Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps

March 21, 2014

Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps

Truth: almond flour is better than breadcrumbs for coating.
Boom. There, I said it.
OK, OK, OOOOOK...subbing one ingredient for another doesn’t always cut it.
Sometimes it yields “just as good as” or “almost like the real deal” results.
Other times (such as this case) it’s way better.
To put it in car terms almond flour is better than bread crumbs just like a Camaro is better than a Chevy Citation.
Got it?

Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps


But this is not solely my opinion, I did a comparative test.
It went down like this: I baked two batches of zucchini crisps. One using almond flour, another one using breadcrumbs.
I put them in two separate bowls, served to a couple of mine and observed their reactions.
Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps


The almond flour coated crisps were gone in a heartbeat. People were almost fighting each other over the last bit.
The breadcrumb ones instead lasted much, much longer.
Even a couple of “The ones in that bowl are so much better, you should totally try them before they’re gone” were heard around the table.
In other words, Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps are the way to go.
Gluten-free, paleo-friendly and so very delicious. So very, very delicious...you should totally try it!
Trust.

Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps
Almond Crusted Baked Zucchini Crisps                                                               Print this recipe!

Ingredients 
Serves 4 as a snack

1 large zucchini, sliced into rings
1 cup / 4 oz / 110 gr almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 egg
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (I like Celtic Sea Salt)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl lightly beat the egg.
In a separate bowl combine almond flour, salt, garlic powder, thyme and black pepper.
Dip zucchini slices in the egg and let excess drip off, drop in the almond flour mix bowl to coat.
Place coated zucchini slices onto the lined baking sheet.
To do this efficiently I usually use my left hand to dip the slices into the egg and my right hand to coat with the almond flour, like a one-man assembly line. It’s the best way to avoid getting both hands coated.
Bake for 6 minutes per side (a total of 12 minutes).
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 112 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein.

47 comments:

  1. Seriously every single recipe you post is a winner in my book... recipe book on your horizon? I will buy (:

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    1. Maybe further down the line Hayley...I'll let you know, I promise! ;)

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  2. I was bummed at first to switch from my usual panko breading to almond flour, but I'm a total convert now! Almond flour isn't as light and fluffy, but who cares because it tastes so much better!

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    1. I know right? It tastes soooo good, it's almost unbelievable!

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  3. Can't wait to try these!

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  4. OMG Mike these are pure perfection, seriously!

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  5. I would have punched teeth out to get my mouth on these suckers!

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  6. Almond flour, so clever. Love that these are baked.

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  7. These have got to be the most delicious looking zucchinis that I have ever laid my eyes on. I badly, badly, badly want some now.

    Did I say badly? BADLY!

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    1. Awwww thank you Sonia, coming from you it's golden!

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  8. My daughter is always trying to tell me how some cars are better than others...but to me, Camaro or Chevy Citation or a Bentley - they are just all different sized boxes on wheels!
    Aaaand now YOU want to throw something at me too right? Well, feel free to throw some of these zucchini chips at me!!! :)
    These sound fantastic! I haven't used almond flour as a coating yet - but cannot wait to try it!

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    1. You're just like my mum Shashi, as long as the car is moving it's good enough for her. She doesn't even know the brand, let alone the model...
      But are you ready to catch? I'm about to throwing some zucchini crisps at you, right now!

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  9. These look great! I may have to create a Pinterest board dedicated to zucchini recipes--gearing up for Summer veggies.

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  10. Almond flour is the way to go! Whenever I use it in my recipes, they turn out to be such winners!
    These crips look like the most perfect snack - I'm so trying them soon!

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  11. Haha love that you did a blind taste test on these! Question.. have you ever tried chickpea flour? How do you like it? Heard you could use it for frying but now sure for baking?

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  12. How thick do you slice the zucchini?

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  13. I made these and they were very tasty, but do not expect them to be crispy or crunchy like they would be with panko or breadcrumbs. The almond flour is very fine (like all flours I guess), and it makes a nice coating, but it is still makes for a very soft coating. But yes, lovely taste and I'd definitely make them again.

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  14. I've made these as sticks before but never round crisps. I know they're going to be even better. Making next week!

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  15. I can't wait to make these tonight!! One question. . Do you peel the zucchini??

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  16. I know you recommend eating immediately, but how do they store? I am guessing not great.

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    1. we had half of them left over as we made a double batch. They're great out of the fridge cold too!!!

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. I'm an idiot. I had this recipe open and got lured by another that I opened in another window. And asked my question about this recipe there. I think the question might be moot now that I've read comments here. I wanted to know if I put them on a rack in the cooking sheet, if I they would be crispy on both sides without turning them (My zucchini fries with panko are). But I read here in the comments that these aren't crispy at all. I really need crispy. Is this true? I do love almond four so I hope these chips are crispy on the outside.

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  19. Darn auto spell check. That's PANKO coated zucchini fries.

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  20. What would you suggest using in place of the egg?

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    1. I'm planning on substituting a bit of coconut milk or cream for the egg. I'm figuring if instead of dipping them into it I just brush them with it before crumbing it might just work! Fingers crossed!

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  21. These sound amazing!! Will be making them this weekend!!

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  22. What do you mean by zucchini rings? Like, cut in slices, then remove the seeds? Thanks much, excited to eat these in 12ish minutes :P

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  23. Made these tonight and they were awesome!

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  24. Fantastic recipe. My boyfriend and I tried this recipe. We had extra zucchini left over from our garden. I will be making more in the future!

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  25. Fantastic recipe. My boyfriend and I tried this recipe. We had extra zucchini left over from our garden. I will be making more in the future!

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  26. Great recipe, but I couldn't get them to brown up the way they are in your photo. Do you have any tricks for that? And I had to bake them for three times as long just to get them to look somewhat browned. They were delicious though. Thanks!

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  27. Same here about the lack of browning and was hoping for some crispness. The flavor was fantastic but they stayed fairly almond-flour like. Difficult to get to brown up and when I tried turning them over after 6 minutes the coating on the bottom stuck to the parchment.

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  28. this is beyond the best recipe I've ever done for zucchini. I also found that if you take the left over egg (and if there's not enough, add another) to the dry almond mix then grate a left over zucchini into it and stir you can make zucchini latkas on the stove. It uses up the left over ingredients and tastes GREAT. I just add a little more salt on top of them after cooking. Thanks for a terrific recipe that's so good for you I even lost weight eating them!

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  29. Heavenly, I added 3 tsp of shredded coconut and used the batter on boneless skinless Chicken thighs as well.

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  30. These are seriously delicious! But mine don't look nearly as appetizing as yours in the picture. What's your secret? I used Honyville Almond Flour instead of Bob's Red Mill. Could that be the culprit?

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  31. I used a large baggie for the "shake and bake" style of coating......worked great!!

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  32. Has anybody tried these with coconut flour or other coatings? We have an almond allergy in my household but these sound so good!

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  33. I'm going to try this to make fried pickles!

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  34. Someone please help me! I want to love these because they look DELICIOUS but it's not working out for me. I followed the directions exactly but mine are not crisping up and are pretty powdery. Any tricks?

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  35. spritz them with oil then bake. they will be crispier

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  36. Almond trees and nuts take a lot of water that could be used to grow other crops and reduce forest fires. Not sustainable.

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