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It’s probably clear that we’re obsessed with healthy snacks. What can we say? We like having something to nibble on while watching our favorite TV show… or attending a party… or even running a marathon. Basically anytime we’re awake and need to stay energized, we like to have something healthy at hand to keep us from inhaling a bag of chips.
So we thought we knew snacking. But then zucchini opened up a whole new world for us. The versatile vegetable can be a healthy stand-in for carbohydrates in all of our favorite munchies, from pizza bagels to French fries. Check out it out yourself with these recipes. We think you’ll be smitten too.
1. Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips
These bites are doppelgängers for our favorite salt and vinegar chips, and with five ingredients, they’re as simple as they are tasty. They definitely fall in the category of a make-ahead snack, though, since they spend between two and three hours in the oven. If you make a big enough batch, you can enjoy them all week long—or all at once if late-night snack cravings come calling.
2. Zucchini Bruschetta
Sub in zucchini for bruschetta’s typical bread base and you’ve got this appetizer that’s incredibly easy to whip up and a source of potassium (from the zucchini) and vitamin C (from the tomatoes). The best news? Baking time is only four minutes, leaving you plenty of time to ponder if you’re pronouncing “bruschetta” properly.
3. Baked Zucchini Fries
Our snack cravings come on hard and fast, and these zucchini fries are up to the challenge. Just shake the strips in flour, coat them with an egg wash, and dip them in the coating of bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings. After 15 minutes in the oven, it’s snack time—minus the unnecessary grease and saturated fat found in the fast food variety.
4. Zucchini Pizza Bites
These mini pies draw many words to mind: mesmerizing, enticing, entrancing, fascinating—tell us more, pizza bites, you’re the best date we’ve ever had. All you need is 20 minutes and five ingredients (including adorable mini pepperonis), and it’s an affair we’ll never forget.
5. Baked Parmesan Zucchini Crisps
These crisps have a similar ingredient list to the baked fries, but one extra step makes a big difference: Lay the rounds out to dry for 20 minutes, and you’ll end up with a crunchy, crispy snack. Different strokes for different folks (and triple the eggs, so if you’ve got cholesterol on the brain, take note).