It’s Earth Day! Come celebrate with a Virtual Picnic in honor of the Picnic for the Planet the Nature Conservancy are hosting around the globe today. We’re bringing crisp baked potato chips and avocado ranch dip with us. Won’t you join us?
Warming weather to this family means plenty of outdoor eating, sitting in the grass and running through wide open spaces. We love a good picnic, especially if it involves all the lovely picnic foods like potato salad and hamburgers. However, one thing our picnics lack is potato chips. We don’t buy them, and my dear husband hasn’t had one pass his lips in over 15 years. While he’ll tell you that he doesn’t miss the salty crunch potato chips bring to the party, I was bound and determined to find a potato chip recipe that he would deem acceptable for consumption. Turns out baking potatoes, even in chip form, does not a potato chip make. According to him.
According to me, I made homemade potato chips. Baked. Then I topped it of by making a creamy avocado ranch dip to scoop up in my homemade potato goodness. We’re ready to picnic and potato chips are invited to the party.
We’re inviting you to a Picnic for the Planet today in honor of Earth Day. Get involved and check out these five things you can do to support the planet:
Eat Smart. Know where your food comes from and what’s in it.
Eat Local. Shop at farmers’ markets, join a CSA, locate a co-op or buy direct from a farm.
Eat Sustainably. Choose sustainable options when purchasing seafood.
Eat Green. Look for organic options and add more produce to your diet, and be sure to check out the Eat Well, Spend Less series to do it on a budget.
Eat Out. Join the Picnic for the Planet and eat outside today, celebrating what we have all around us.
Start by thinly slicing potatoes. I used Sara‘s mandoline for nice, even slices, but you could also do this with a vegetable peeler or in your food processor, too.
Lay out the potatoes and brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. These get put into a fairly hot oven and then baked into golden glory goodness. Drain them on a baking rack, paper bag or kitchen towel.
For the dip, we’re going to start with creamy and ripe avocados. Mine were a gift from California Avocados Direct and were some of the best avocados I’ve had. They were fresh and creamy and completely void of those annoying strings you so often see in store-bought avocados. The creamy green was perfect for eating on its own or turning into dips and spreads or, in this case, avocado ranch dip.
Mix in Greek yogurt, lemon juice, a cocktail of spices and herbs and mash in the avocados for a dip that is made for those hearty potato chips.
Packed tightly inside a lemon-rubbed canning jar and then covered with a piece of parchment, this avocado dip won’t brown nearly as easily as guacamole. Squeeze out as many air bubbles as you can while packing, cover with a piece of parchment right on top and then seal with the lid. You’ll be good for 24 hours.
Lightly oiled potato chips hold up to this creamy ranch dip and will have the kids squealing and may even reform those on self-imposed potato chip bans. Plus, they’re perfect picnic eats.
Happy Earth Day! Thank you so much to Amber and Aimee for coordinating the whole thing! Come join our virtual picnic by visiting the rest of our group:
Simple Bites | Pressed Sandwiches
My Baking Addiction | Mixed Berry Cheesecakes in a Jar
Bluebonnets & Brownies | Nanny’s Potato Salad
Gourmande in the Kitchen | Honey Ginger Lemonade
Dine & Dish | Sangria
Add A Pinch | Herbed Tortellini Salad
Bakers Royale | Fruit Recipe Roundup
Three Many Cooks | Black and White Caviar
Food for My Family | Homemade Potato Chips and Avocado Ranch Dip
Sugarcrafter |Apple Hand Pies
Tickled Red | Tangy Potato Salad
What’s Cooking with Kids | Kale Chips
Confessions of a Cookbook Queen | Mini Lemonade Cakes
TidyMom | Picnic Pies in a Jar
Today’s recipe was inspired by and adapted from the cheeky wonder, Brooke McLay. I’ve been dreaming of potato chips ever since I saw hers, and I knew I needed to bring them into my own kitchen and out on a picnic with me.
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
Preheat oven to 400° F. Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave potatoes into very thin slices. Lay slices onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush lightly with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes or until potatoes start to turn golden on one side. Flip the slices and continue baking for another 7-10 minutes. Flip again and bake until potatoes are golden brown and crisp, another 5-10 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight container.
Makes 6 cups potato chips.
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
chips and vegetables for dipping
Peel and mash avocados. Mix avocados with Greek yogurt and lemon juice. Stir in chives, parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Serve with homemade potato chips, pita chips or fresh vegetables for dipping.
Makes 3 cups.
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Do you know how many calories is in this entire snack?
There are around 225 calories per serving if you assume the whole recipe for each part makes 8 servings. Hope this helps.
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Okay, I’m making these recipes, today. Potato chips and dip are hard to resist. As Michael Pollan says in Food Rules, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself!”
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In the oven right now! They are a little thicker than yours because of the peeler I used but will come out fine. I always liked making sliced potatoes for breakfast so these will be great either way (:
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Discovered this recipe on Pinterest and followed it here. I made this last week and my guests absolutely loved it. I have since been a regular to your blog and am amazed at all your delicious recipes. Keep up the good work!
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Grabbed this from pinterest and love it! Great idea for a tasty dip, can’t wait to wow everyone this summer
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Made the ranch and tried to give it a Tex-Mex flavor. I added some cumin, lime juice, paprika and some piment d’espelette. We’re having it with tacos tonight, although it is so good I could just eat it with a spoon!
this looks amazing. i need to make this tonight!
you could probably just put the avocado pit in the dip and the dip would stay green and not turn borwn!
The seed/pit keeping it from browning likely started because wherever the pit covers, the avocado dip doesn’t turn brown, but it’s really because it blocks the oxygen from oxidizing the fruit.
Enjoy the dip. It’s one of our favorites. Have a wonderful weekend!
I have made the dip a couple of times and get rave reviews. Thank you so much.
I followed the recipe exactly and used the 2 types of potatoes you did here, and when I went to flip them, every single one stuck to the parchment paper. I’ve been baking for years and had a feeling they might stick, but tried this recipe.
I tried it with 2 batches. BOth times, it stuck horribly and tore up the potatoes with no recovery.
Suggestions?
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I have these in the oven right now. I just want to make sure it is bake and not broil. Thank you!
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Unique perspective. Thank you for writing that. I will definitely check here to read more and tell my people about it.
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