These Yuca Crisps have the perfect combination of crunchy and salty goodness. They make an excellent stand-in for potato or corn chips and you can make them easily in your own oven!
Have you not tried yuca yet? It’s becoming more and more popular and I see it now at most grocery stores in the produce section. Yes, it’s ugly! It’s a large tuberous root with a hard dark brown bark on the exterior, but inside the ugly exterior is a beautiful white slightly sweet and potato-like flesh.
A few week ago I stumbled upon a fellow food blogger’s post on Yuca Fries….Did she say FRIES!? OMG, just that word F.R.I.E.S. makes me want to run to the closest McDonalds and order up some of those salty and greasy sticks of awesomeness! So that was it. With one word she won me over and I was on a mission to find the YUCA.
I must admit I was overwhelmed when I found it in the grocery store! Yuca is also known as Cassava. This is what this thing looks like when you buy it:
Yikes! What am I suppose to do with that? Well, I am here to calm your fears. It’s not as bad as it looks, and it is so very worth it. Crisps, fries, mashed, whatever you want to make with it you will not be let down. And it’s gluten-free and an acceptable starch for paleo-ians.
So when you get your wonderful large and overwhelmingly tough-looking root home, break out your best pairing knife. Unless you have an industrial strength potato peeler you are not going to make much progress un-barking the exterior! They usually have a protective wax coating, so don’t freak out if you see that….. It’s ok!
Use you pairing knife to trim off the ends, then trim off the bark, leaving only the white interior. Please be careful with your knife wielding!
Next you want to cut it into “chips.” This is best accomplished with a mandolin, but you can use a knife as well. Just try to get them as thin as possible. Now you’re ready to cook!!
I have two recipes where I utilize this awesome root….The ULTIMATE Nachos….
And Smoked Salmon Bites that are on of crispy “smashed” yuca:
And Cricket wanted me to remind you not to forget your furry family members! One of her favorite crunchy snacks are these Chicken Jerky Treats. They are very easy to make. So when you make your Yuca Crisps, be sure to bake up some jerky for your pup! Hey, dogs like to snack too ya know!
Yuca Chips
These Yuca Crisps have the perfect combination of crunchy and salty goodness. They make an excellent stand-in for potato or corn chips and you can make them easily in your own oven!
- 1 yuca/ cassava root
- 2 tablespoons of oil of your choice (olive oil, ghee etc.)
- 1 + teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt (s)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel and cut the yuca according to the directions above in the post.
- Place the yuca rounds in a bowl and coat evenly with oil or use a oil spray to coat both sides of the rounds and place them on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, then flip the rounds and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. If they are browning too quickly, or not browning at all, adjust the temperature of your oven. I did end up turning my oven up the last 5 minutes to 425 degrees F to get the golden edges.
