Smokin’ Tomato Chips
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Smokin’ Tomato Chips
~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
This creation started out as a challenge. A wonderful gal from Canada contacted me and asked if I could recreate a tomato chip like the one they are selling back in her local town. We shared, through email, some great conversations back and forth about how to make this treat. I told her I would give it a shot.
So late one night, I started tinkering around with a sauce. Every once in a while I dipped a finger in to taste test and then it hit me… how can I possibly recreate something that I have never tasted? She has tried several times on her end, and she has the store-bought product to compare it to. But I didn’t. So, I decided that maybe it wasn’t productive for me to take on this challenge, at least until I can get my hands on the original.
So, once I let that go, I started playing around with more spices and flavors, and this is the end result. After dehydrating and cooling to room temperature, they are crispy but do have a slight bend in them. You can easily bite into the chip, and it breaks right off in your mouth. Flavor-wise, the tomato really shines through, right along with the cheesy, smoky, and spicy flavors. Delicious!
To get really thin tomato slices, I used my mandolin. That way, I could get them as thin as possible without disturbing the membrane of the tomato too much. Also, when you have even and consistent slices, they will dehydrate at the same rate. You will want to select ripe but firm tomatoes for this recipe. Mushy ones just won’t work.
To make this nut-free, you can use sunflower or hemp seeds in place of the cashews. I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you try making it, please let me know how it goes. :
Ingredients:
Sauce: yields 2 1/2 cups
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked 2+ hours
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups (1 large) red bell pepper, rough chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Tomato chips:
Preparation:
Tomato chips:
- Wash and dry the tomatoes.
- Spread two paper towels out on the countertop.
- With a mandolin, I made 1.5 mm slices. Lay the slices on the paper towel in a single layer. As the towels fill up, lay another paper towel on top and continue. I did this to absorb the liquid from the tomatoes. Otherwise, the tomato juice would make the sauce too runny. I had a stack of 3 layers. You could use Roman tomatoes which have less liquid in them.
Sauce:
- After soaking the cashews, drain and discard the soak water. Place in a high-speed blender.
- Soaking the cashews will help soften them so they blend real creamy and the soaking process helps to reduce phytic acid. Read more about it (here).
- Add the water, bell pepper, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, oregano, paprika, pepper flakes, and salt. Blend to a smooth and creamy sauce. Depending on the machine this can take 1-3 minutes. Pour into a medium-sized bowl.
Assembly:
- Prepare the dehydrator trays by lining them with the teflex sheets. If you don’t have those, you can use parchment paper. Don’t use wax paper; food tends to stick to it.
- Dredge each tomato slice through the sauce. Allow any excess to drip off before laying it on the teflex sheet. Lay them out in a single layer.
- Dehydrate at 115 degrees (F) for 6-8 hours, until dry enough to peel off the teflex.
- Place the chips on the mesh sheet and continue to dry for another 6-8 hours or until crisp.
- These dry times are a basic estimate. It will vary on the climate you live in, the machine model that your own, and how full the dehydrator is.
- Store on the counter till gone. :)
Culinary Explanations:
- When working with fresh ingredients, it is important to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
- Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do however truly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Dairy Free, Dehydrated, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar free, Vegan
These sound soooooo delicious! I am going to get some nice tomatos and try these. I will let you know if they came out nicely. My mouth is already watery……. :-)
Please do Jokuh :) Have a wonderful day, amie sue
Amie-Sue, they are supercalifragilisticexpialidociously good! I had to hide some otherwise my son and my guests would have eaten all!! Now I am alone and can really enjoy it ;-)
lol Jokah…. thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out for you. I LOVE it… now I have that song stuck in my head. Can’t think of a better song to put a bounce into my step as I head to the grocery store. hehe Blessings and have a great day, amie sue
Hello Amie Sue,
thanks a lot for this recipe. Yesterday I got 20 kg tomatoes and… I really didn’t know what to do with them. I mean in raw way. Today I opened my e-mail box and… I’ve found this marvellous recipe :)
I have one question. Why do you add here nutritional yeast and is there any possibility not to use it. I ask because not everybody in my family tolerate gluten but not me.
