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It's easy to make oven-dried apple chips at home. You don't need a dehydrator. Just a little patience while this healthy snack bakes.
And it's worth the wait! Much like beet chips, crispy, homemade baked apple chips rival any store-bought version.
Look on the bright side. Since the apple slices bake low and slow, you'll have plenty of time to do other things, like making pumpkin cream cheese dip or Almond Butter Yogurt Dip to scoop them in. And your house will smell amazing!
I'm a big fan of air fryers and microwaves to save time making healthy alternatives to chips. However, in my humble opinion, these methods are best for a single serving.
Why? A plate of microwave zucchini chips disappears in seconds at our house.
You'll love this recipe for apple chips because:
- It doesn't require any fancy equipment.
- It's easy to do. Just slice and bake.
- You can make lots of apple chips in the oven at once.
- There's no added sugar or oil, and you control the amount of seasoning.
- There are so many ways to enjoy them.
- Apples are healthy and full of fiber.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make dried apple chips in the oven:
- Apples - Use fresh, crisp apples for the best results. The flavor intensifies and becomes more concentrated as moisture is removed. Sweet varieties like Ambrosia, Honey Crisp, Royal Gala, Pink Lady®, Red Delicious, and Fuji are all fantastic choices.
- Cinnamon is optional. It depends on how you are going to use the chips (see the section below for some ideas.) Apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice can also be used.
If you're using a sweet apple, you won't need to add sugar to this recipe!
Equipment
A mandoline slicer is handy for quickly and uniformly cutting an apple. However, you only need a steady hand and a sharp knife!
You can core the apple before slicing it using an apple corer to make apple rings. However, we just used a knife to flick out any seeds.
Directions
If you've made homemade sweet potato chips, you'll be at home making dried apple chips in the oven. Here's how to do it:
- Cut apples into slices about ⅛ inch thick using a mandoline or a knife. There will be seeds in some of the slices. Use the knife tip to remove them. It's important to make them a consistent thickness so they dry out evenly.
- Optional: Remove the core and seeds before slicing to make apple rings.
- Place sliced apples on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
- Bake for approximately 2 hours at 225 °F, turning the apple slices over at about 1 and ½ hours. The exact time will vary based on the oven, the slices' thickness, and the type of apple used. After the 2-hour mark, lift one out to test and continue cooking until they reach the desired crispiness.
- Note: The chips continue to crisp as they cool. Mine have a crunch at this point and will break in half if I drop one on the floor!
FAQ
If you take the apple slices out of the oven too early, they will be chewy. Remove one from the baking sheet and perform a taste test to ensure it is firm and crisp before removing all of them.
Tart apples can also be dried with this method. However, you may find that the chips need to be sweetened with a sprinkling of sugar.
The color of the chip will vary based on the type of apple used. Generally, apples with more moisture will be darker.
Ways to Use Dried Apple Chips
There are so many ways to serve apple chips that have been dehydrated.
- Add them to a salad for a crunchy topper.
- Top oatmeal with them. We make a big batch of crock-pot steel cut oats at night and crunch them over the top at breakfast!
- Garnish soups. They're a fantastic garnish for spicy butternut squash apple soup.
- Top yogurt, whipped cottage cheese dessert cups, or chia pudding.
- Turn them into healthy apple nachos.
- Use them to scoop dip or hummus! Try them with the Nut Butter Yogurt Dip (see the recipe below.)
- Enjoy them right out of the bowl or in a lunchbox.
Nut Butter Yogurt Dip
This quick and easy Nut Butter Yogurt Dip pairs perfectly with baked apple chips. To make it combine:
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter or your favorite nut butter
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, honey, or sweetener of choice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
If your nut butter is on the runny side, you can combine the ingredients by hand. Otherwise, use a food processor or blender to blend thoroughly.
Serve chilled.
Storage
Store dried apple chips for up to one week in an airtight container.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away! So what are you waiting for? Make these healthy apple chips, stat!
More Healthy Apple Recipes
Would you like more easy, healthy, carb-conscious recipes?
📋 Recipe
Easy Oven-Dried Apple Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 apples Ambrosia, Honey Crisp, Royal Gala, Pink Lady®, Red Delicious, and Fuji
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225 °F.
- Cut apples into slices that are ⅛ inch thick using a madoline slicer or knife.
- Place slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Do not overlap. Sprinkle with cinnamon if using.
- Bake for 1 and ½ hours.
- Turn over slices and bake for 30 minutes or until slices reach desired crispness. Remove one from the pan and test before taking the rest out of the oven. Note that they will continue to crisp while they are cooling on the pan.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on October 10, 2013, and has been updated to improve the reader experience.
Sharonann says
You left out the part about when to put the cinnamon on the chips!
CaliMom says
I made these on a whim and was so surprised how good they were. Followed the directions exactly using Ambrosia apples so the my were very sweet. Even made a yogurt dip by combining already sweetened vanilla yogurt with almond butter. Very satisfying snack.