These healthy baked or dehydrated beetroot chips make for a delicious, healthy , guilt-free snack or can be ground into a fine powder for baking and other uses. Another great way to use fresh beets!
6beetrootsyou can also use golden and candy varieties
Instructions
Clean the beetroots well and remove their stems and leaves. Then, peel the beets (this isn't 100% necessary if it's not too dirty or has a thin skin, or if it's organic).
Slice with a mandolin for best results (thin even slices will be dried quicker and more evenly), a peeler, or a knife. Slicing the beets very thin is the key to super crispy results when not using a deep fryer. 1/16th of an inch is thick enough if using a mandoline.
Using a Dehydrator
If using a dehydrator, you'll need the lay the slices over the dehydrator tray/s making sure not to overlap them at all.Dry the beetroot slices in a dehydrator at 52ºC/125ºF for about 8-12 hours. The time can vary massively depending on exactly how thick your slices are and how many there are per tray - so check at eight hours and increase the time, as needed.
Using an Oven
Lay the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
If the temperature can go as low as 50-60ºC/120-140ºF, dry for about 8 hours. If the oven’s temperature doesn’t go as low, select the lowest possible and crack open the door while drying them (use a wooden spoon or other heat-proof utensil to prop open the door slightly). Dry for about 4-6 hours, keeping an eye on them not to burn.*
The chips are ready when they are brittle and snap (rather than bend) when you break them.
For baked chips
Finally, if you're wanting a chips snacks, rather than just dehydration - then you can massively reduce the oven time required.
Prepare the beetroot slices in the same way as mention above (thinly sliced and in single layers on oven trays). However, this time, first salt the beetroot slices pre-baking, to allow them to sweat and release excess moisture.
Simply toss the beet slices liberally with salt in a large bowl and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. Drain any liquid and pat the chips with a paper towel to remove excess liquid and salt.This step will mean less oven time is needed, thus less chance of burning. Plus, less liquid = crispier beet chips.
Once ready, toss with (or brush) a little neutral oil and then place in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.
Then place in the oven and bake at 300ºF/150ºC for between 40-60 minutes. The oven time will vary depending on your specific make/model so I suggest you check on them after 30 minutes, flip the chips over and cook for longer, until the correct texture is achieved.**
Video
Notes
* You can (optionally) flip over the thinly sliced beets every hour and this will help them to dry out quicker. It isn't something I always do though.** Top Tip: For even crispier baked beet chips, then allow the chips to cool completely on the oven trays before transferring to another container. They will crisp up more as they cool.