I love everything you present here. I’ve tried a lot of of your recipies in my kitchen. Only sometimes it is difficult because of lack of some ingredients here in Poland but I substitute them with others which are somehow similar.
Best wishes,
Ania
You can skip the nutritional yeast Ania, it just gives the over-all recipe a cheesy taste. But just so you are aware, it doesn’t have gluten in it. I use the Red Star brand.
I understand that it can be hard to get some ingredients in other countries, but happy to hear that you are able to substitute as needed. A sign of a true “cook”. hehe Love and blessings, amie sue
Hello,
thanks for your hint. I must look for yeast without gluten. Here I’ve found only with barley.
Best wishes,
Ania
now I can use up some of these tomatoes.
great timing ! so I have cashews that have been soaked and dehydrated, do I need to re soak them? I’ve done like wise with the walnuts and almonds. Once they’ve been soaked and dehydrated what is the procedure when a recipe calls for soaked nuts.
have you tried this mash mix with kale chips? bet that would be really good too!! must try this soon… thanks for the share : )
Yep Suzie… the sauce is similar to my cheesy kale chips :)
Putting the cashews to soak right after I get off the computer.
Keep me posted Gayle :) Blessings, amie sue
These are soooooo good! I also for fun tried the sauce on some thin sumer squash slices. That works very nicely too. Thanks again!
G
I am so glad to hear this Gayle, I appreciate the feed-back :) Great idea using it on squash too. Enjoy! amie sue
I ended up having to slice by hand. Maybe the tomatoes were too soft but they still turned out very nice. Even if not as thin as a mandolin can get them.
The mandolin basically demolished them. :(
I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the flavors but sorry that they didn’t slice really nice for you. If they are too soft that can be an issue, as you learned. Have a great weekend Gayle. :) amie sue
Just recently i made some dried tomatoes, using the yellow heirlooms…They turned out great. I crushed lots of garlic with a garlic press, and rubbed them with that, along with a little olive oil, dried oregano, and black pepper. Now when I lift the lid of the container they are in, the aroma is so fabulous, and I realize it is the black pepper that is pronounced. I would highly recommend lots of that….and the garlic. I think, making them again, I will use lots of fresh basil along with the red bell pepper. Basil and tomatoes just go
together. Will let you know how that turns out. And I will skip the nutritional yeast. Thank you for the inspiration….k.
Sounds great Kate… I do love fresh tomatoes and heirlooms are a true treat. Have a great day, amie sue
I have them in The dehydrator and can’t wait! De leftover sauce, I mixed with linseeds to make crackers. I love the taste. Will let you know how the tomatochips turned out mmmmmmm!
Please do. :)
They are as I hoped they would. Tomorrow I am going to make another batch with a bit more hot peppers. I love them hot and peppery!
Awesome Jokah. So happy to hear that they turned out and you enjoyed them. Have a glorious weekend! amie sue
These are so lovely! Unfortunately, I can no longer have night shades, yet I will keep these in mind for the future.They look incredible…oh how incredibly inventive and creative you are, I am beyond impressed:)I really enjoyed reading your post and looking at your beautiful photo’s. Thank you~ Big hugs.
Good morning Kathy,
I am sorry to hear this. I hope you gut heals and soon you can bring them back into your diet! Sending you love and healing thoughts, amie sue
Can’t wait to show my Canadian husband this recipe as remember when I first moved to Canada and surprised by Ketchup chips and Dill Pickle chips – LOL!!!
I hope you try them and that they are just as good as those pickle chips. lol Blessings Dee-Dee!
I absolutely love all of your recipes. Best Raw site ever for raw crackers and breads. I have made so many of your recipes and everyone is spectacular and so easily adaptable to use ingredients available in Australia. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much Shane. So happy that you are enjoying them. Blessings, amie sue
Happy New Year, Amie Sue!
I made quite a few of your awesome raw goodies for Christmas and shared with many people who were absolutely blown away by them.
Thank you so much for all your incredible raw numminessness!
