Sweet potatoes are carbohydrates that contain many nutrients. These sweet potatoes are low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol, but are high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B6, manganese and potassium. If you want to make a healthy snack instead of potato chips, you can dry the sweet potato in the oven or dehydrator to make a crunchy snack.
Ingredients
- 1 medium or large sweet potato
- 2 tbsp. oil (optional)
- Salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste (optional)
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing Sweet Potatoes
Step 1. Wash the sweet potatoes
Scrub the outside of the sweet potato with a vegetable brush to remove any dirt. Place the sweet potato under a stream of water, removing dirt and other particles by hand. Dry the sweet potatoes by patting them with a clean kitchen towel.
Do not peel the skin of sweet potatoes because they can be used as additional nutrients. Because of this, choose pesticide-free sweet potatoes, whenever possible
Step 2. Slice the sweet potato
Prepare a knife or sharp fruit slicer. If using a fruit slicer, set it to the thinnest slice, or slice the sweet potato into rounds 2-3 mm thick. An ideal tool is a fruit slicer because you can slice the sweet potato into equal thicknesses so you can dry it evenly.
To use a fruit slicer, press the top of the sweet potato against the slicer, then move it downwards, to slice the sweet potato all the way through. Use a vegetable holder to prevent your hands from getting hurt by a sharp fruit slicing knife
Step 3. Soak the sweet potato slices
Put the water at room temperature in a large bowl. Soak sweet potato slices for 1-2 hours. The starch in the sweet potato will allow water to seep into the sweet potato. However, this soaking will also remove some of the starch, which makes the sweet potato chips crunchier.
You can change the water in the middle of the soaking process, but this is not necessary
Step 4. Dry the sweet potato slices
After soaking, remove the sweet potato from the water and place it on a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Pat the sweet potatoes dry before you start the drying process.
Step 5. Add oil
Place the sweet potato slices in a large plate. Apply olive oil or coconut oil on the sweet potatoes. Alternatively, place the sweet potato slices in a bowl, add the oil to them, and stir the sweet potatoes until they are all coated in oil.
To dry sweet potatoes, you don't have to use oil. However, this can result in crispier sweet potato chips
Step 6. Season the sweet potato slices
You can make sweet potato chips savory or sweet, and add seasonings as desired. Some ingredients to try:
- Sea salt or Himalayan salt
- Black pepper or red pepper
- Cinnamon
- Rosemary or thyme
- Shallot powder or smoked paprika
Part 2 of 3: Drying Sweet Potatoes with a Dehydrator
Step 1. Arrange the sweet potato slices in the dehydrator tray
Make sure you arrange them in a single layer, and that no sweet potato slices are piling up on top of each other. Sweet potato slices won't dry evenly if you arrange them on top of each other.
Step 2. Set up a dehydrator
Place the dehydrator trays one at a time, stacking them in a row. After that, turn on the dehydrator. If you want to speed up the drying time, set the dehydrator to 60 °C.
For raw sweet potato chips, set the dehydrator to 45 °C
Step 3. Dry the sweet potato chips
For a quick method, dry the sweet potatoes for about 12 hours, or until they reach the desired level of crispness. For the slow method, dry the sweet potato for 20-24 hours.
A few hours before the scheduled drying time ends, check the sweet potato slices every hour or so to make sure the sweet potatoes are not overcooked
Step 4. Cool and store the sweet potatoes
When the drying time is over and the sweet potato slices are crispy enough and to your liking, let the sweet potatoes cool on the tray. When it reaches room temperature, place the sweet potato in a plastic bag, jar, or other container that can be tightly closed.
Properly stored dry food (especially without oil) can last for about 1 year
Part 3 of 3: Drying Sweet Potatoes in the Oven
Step 1. Preheat the oven to the lowest setting
The ideal temperature for raw drying is 45 °C and below. You can also dry the sweet potatoes at 60 °C. If the lowest setting in your oven doesn't reach that number, keep an eye on the sweet potato slices and adjust the drying time accordingly.
Step 2. Place the cooling rack into the roasting pan
It can be used as an emergency dehydrator allowing air to circulate under the sweet potato slices. Arrange the sweet potato slices on a wire rack in a single layer.
Step 3. Dry the sweet potato slices
Place the tray in the oven with the door slightly ajar. Check the sweet potatoes every hour or so if the lowest setting in the oven is over 60 °C. When the sweet potato has reached the desired level of crispness, remove the slices from the oven and store.
- If using an oven at 45 °C, dry the sweet potatoes for 20-24 hours.
- In the oven at 60 °C, dry the sweet potatoes for about 12 hours.
- If the lowest temperature in the oven is over 80 °C, dry the sweet potatoes for 3-4 hours. If it's still not dry to your liking, continue the drying process, but check the sweet potato every 15 minutes.
