Oven-baked vegetable peel chips
Before your next mash or soup, keep the peels: with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of spices, they turn into golden, crispy chips in about fifteen minutes in the oven. Here is the recipe, the tricks to make them truly crisp and the potato peels to leave aside.
A potato mash, a carrot soup or roasted parsnips leave behind a good bowl of peels. Most of the time, that bowl ends up in the compost. The anti-food-waste campaign Love Food Hate Waste suggests turning it into chips instead: a drizzle of oil, some spices, a hot baking sheet, and the peels become a golden, crispy snack, ready in half an hour. Potato peels make the most classic chips; carrot and parsnip peels, which are thinner, add colour.
This recipe is part of our guide to fall root vegetables. To use the whole bunch, see also our 6 ways to eat carrot and beet greens.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Servings
- 2 to 4, as a snack
- Season
- Fall and winter
- Rating
- Not rated yet
Ingredients
The peels
- Peels from 1 kg (2 lb) of well-scrubbed vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots or parsnips
- 10 ml (2 tsp) canola oil or olive oil
- 2 ml (½ tsp) smoked paprika
- 1 ml (¼ tsp) garlic powder
- Freshly ground pepper
- Salt or fleur de sel, to taste
The dip (optional)
- 125 ml (½ cup) sour cream
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped chives
Directions
- Preheat. Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 200°C (400°F). Line one large baking sheet, or two, with parchment paper.
- Scrub. Scrub the vegetables under cold water before peeling them. Cut away and discard any green, sprouted or damaged part of the potatoes, along with its peel.
- Peel. Peel the vegetables with a vegetable peeler, in strips as thin and even as possible. Keep the peeled vegetables for a mash, a soup or a roast.
- Pat dry. Spread the peels on a clean towel and pat them well: the drier they are, the crispier they will be.
- Season. In a large bowl, toss the peels with the oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder and pepper, using your hands, until they are all coated.
- Spread. Spread the peels in a single layer, without overlapping. Put the potato peels on one baking sheet and the thin carrot or parsnip peels on the other.
- Bake. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the peels. Continue baking for 4 to 7 minutes, watching closely, until golden and crispy. Take out the ones that are ready as you go, because they burn fast.
- Salt. Salt the chips as soon as they come out of the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Serve. Mix the sour cream and chives, then serve the chips right away. Do not eat a chip that tastes bitter.
Tried this recipe? Rate it
Be the first to rate it.
Which peels to use, and which to leave aside
The two Love Food Hate Waste recipes we consulted use potato or sweet potato peels, and one of them adds carrot and parsnip peels. Both start with the same step: wash or scrub the vegetables well before peeling them. Peels are the part of the vegetable that touched the soil: take the time to scrub them under cold water.
With potatoes, one precaution is a must. They naturally produce glycoalkaloids, mainly solanine and chaconine, and according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), most of these toxins are found in the peel or just beneath it. They are not destroyed by cooking, even by frying in hot oil. Greening of the peel can signal their presence, and the CFIA warns that red and russet potatoes can hide that greening.
The rule is simple: only use the peels of firm potatoes with no green patches, no sprouts and no damaged parts. Health Canada recommends cutting away and discarding any green or damaged part, avoiding sprouts and the flesh around the eyes, and not eating potatoes, raw or cooked, that taste bitter. If a chip tastes bitter or burns your mouth, do not eat it. To prevent greening, store your potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place, away from light, as the CFIA and Health Canada advise.
One last detail: peels do not keep well, the Love Food Hate Waste recipe points out. Cook them the same day, ideally while the peeled vegetables are simmering.
The secret to crispness
The two recipes we consulted do not quite agree on the baking. The first bakes the peels at 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes, the second at 200°C for about 15 minutes, turning them once. We went with 200°C and 12 to 15 minutes of baking, turning them halfway through, as in the second recipe.
Three moves make all the difference. First, pat the peels dry in a clean towel: water keeps them from crisping. Next, use little oil, barely one or two teaspoons for a baking sheet, as in the Love Food Hate Waste recipe, and toss with your hands to coat every peel. Finally, spread them in a single layer, without overlapping; use two baking sheets if you need to.
Watch the end of the baking closely: peels burn fast, Love Food Hate Waste warns. Thin carrot and parsnip peels cook faster than potato peels: put them on a separate sheet, or take them out as they turn golden.
Seasonings and serving
The basic duo is salt and pepper. For variety, Love Food Hate Waste suggests cumin, paprika, chili powder, rosemary or oregano, and the author of its recipe likes smoked paprika with garlic powder, the combination we chose. A pinch of steak spice, nutritional yeast or fleur de sel also make nice variations. Salt them as they come out of the oven, as in Sophie Gray's recipe shared by Love Food Hate Waste.
Serve the chips right away, with a sour cream and chive dip, as Love Food Hate Waste suggests, or with dill Greek yogurt. They are also great with a soup, in place of croutons. And if you are looking for more ideas to turn leftovers into something good, see our tips for cooking without waste. Whatever cannot be eaten, such as green or damaged parts, goes into the compost.
Sources
- Potato Peel Crisps, Love Food Hate Waste New Zealand, recipe by Misfit Garden.
- Steal the Peel, Oven Baked Crisps, Sophie Gray (The Destitute Gourmet), Love Food Hate Waste New Zealand.
- Natural toxins in fresh fruit and vegetables, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2019.
- Glycoalkaloids in Foods, Health Canada, 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make chips with green potato peels?
No. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, most of the glycoalkaloids, the potato's natural toxins, are found in the peel, and greening can signal their presence. Cooking, even frying, does not destroy them. Cut away and discard green, sprouted or damaged parts along with their peel, as Health Canada recommends.
Can you keep the peels to cook them later?
It is best to cook them the same day. The Love Food Hate Waste recipe points out that peels do not keep well and advises cooking them right after peeling the vegetables.
Do peel chips keep?
They are at their best right away: the Love Food Hate Waste recipe advises serving them straight out of the oven. Make just enough for a snack or an appetizer.
Why are my peel chips still soft?
Most often, the peels were still damp, too oily or crowded on the baking sheet. Pat them dry, use only a drizzle of oil and spread them in a single layer, as both recipes we consulted call for. If they are golden but still soft, bake them a minute or two longer, keeping an eye on them.
Which spices should I use?
Love Food Hate Waste suggests cumin, paprika, chili powder, rosemary or oregano; the author of its recipe uses smoked paprika and garlic powder. You can also try a steak spice blend, nutritional yeast or simply a pinch of fleur de sel.
