As much as I love potato chips, I try to stay away from them. Store-bought potato chips are high in calories, fat and sodium – three things that our bodies don’t need a lot of. However, I do miss the crunchy, salty characteristics of potato chips and have been testing with alternatives. These red chile parsnip chips really hit the spot. They are crunchy, mildly salty (something I can control), spicy, and easy to make, AND they are more flavorful than potato chips. Even if you don’t like parsnips, you’ll love this chips. I know that for a fact since Bobby isn’t a big parsnip fan, but he does love these chips.
The process for making parsnip chips is to slice the parsnips into very thin slices. If you have a mandoline slicer, you can slice them up very quickly, or you could just use a sharp, which is what I do. Once sliced, it’s just a matter of drizzling them very lightly with oil and giving them a nice dusting of red chile powder and salt. I keep a jar of red chile salt so I use it. Once coated with oil and seasoning, then just place them in a hot oven until crispy.
Another nice thing with these chips is that you can seasoning them with whatever seasoning you like, just like popcorn. You can use a chili blend, curry powder, an herb mix, or just salt and pepper. You can also baked them with sweet potato chips as Kelly does at Inspired Edilbles.
One thing that I have learned, is that you don’t make a batch unless you plan to eat them right away. They are best eaten within 30 minutes out of the oven. After that they lose their crispiness. I’ve tried reheating them under the broiler to crisp them up again, but it just made them chewy. So only make what you plan to eat, and eat them right away to get the full enjoyment. They are so very delicious and well worth the effort.
Spicy Red Chile Parsnip Chips
A healthy and spicy snack made with thinly sliced parsnips, a little olive oil and red chile salt. This recipe provides a nice snack for two people.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, substitutions, and related links.
- 3 large parsnips*, peeled
- Mild flavored olive oil*
- 3 tsp Red chile powder*
- 1 tsp fine sea salt or kosher salt
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
Make the red chile salt by mixing the 3 tsp. of red chile powder with 1 tsp. salt. Taste and adjust to taste.
Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice the peeled parsnip very thin (about 1/16 of an inch)
Transfer the parsnip slices to a large bowl. Spread them out into one layer if possible.
- Lightly drizzle the parsnip slices with the oil. Immediately toss to coat the slices with the oil. You want them lightly coated so be careful not to use too much oil.
Sprinkle generously with red chile salt and toss to coat.
- Lay the slices in one layer on the parchment sheet. Don’t overlap.
Place in preheated oven and baked 18 – 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip pieces. Remove any that are already crispy. The smaller ones crisp up pretty fast.
Return to oven for another 5 – 10 minutes until toasted and crisp.
Remove from oven. Eat immediately*.
Parsnips – Use large parsnips that stay pretty thick all the way to the end if possible. When they taper sharply, those smaller pieces cook very fast. Of course you can just eat those right away while you wait for the rest to bake.
Olive Oil – Use a mild flavored olive oil or another oil like avocado or safflower.
Red Chile Powder – Don’t use chili powder. Make sure that the only ingredient is ground red chile (with an “e”).
Eat immediately – These stay crispy for about an hour and after that, they lose their crispiness. I’ve tried reheating them under the broiler but with no luck. They just became tough and chewy.
For those of you who do like parsnips, below is a link to one of my favorite parsnip recipes. There are also links to a couple of more snacks that you’ll enjoy.
That’s a great suggestion of MJ Willis, “three things that our bodies don’t need a lot of”. Hopefully, I will try alternatives and flow your process for making parsnip chips.
Thank you MJ 😍
Thank you Linda! Using other vegetables is fun and quite tasty. Cheers, MJ
I never eat fried food either and excited to try these oven baked morsels. Great way to use my red Chile powder too. Thanks, MJ!
Thanks Nicole. The red chile is also great on eggs and in many, many more dishes :).
Oh my gosh… they look freakin’ amazig!! I want to try your version stat 🙂 thank you for the love sister. Pulling out the mandoline now
Thanks Kelly. Next time I make this I’m going to throw in some sweet potato chips. I love a little red chile with sweet potatoes.
Looking at you terrific photos, I would never have guessed that they were made in the oven. They look great and I’m sure I would really enjoy them.
Thanks you Karen.
Love the idea of the red chile salt. I definitely need to cut commercial chips out of the diet (but I need that salt and crunch, too). Good alternative, M.J.!
Thanks Debra. Red chile salt is just another one of those seasoning I keep around, just like my red chile blend. They go into everything. 🙂
With you all the way ! We have European Football Championship and store bought potato chips are our last choice too ! Thank you so much for this healthier version !
Thank you Darlin. We also love snacking on salty thing during championship games. Enjoy!
Dear MJ, I think you have just sold me parsnips! One of the vegetables I have always made jikes about (they are sold in Europe among “forgotten” vegetables and I have always joked there is a reason why they were forgotten… ). Now thank to you, I’ve just planned buying them and testing these chips in my air fryer! Adding powdered chipotle (I’m an addict now… I have 2 pounds of it in stock and keep on refilling… I don’t know what I’ll do when the only online shop shipping it to Switzerland will stop selling it!!).
“jokes”, sorry… I should read what I write… And maybe write slowly too!
Thanks Sissi. Bobby feels the same way about parsnips, but he does enjoy these chips. Let me know how they work in your air fryer. I don’t have one, but I am curious since I know some people that do. One can never have enough chile powders!!!!! And I do agree that chipotle is very addicting.
looks fantastic. sounds fantastic. i’m not really a parsnip fan either but i’m sure a crunchy salty version would be good. Hubby can’t bear to watch when i use a mandoline so he has to go out of the room 🙂
Thanks Sherry. I totally understand the mandoline thing. My husband is the same way. After having to suffer through watching him watch me use it, I went back to using a knife. 🙂
Oh, yeah!!! How’d you know I’d eat the whole batch in one sitting? Definitely addictive!
Thanks Liz. They are addicting!
I happen to be of the 1% of the population who does not have a snack habit and has not bought a single packet of potato chips in living memory 🙂 !! But I love parsnips . . . this is the season for them in Australia and I shall surely make a pan of these . . . think I’ll like them too . . .
Eha, what self-control! I have a nasty snack habit. In fact, sometimes I could just snack all days on different things and not eat a real meal. 🙂 If you like parsnips, then you will enjoy these chips. Thanks.
We could polish off that whole tray in a sitting! We actually love parsnips but have never made them into a chip. that is brilliant and with the little heat and sweet… mmmm delicious!
Bobby and I do polish out one batch in a sitting. 🙂 And he doesn’t even like parsnips. Thanks!
This is a healthier alternative than the storebought chips. I like the combo of spicy and salty flavours.
Thanks Angie. Spicy and salty, sweet and spicy – all works for me. 🙂
Wow, what a great idea! The perfect snack for those of us who has to watch our salt. What about other root veggies like turnips or beets? I imagine they might also taste great baked and seasoned with chile salt. Hope all is well and you are staying cool in this heatwave!
Thanks Jan. Other root veggies work good as well. There is a link in the post to Kelly’s sweet potato chips and I’ve seen beets as well. I don’t think I’ve seen turnips. But, Hey, it’s worth a try. 🙂
What a great idea! We do love potato chips, although indulge our taste only rarely. For all the reasons you mention! But this is a much more healthy option, and it’s a bonus that the parsnips have more flavor. An additional bonus is we get to control the seasoning, as you point out. Which in our case means more chile, less salt. 🙂 Really nice recipe — thanks.
thanks John. I keep telling people, if you need to cut back on salt, just add chile powder. 🙂