CSA share from Porter Farms. Once you peel the feels and slice them, you will not believe the vibrant bright colors. They are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. These chips are so crispy and satisfying that you won’t be able to eat just one or even a couple. I made this batch and had planned to eat a few for a mid-afternoon snack and then save the rest for an evening snack. That didn’t work. At all. We ate them all.
As far as storing goes, these chips will likely lose a bit of their crisp when you store them, so as with most crispy baked foods, best to eat these up right away when they are their crispiest. Darn.
Besides being super delicious and so vibrantly beautiful, if you need even more reasons to eat beets here are a few of their wonderful benefits, beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. The betalains found in beets have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. If that isn’t enough, the combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules in beets makes this food a highly-likely candidate for risk reduction of many cancer types. Oh and don’t forget the fiber! Beet fiber (along with carrot fiber) are two specific types of food fiber that may provide special health benefits, particularly with respect to health of our digestive tract (including prevention of colon cancer) and our cardiovascular system. More info about the wonderful benefits of beets can be found here.
3-4 medium beets (or 6-8 small beets), peeled and sliced thinly about 1/16 – 1/8 inch – using a mandoline slicer is the best and easiest way to do this Preheat oven to 350º F. Toss beets slices with oil in a medium sized bowl until they are all well coated and lay them flat in a single-layer on a rimmed baking sheet (bake in multiple batches, if necessary). Bake for 20-30 minutes, until chips are crispy. Check after about 15 minutes since the time will vary based on thickness of chips and how dark your baking pan is, mine took about 30 minutes since my baking pan was really light in color. The second batch I made was on a much darker baking pan and they cooked up much quicker. Sprinkle a little sea salt over top when you take them out. Transfer to a wire rack and they will crisp up a bit more as they cool. * Play around with adding in different spices and herbs. I made one batch with some fresh rosemary, another with some onion powder and then just a plain batch, all were very good.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Feel free to add any additional seasonings that you wish *
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
What a crazy cool way to get the nutritional benefits of probably one of the least-favored vegetables (at least that’s how it works in my life) inside where it does the most good! I’ll break in my brand new mandolin making these babies. As usual, you’ve done it again! Thanks so much. Lin
I was saving a recipe for beet chips myself! Now I don’t have too!
Yum, I love beet chips, but have never made them homemade. I will definitely be trying this sometime!
Should I boil the beets in order to slice them? Or is it easy to slice them raw?
No need to boil them to slice them. Super easy to slice them raw, it is the easiest if you have a mandoline slicer.
I love this!!! I always make sweet potato chips, but beets are perfect! Now I just have to go buy a bunch of beets
Alex – me too, I love sweet potato chips, but these definitely rival them. Plus the colors are just so beautiful. Thanks
If I bake them on a rack, will they come out crispier? I’ve never had much luck baking veggies to a crisp.
That sounds like a great idea. I haven’t yet tried it myself, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you do try it, let me know how it comes out. Thanks so much.
I will have to try your cooking method. I made some beet cheeps last week and I used a mock dehydrator method (baked them in my oven on the “warm” setting for about 6-8 hours) but they totally shriveled up and got very dark. Not so pretty like yours! I tossed them in coconut oil and curry powder, though, which was a nice combo!
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Cara – there were definitely some that were quite small and shriveled up for me too, but most were nice and pretty. It is amazing how much they actually shrink up. I love the idea of the curry powder and coconut oil blend. I have to try that next time! Thanks.
I made these for dinner tonight and they turned out fantastic! I just bought a mandolin which is a necessity for these. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed them Bethany. I cannot wait to make them again, myself.
These look great, gonna try this recipe. I’ve got two enormous beets hanging out in my fridge this weekend and I’m trying to find a new way to make them haha:)
Awesome. I hope you enjoy! Thanks.
Right up my straight, a definite recipe to add to my baked sweet potatoes and parsnips:) Tks
Hi,
I tried this recipe but my beets came out roasted not crispy. Any suggestions? I used a mandolin, a little olive oil and some salt but every time I try they are just roasted beets not crispy beets. Help!
Sara I am sorry to hear that. I would say maybe your own runs a little less warm and maybe try increasing the temperature. Also maybe make the chips a tad thinner? I have made these a few times and they always get crispy. Make sure you let them cool a bit so they crisp up. Hope that helps a little.
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