It’s often hard to satisfy the craving for salty, crunchy snacks on a low-carb diet (or any diet actually).
This easy step-by-step process shows you how to make salt and vinegar veggie chips (using cucumbers in the recipe) in a dehydrator or your oven set at low.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I also earn from qualifying purchases. You can read our disclosure information here–
Dehydrator vs Oven-Baked
The dehydrator is just a low-temperature oven that circulates the air throughout so that the food dries evenly from top to bottom and side to side (similar to a convection oven).
The idea is to “slowly” remove moisture from foods, and crisp the food rather than “cook” it.
The advantage of a dehydrator is that it is easier to get consistency and you don’t have to worry about burning the cucumber slices or having the edges turn brown like in an oven.
Did you know? You can easily moderate the exact temperature better in a dehydrator than in the oven. I dry most everything at 135 degrees F in my dehydrator, which seems to be the sweet spot for crispy dried produce.
The downside of a dehydrator vs the oven is time and potential cost. It takes around 12 hours to dry chips in a dehydrator, compared to 3-4 hours in the oven.
That means thinking ahead a bit when using a dehydrator. You don’t want to get up at 3 am to turn it off. Like I did!
This will vary of course, based on how thick you slice things, and how much water is in the produce.
Tip: I prefer the dehydrator because of the higher level of control over the final product. Time and cost are the main downsides. But, you can often find good used dehydrators on local marketplace apps.
The Best Dehydrator for Vegetables?
My favorite dehydrator is American Harvest (aka Nesco brand, American Harvest). I have 4 of them now as we dry chile peppers and tomatoes on the farm to use in our various recipes, such as homemade chili oil salsa.
Some dehydrators are not as expensive, however. Many of the inexpensive ones work fine but they have limited temperature settings or they may not be flexible in the amount of trays you can add.
So, if you choose a less expensive one, just make sure it has a temperature setting that you can control and think about how many trays you might want in the future.
The only one I would NOT recommend is one by Ivation. Mine broke after limited use and their customer service was abysmal.
Using a Mandolin vs a Knife
One of the keys to successful salt and vinegar cucumber chips is the consistency of the thickness.
If you are extremely talented with a knife, you may be able to get consistent, thin slices. I am not that skilled with a knife so I use a mandolin.
The thickness of the slices will determine how long to dry the chips and how crispy they will become.
Tip: A good mandolin allows you to set the thickness of the slices and is much quicker than a knife (once you get the hang of it). The disadvantage is the cost.
There are many brands of mandolins, and some are very inexpensive. I like the mandolin by French de Buyer Mandolin (photo below) because of the range of control you have over the thickness or thinness of the slices.
I also like it due to safety. It has legs which make it stable on the countertop and a knob that keeps your fingers away from the very sharp blades.
If you already have a knife and don’t want another kitchen tool, just make sure your knife is very sharp and keep your fingers away when slicing things thinly.
Other Low-Carb Snacks to Make in Dehydrator
Once you get a little practice drying food, the preservation world opens up. You can dry fruit, vegetables, and even meat.
I grow and dry chile peppers and make my own spices including chile pepper salt, which keep for a year and are much better than store-bought spices.
My daughter loves to dry vegetables. One of her favorites is dried beet chips.
Try your hand with fruit roll-ups, jerky, or dried berries. It’s a great way to make use of the food you grow yourself or pick up at the farmers’ market.
More Methods for Preserving Summer’s Produce:
- Easy Green Tomato Pickles
- Freezing Summer Tomatoes (plus freezer tomato sauce recipe)
- Preserving Fresh Herbs as Herbal-infused Infused Salts
- Freezing Compound Butters made with Fresh Herbs
- Red Pepper & Eggplant Spread for Cheese Trays & Sandwiches
- Homemade Dandelion Jelly
- Quick & Easy Pickled Onions
- How to Make Shrub Syrups (cold process vs. hot)
- Sun-dried tomato butter
Grow Your Own Cucumbers in a Container or Garden
Did you know? You can easily grow cucumbers in a container (and of course in your garden). As a long-time gardener growing both ways, my post below can inspire you to try it yourself!
If you have never gardened, (or even if you have), growing vegetables in containers on your deck, balcony, or patio can be surprisingly fun, rewarding, and even meditative. You just may get hooked!
**Want more like this? Subscribe to our Sunday newsletter to get recipes, gardening guides, and diet help. Let’s go from Inspiration to Done!
Like this recipe? It helps me out greatly if you leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below and maybe even leave me a quick comment too!
