How to make sweet potato chips yourself

Homemade sweet potato chips are a delicious and healthy change from conventional chips from the bag. Here we are some recipe ideas and tips on how to turn sweet potato into a crunchy snack.

Whether for in-between meals or for movie night – chips are a popular snack, but the guilty conscience always nibbles along a little. But sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), for example, can be used to make a tasty and healthier version. Sweet potato chips succeed quite easily in the oven, and you need only a few ingredients for the basic recipe. Another advantage of making the vegetable chips yourself is that you can add spices to the sweet-tasting potato to give it a flavor just the way you like it. In addition, the chips provide an extra crunch in some recipes.

Make sweet potato chips yourself: Tips in a nutshell

To make sweet potato chips, wash the sweet potatoes, pat dry and peel if necessary. Slice the tubers into thin slices and spread them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with salt and place in the oven at 180 °C / 356 °F for a total of about 20 minutes. Turn the sweet potato slices in between and let them cool down well before serving. If you mix the raw chips in an oil-herb marinade before baking, you give them an individual seasoning.

How to make sweet potato chips yourself?

When you buy the sweet potatoes for your chips, it is recommended to choose tubers that are as fresh and plump-looking as possible. They should not already be soft and have no damp or even rotting spots. If you have the opportunity and the ideal space, it is best to grow the exotic vegetable yourself and harvest the tubers from your own garden in late summer/fall.

The simple basic recipe without any fat at all:

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 kg (2 lbs) sweet potatoes
• some salt

Preparation

Wash the tubers, especially if you want to eat them with the skin. This is no problem with the sweet potato. Dry the tubers well with a kitchen towel. If you prefer it peel-less, use a peeler to help you. Then cut or slice the vegetables into even slices that are as thin as possible. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and spread the sweet potato slices on it. They should not lie on top of each other. Sprinkle salt over them to taste. Then bake the whole thing for about 10 minutes at 180 °C / 356 °F in the oven. Then turn the chips and bake them for another 10 minutes. Note, however, that depending on the thickness of the slices, the chips may be ready a little earlier or may need a little more time. Therefore, periodically take a checking look in the oven to make sure they don’t burn. Finally, remove the tray and allow the sweet potato chips to cool thoroughly before eating.

A few more tips

You can, of course, season the vegetable chips to your liking with herbs such as rosemary or spices such as pepper, chili powder or garlic powder – preferably a few minutes before you pull them out of the oven. Alternatively, put the herbs and spices in a bowl with some olive oil and mix the raw, shaved vegetables in it before putting them in the oven to bake. In addition, the chips can also be prepared in a dehydrator.

You can serve sweet potato chips as a crispy side dish with various dishes. The next time you grill burgers, serve sweet potato chips instead of fries. Give your fresh lamb’s lettuce a crunchy topping or dip the crispy slices into creamy sweet potato soup. Simply customize the chips with the appropriate seasonings to match the flavors of your recipes. As a snack for in between meals or as a small appetizer for an aperitif, they can also be brought to the table wonderfully with various dips: For example, a mixture of fresh goat cheese, sour cream and spices goes well with the sweet potato. An avocado dip or a puree of beet and walnuts, as in the following recipe, are also delicious with the chips:

Recipe for the beet dip

• 50 g walnuts
• 2 beet tubers, cooked
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• salt, pepper

Soak the walnuts in water for about 1 to 2 hours in advance, then pass them through a sieve. Chop the beet tubers and put them in a bowl. Add the soaked walnuts, the oil, the lemon juice and the garlic and mix everything with a blender until you get a kind of mush. Finally, season with salt and pepper and serve with the sweet potato chips.

Combine the sweet potato chips with homemade beet chips or other crispy baked vegetables, for example. This not only brings more color, but also additional flavor to the chips bowl.

Sweet potatoes for chips from your own garden

Sweet potato is an extremely healthy vegetable, full of vitamins and minerals. In addition to vegetable chips, there are many other ways to prepare tasty dishes from sweet potatoes. They can be processed in a similar way to potatoes. In our region, the cold-sensitive tubers are best grown under shelter, for example in a greenhouse or in a sunny raised bed. With the appropriate space, the culture also succeeds in the tub. In any case, they prefer humus and nutrient-rich and loose-sandy soil. When growing in pots and during dry periods, it is important to water the vegetables regularly. When from September the sweet potato plants slowly turn yellow, you can start harvesting.