Baked Butternut Squash Chips

By on 08 February 2012 in Appetizers, Snack with 29 Comments.

For me, most cooking falls into two categories: quick-and-easy versus food projects. Most of the time, we focus on the quick-and-easy (but still delicious and healthy!) recipes. But sometimes you just want to slow down, enjoy the process, and end up with a delicious and unique treat.

To us, food projects are things like homemade pasta or pickles – activities to pass the time on a weekend or evening with loved ones. These chips fall right into that category, and would be especially great for making with kids! 

We picked up a few butternut squashes from the farmer’s market that happened to have the perfect long thin necks for making chips. Using a mandoline to cut the thin slices really speeds up the process, but a sharp knife will do just fine.

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The sweetness of the squash balances perfectly with a little bit of grated parmesan. These chips are a great treat, and if you hold yourself back, you can get a couple days worth of lunches out of a batch. Though, being baked and homemade, feel free to eat as many as you like!

Thanks to Homestead Growers for the butternut squash!

Baked Butternut Squash Chips

Adapted from SpicySaltySweet

Note: This recipe uses only the necks of the squash, so reserve the base of the squash for a soup or salad!

What You Need
2 butternut squashes with long necks
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Kosher salt

What To Do

1  Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2  Cut the necks of the squashes off of the bases. Peel each neck and slice it into thin slices, about 1/8th of an inch thick.

3  Drop the slices into the boiling water and boil for 2 minutes (this allows the squash to get crispy when baked). After 2 minutes, carefully drain and rinse under the faucet until the slices are cool to the touch. Pat the slices with a towel to remove excess water.

4  Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, and top them with slices. Be careful that the slices do not touch. Brush with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle on a little kosher salt, and top with finely grated Parmesan cheese.

5  This is the tricky part – bake the chips until crispy, for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on them and remove them when they turn brown and crispy – the timing for your oven may be shorter or longer! We had to remove them in intervals, since our oven is a bit uneven.

Enjoy! Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Note: You can also microwave the chips; each batch takes about 10 minutes on high power.

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