Salt and Vinegar Cucumber Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 teaspoon vinegar apple cider vinegar or your favorite
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers very thin, trying to get consistent thickness so they will dry evenly. Use a mandolin slicer if available for best results. If you don’t have a mandolin, use a very sharp knife.2 medium cucumbers
- Pat cucumber slices dry with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Place cucumbers in fairly large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Toss together gently but thoroughly to combine.No need to let them soak in the brine, but don’t pat the brine ingredients off either. I used tongs to remove and place on dehydrator racks, letting the liquid drip off a bit.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon vinegar
- For dehydrator: Place cucumber slices on trays and dry at 135°F for 12 hours or until they reach your desired crispiness (start checking them at 10 hours).For oven: Place slices on parchment lined baking tray. Dry at 175°F for 3-4 hours, checking every hour to ensure they don’t brown around the edges or burn. Turn them over half way through. Allow slices to cool before serving.
I can’t wait to try the cucumber chips. Sounds amazing!
And really simple! Let me know how you like them if you make it.
I dry almost anything I can. I have zucchini, green beans, celery, carrots, jerky, onions, garlic (oh boy, the smell!) tomatoes and beets. I have not tried cucumber, thought it was too juicy to dry properly.
Thank you for this recipe. They came out great! The cucumber slices are crispy an delicious.
Wow, you’re way ahead of us on the variety of things you’ve dried Elizabeth! So happy the cucumbers worked out for you. We’ve done beets and tomatoes but none of the others….might have to try the green beans next!
Wonder if you could do this with yellow squash?
Well Nancy, I don’t know for sure but it certainly seems doable. Cucumbers have quite a bit of water, so I would think the amount of water in squash would be similar. I think the key would be to get it sliced really thin. Let me know if you try it and how it works. We have a lot of winter squash coming on now, so I may try it also this Fall!
How do you store them?
For short term storage you can put them in glass jars with a secure lid. Just make sure they are really dry and crisp before storing. You can also place one of those silica pillow pacs that come in vitamin jars to help keep the chips fresh and dry. For longer term storage you would need to vacuum seal the chips. After being vacuum sealed you can store them in bags in your pantry.
I tried your recipe yesterday. The chips are delicious. This crop of cukes is my second planting this year so I already have plenty of pickles of all kinds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Thank you so much for letting me know! They store well also so you should have treats for Winter!
Looking forward to trying these this weekend. Do you peel the cucumbers or slice with the skin on? Thank you
We leave the skins on, but our cucumbers are pretty fresh with fairly thin skins. If you have a really thick-skinned cucumber the texture might not be quite as nice.
Hi! Thank you for the recipe. How long do you think the shelf life of these salt and vinegar chips is? Weeks, months?
@dorothy stainbrook, I left the oil out of mine as I plan to store them long term … long term dehydrated food shouldn’t include oil, or so I’ve read and been told.
You are correct. The oil can turn rancid. Mostly it depends on how you store them, but leaving the oil out is certainly a good option.
Thanks for the question. Here’s what extension service says: “After your food is dried, store in air-tight containers. Check within 7-10 days to see if moisture is present. If you see moisture, remove food and re-dry. If food is moldy, discard it. Dried foods keep 4-12 months depending on storage conditions. For a longer shelf life, store in a cool, dry, dark place under 60 degrees F.”
How big is a serving of these?
Hi Cindy, Using 2 medium size cucumbers, we came out with about 14 chips per serving (I didn’t weigh this unfortunately). Of course it depend on how thin you slice the cucumber and how big your cucumber is.
Has anyone used there ninja on there dehydrator yet? I have half cucumber maby give it a go .Just nervous
I have not…maybe someone else can chime in? Let us know how it turned out if you try it OK?
I used a 3rd of the oil called for. Still turned out great. Have Ranch flavored cukes in the dehydrator now. I’ve won Best of Show at the Georgia National Fair w/ my dried pineapple slices, banana chips, & salsa. Won blue ribbon w/ my dried kiwi. If you like the vinegar flavor- try halved cherry tomatoes w/ a couple drops of balsamic vinegar & a flake or two of pink Himalayan sea salt in each half- then dehydrate. My son took them backpacking- a big hit
Thank you so much for the informative comment. And congrats for the blue ribbon! I do love the vinegar flavor and I happen to have a lot of cherry tomatoes so I’m going to try your suggestion this week.
I found that if you peel the cucumber it removed the bitterness. Great tasting after
Thank you for the tip! That would be especially important for older cucumbers with tougher skin.
Can I overlap the cucumbers?
I wouldn’t. Cucumbers have a lot of water in them and the dehydrator needs to circulate the air around as much surface area of the cucumber as possible. You might end up with a cucumber chips that are only partially dried on the overlapping part which means they won’t be as crisp and won’t last as long.
How thick do you slice the cucumbers? Could you give me a measurement please? Thank you. 😊
I slice them 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. The thinner you slice them the quicker they will dry and the crisper they will be. Best……..
How long do you keep the slices in the brine ?
Good question Scott! We just left them in for a few minutes while getting the dehydrator ready. Pick them up with your fingers or tongs one by one to let the liquid drip off a bit and place them on the dehydrator rack. I changed the recipe directions to reflect this. Thank you for the question!