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Friday 19 November 2010

oven-baked spinach chips

light and crispy spinach chips

You know how sometimes one idea leads to another? This always seems to happen to me. I'd have one thing in mind, then in a turn of events, decide to do something else. I was going to roast some carrots but when I opened up the fridge there was this bag of leftover spinach staring at me. So of course, I ended up making spinach chips!

spinach leaves, rinse and shake off excess water
extra virgin olive oil, a little goes a long way (may be omitted for a fat-free version?)
spices (I used garlic salt and chilli flakes)

- Preheat oven to 120C/250F, fan-forced.
- Toss spinach leaves in olive oil, garlic salt and chilli flakes, then lay them out (slightly apart, not overlapping) on a baking sheet/pan. (Grease or line the sheet with baking paper to make it easier for you to pick off the spinach leaves later.)
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Quick and easy, what's not to love? I could pick most of the spinach chips off the pan without any trouble - some were slightly stuck but came off easily with the help of a butter knife. You could possibly circumvent this with a lining of baking paper. The spinach chips turned out really light and crispy with a lovely hint of garlic salt, chilli and olive oil. I have to say, it makes quite the addictive snack...

mmm, savoury spinach crisps.

29 comments:

  1. These look amazing! I can't imagine spinach leaves being crunchy!!

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  2. They were really crunchy and light as a feather! Try it! :D

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  3. Now, when they do kale chips, why don't they think of spinach chips? You are the creator!

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  4. o thats so easy. good side dish!!! or snack even!
    only 120 degrees? fan forced?

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  5. Tigerfish, I did a search after I made those chips, unfortunately I wasn't the first one! But I agree that there has been a strong kale trend recently...

    Hi Al, yep, I used 120C at fan-forced. As spinach leaves are so thin I figured a lower heat would be safer to ensure they crisp up without turning into charcoal!

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  6. Wow, they look like fresh leaves to me!

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  7. Yum. I love healthy snack foods.

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  8. They're definitely all cooked Michelle, and will just crumble in the mouth!

    So do I Melissa! :D

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  9. Never thought of making spinach chips, but hey why not, these would be delicious!

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  10. I like to do these with kale, but I didn't think it could be done with spinach! Good to know. (:

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  11. I definitely have to try this... I absolutely adore kale chips, so I'm sure I'd love these spinach chips!

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  12. What?! Spinach chips! I definitely have to try this too

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  13. Thanks everyone. Do try, they shatter so satisfyingly when you bite into them. :D

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  14. Well I really like the idea of your spinach chips, not a fan of kale chips, nice recipe to try.

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  15. Spinach chips are crispy and very tasty. I've a doubt about spinach chips, do they really contain the nutrients after baking in the microwave oven?

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  16. Hi Stacey - mine were not baked in a microwave oven so I can't say. Also, I think when baking at a lower temperature, it's not too different to many other cooking methods in terms of nutrient retention. :)

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  17. Great post. Never thought of doing this.

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  18. I'm not a cook ( my wife is a good one). So few ingredients, so little prep, only 10 min. baking time. I had to try it. I've tried it twice and have yet to get the greens crispy. With no quantities given, maybe I had too many greens, too much olive oil... What do you think? But I want you to know that we ate them anyway and they were very good as tender spinach. Ansel Crisp

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  19. Hi Ansel, did you spread them out so that they are not overlying each other, and leave them uncovered? Also, perhaps my oven is hotter than yours. I did use fan-forced. You could try increasing the temperature a little or leaving them a little longer in the oven.

    Other things I can think of... the batch I made was very small, perhaps a handful of spinach leaves with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil. The little water that doesn't get shaken off helps distribute the olive oil amongst the leaves.

    But definitely try upping the temperature a little or leaving them in a little longer until they crisp. Just check that they don't burn. Thanks for trying this and I hope it's third time lucky for you!

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  20. wow, these are really good. I omitted the olive oil as I'm on a diet that prohibits all oils, but they were still very good!

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  21. Yay thank you! So happy you liked it! :) :)

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  22. i tried making beet green chips several months ago -- yuck. they had that weird, fuzzy feeling on your teeth that greens sometimes create. i am glad to see that spinach worked out -- i would like to try the oil-free because i can eat very little oil, but i have found with kale chips that they burn very easily....

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  23. Hi Michele, if you are concerned about the chips burning, try a lower temperature and check on them every so often. Go for the oil-free version if that suits you better - Anonymous above did and it sounds like he/she really enjoyed it! :D

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  24. Hi Leaf!

    My name is Eleonora, and I'm the Chef Editor at www.veganwiz.com.
    VeganWiz is a vegan food blog with hundreds of recipes. It's a community where vegans share their recipes in a relaxed and very friendly atmoshpere.
    The website is updated on a daily basis. Please feel free to browse www.veganwiz.com. It would be a great pleasure to have you among our vegan chefs. I am sure your wonderful recipes will win a great success there, and you'll greatly enjoy the relaxed and friendly environment. Will you join us? Please contact me: info@veganwiz.com
    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Eleonora Pini
    Chef Editor VeganWiz.com
    www.veganWiz.com

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  25. Thanks Eleonora! I'll check out the site. :)

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  26. So I don't eat spinach at all, so if I was to purchase baby spinach leafs would that work out? Have you tried anything other than garlic salt? I don't know if I could do chili flakes. Let me know, thanks,
    Amanda

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  27. Hi Amanda, yes baby spinach leaves would work fine. Just remember to lay them out like cookies on a pan when you bake them. You can use any seasonings you like. Good luck! :)

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  28. Took these on a walking pot luck tonight to see Christmas lights and they went fast! My friend's 2 year old loved them and I couldn't stop eating them. I think this is my new favorite way to eat spinach.

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  29. Oh that's so great Messy Kids! Thanks for letting me know. xx

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