Happy New Year to you too Nancy :) I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. What a blessing that you shared healthy foods with others. You are amazing. Have a blessed and wonderful weekend. amie sue
These look amazing! Wonder if there is a substitute for the cashews (not on my food palate at the moment)?
Thank you. This is an amazing site.
Hello Pat, you can try peeled almonds or macadamia nuts. :) Thank you for the kind words. Have a wonderful weekend. amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue,
Is it to thin 1.5 mm for a slice?…I’m thinking that after dehydrating it will be too thin… what would happen if I slice the tomatoes thicker? say 5 mm?
You can use any thickness you want Daniela, you will just have different results from what I got. I used 1.5 mm, I dried them and that is what you see in the photo. :) If you do them thicker it will most likely take longer to dry. Enjoy and let me know how it goes for you. Blessings, amie sue
Can these be stored for a longer time?? If I make extra?
They might soften over time as humidity gets to them. I can’t say for sure how long they will keep because there are too many variables. amie sue
I am getting ready to make more of these for this year and hopefully enough to munch through out the year.
Delightful!
I love these chips. :) Glad to hear you do as well my friend. hugs, amie sue
I found your website while looking for ways to use my new Excalibur. Your recipes all look so wonderful. I have an abundance of tomatoes in the garden and this is a wonderful way to use them up. This sauce is so yummy I think I will make more to use as a dip. Now what to do with all those tomatillos…
Oh delicious… I wish I had an abundance of tomatoes! Yum :) Have fun creating and enjoy the gifts from the earth. Blessings, amie sue
Hello Amie-sue. The sound of this recipe is so delicious. Last Sunday, I got 5 kg tomatoes. I really did not know what to do with them. So I searched on Google, then I found your website. I read this recipe blog very carefully. After that I made the tomato chips with the help of your given method. I can’t believe that it was made so delicious. Thanks for sharing great recipe blog.
Good evening Anders,
Thank you for taking the time to come back and share your experience with me/us. I really appreciate that. Happy to hear you enjoyed them. Blessings! amie sue
yummyliciious … I’m making these for our Canada Day tomorrow … thank you, amazing Amie Sue
You are so welcome Angie. Happy Canada Day! Enjoy. :) amie sue
thank you, amazing-Amie Sue ♥ and I wish you a WONDERFUL weekend too, love
How would you make this without a dehydrator?
Hello Shan,
It would be tricky because they are delicate but look under “Culinary Explanations:” in the post and click on the link to see how to use your oven. Blessings, amie sue
could I use walnuts instead of cashews?
Hello Gaybreal, I haven’t tried it but it walnuts won’t create that same creamy texture for the sauce to dredge the tomatoes in. The end flavor will be altered too, but I don’t see why it can’t be done. You will just end up with different results than I did. Keep me posted if you give a try. Blessings, amie sue
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!! I was eating the sauce out of the bowl before dipping the tomatoes and I just couldn’t stop! Unfortunately, my tomatoes were butchered by the mandolin, so I salvaged what I could and just used zucchini for the rest instead. It’s still not done dehydrating, but I ate the few tomatoes I could save and although they weren’t completely done, O…M….G!!! SO glad I stumbled upon this recipe, thank you so much!
Well now, that’s what I like to hear. hehe I am thrilled beyond measure that you are enjoying the recipe. Gosh, now you are making me hungry for them. hehe See… we inspire one another. :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Blessings, amie sue
I sprinkled the yeast on after dredging, just for texture, and added some parsley.
Incredible. Thank you for your generosity in creating and sharing this recipe
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and adapted it to your liking. :) blessings, amie sue
great reciepy, and enjoying comments made by readers .
what is the shelf like.
Hello Faiz,
I don’t know what the maximum shelf life is on this tomato chips since we usually eat them up fairly quickly. If they are thoroughly dry and stored in an airtight container… I would guess several weeks. When it comes to raw foods, consuming them sooner than later is always better to ensure nutrients and flavor. blessings, amie sue
Just curious,why do you need to soak the cashews?
Good afternoon Steve,
Soaking the cashews will help soften them so they blend real creamy and the soaking process helps to reduce phytic acid. Thanks for asking. Blessings, amie sue