Crispy Green Bean Chips
If you love to munch popcorn while you watch a movie, but are also trying to eat better, healthier snacks, then you’ll be happy to know that I’ve got your popcorn replacement right here!
Okay, yes. That sounds like a really weird snack. I know. That’s what I thought too.
But see, I was opening all these cans of freeze-dried fruit and vegetables to let the kids taste them, and when we got to green beans, well, the kids didn’t like them.
On the other hand, I put one in my mouth and it was so crispy, all I could think was “this needs salt. If it had salt, I’d eat it all day long”.
But how in the world do you get salt to stick to something that dry? Oil.
I try really hard to eat at least a teaspoon – but preferably two – of coconut oil every day. That can be kind of hard, because I’m not a particular fan of the way coconut oil tastes in anything that’s not supposed to be coconut flavored – by which I mean dessert.
But I decided to be brave and at least try using coconut oil for these green bean snacks.
Guess what? It worked!
Somehow, the slight sweetness of the green beans, the flavor of the oil, the salt, and the chili powder all meld together to make one amazing flavor punch, and I just love it!
These crispy green bean snacks contain just 83 calories per one cup serving. That’s a whole lot of munching and healthy fat!
My kids won’t eat them. So far, they’ll only eat french-style green beans. So picky.
But I don’t complain too much, because they do eat other vegetables. In fact, they eat other freeze-dried vegetables as snacks straight out of the can all the time!
Can’t complain about that.
PrintCrispy Green Bean Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cups Freeze-Dried Geen Beans
- 1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder or paprika
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Enjoy!
I recently bought a freeze dryer, mostly to be able to make these green bean snacks (of course, it’s great for preserving all kinds of fruit, veggies, and even meals like chili and stew). I’m still experimenting, but I’ve been adding the oil and seasoning before I freeze dry, so that they can be stored long term.
If you add the oil and seasoning after they’ve been freeze dried, how long do they stay crisp before the oil starts to make them mushy?
Healthy and crispy chips to try
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Is it good for diet?
This is one of the best articles I’ve read on this subject. Keep up the great work!
At first I thought the coconut oil was mainly for flavor, but the note about getting salt to stick to something that dry changed my view. Compared with salting after baking, mixing everything first seems more dependable.
The recipe uses 83 calories per one cup serving, which makes portion size easy to track when testing a repeatable snack routine. Could the same serving measure guide your seasoning adjustments?
i appreciate the practical tip about using coconut oil to help the seasoning stick. the combination of salt and chili powder sounds like it would balance the slight sweetness of the beans well. it’s a clever way to add healthy fats into a snack. even if the kids are picky, having a crunchy, low-calorie option for yourself is a win.
The coconut oil detail is genius—I was skeptical until you explained how it acts as an adhesive for the salt. That’s a clever workaround for a problem most people wouldn’t think to solve. Eighty-three calories per cup is impressive for something that actually feels indulgent to eat, especially compared to typical chip alternatives that taste like cardboard. The fact that your kids reject these but demolish freeze-dried veggies straight from the can is funny; texture clearly matters more to them than flavor.
The coconut oil trick for getting salt to stick is clever—I’ve struggled with that on other crispy snacks too. The flavor combination you describe (sweet green beans, coconut oil, salt, chili powder) actually sounds balanced rather than weird. At 83 calories per cup, this beats most store-bought chips. Worth trying even if it’s just for the parents while the kids stick to their french-style preferences.