Pumpkin Chips are an easy, healthy and crispy snack. Made from the skin of a pumpkin, they can be baked in the oven or air fried in delicious warming Fall seasonings- nutmeg and cinnamon.
Table Of Contents
If you didn't know before, yes you can eat pumpkin skin!
When cooking fresh pumpkin, we often throw away the skin. But make these sweet and salty pumpkin chips once and you'll never throw it out again! This is a fantastic way to use almost an entire pumpkin and leave little waste.
If you're someone (like me!) who loves roasting entire pumpkins during the month of October and using them to make your favorite pumpkin recipes, you need to try this method to making crunchy, addicting pumpkin chips!
It's like eating crispy homemade potato chips, except we're using pumpkin skin instead of potatoes to make them. This a lesser known way to use up a fresh pumpkin when compared to making roasted pumpkin seeds or homemade puree, but one that is just as delicious.
You can use this same method to make chips with other edible winter squash varieties, including acorn squash, butternut squash, and dumpling squash. Check out this guide to edible winter squash and pumpkins if you'd like to try it out using something different.
More Pumpkin Recipe Ideas
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal with Walnuts
- Pumpkin Cornbread with Sugared Walnut Topping
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake with Nutmeg Crust
Ingredients
You need:
- Whole pumpkin: pie/sugar pumpkin or another squash with edible skin, such as acorn or butternut squash.
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Olive oil: or another cooking oil
This recipe uses nutmeg and cinnamon, plus salt to season the chips. This gives the sweetness of the pumpkin a little savory and salty kick- one that is full of autumnal flavor. Pumpkin spice, ginger, or spicy seasonings like chili powder also taste great.
How To Make Pumpkin Chips In The Air Fryer
Step 1: Air fry the entire pumpkin or cut your pie pumpkin into small pieces. Spray with a little cooking oil and air fry for 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204C), until the pumpkin pierces easily with a fork and the skin peels easily.
Step 2: Let the pumpkin cool slightly. The skin, if it hasn't already started to, will peel easily when pulled back. Use your fingers or tongs to peel it off, as you would peel a banana. Be careful to take as little flesh off with the skin as possible. If some skin has flesh attached to it, scrape off as much as you can. Reserve seeds and pumpkin flesh for another use, such as roasted seeds and pumpkin puree.
Step 3: Cut large pumpkin skin pieces into smaller ones, about 1-2 inches long and wide. Put into a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. You can use other seasonings here too, like ginger, allspice, pumpkin spice, pepper, cajun seasoning, chili powder, etc.
Step 4: Place into the air fryer basket. Set to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (196C) for 8 minutes. Toss halfway through. While you can air fry the pumpkin in a single layer, it's not necessary. Just make sure to toss thoroughly. If you have a large air fryer or an oven-style air fryer and prefer to cook the chips in a single layer, that's fine too! But with a small basket, this may take a while.
Step 5: Check chips to see if they are done. They will be a very deep orange, almost brown and have a very crispy texture. If not done, continue to air fry in 2 minute increments. You may need to remove smaller/thinner chips before the large or thicker ones are finished.
Then taste and season with additional salt if desired, and enjoy!
How To Make Pumpkin Chips In The Oven
To make these in your oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Remove the stem, seeds and stringy flesh. Toss the pumpkin chunks with a little olive oil and place on the parchment paper. Roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, until a fork easily pierces the flesh and the skin easily peels off.
Remove from the oven and follow steps 2-3 above. Once the skin has been seasoned, place back on the baking sheet and bake until crispy and deep orange brown, about 10 minutes. Because ovens vary, make sure to start checking the chips around the 5 minute mark.
Once done, let cool and season more if desired. They can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
Pumpkin chips are incredibly healthy! The skin is full of Vitamin A, B-6, C and E, plus potassium, manganese, folate, thiamin and much more. Pumpkin is known to aid in brighter and healthier skin and blood pressure regulation. And since this recipe uses just a bit of extra virgin olive oil and good-for-you seasonings, it is a great source of nutrients without too many calories or unhealthy additives.
The easiest way to remove the skin from pumpkins is to first cook the pumpkin. This loosens the skin, causing it to easily peel off. You can cook the pumpkin whole in a pressure cooker, air fryer, or oven, or cook it in pieces. Either way, the more cooked the pumpkin is, the easier the skin peels off without taking any flesh with it- and you want no or very little flesh attached to the skin to make the crispiest pumpkin chips. Once cooked, simply use tongs or your fingers to carefully peel the skin, like you would peel a banana.
Pumpkin chips shouldn't be frozen after cooking. They will lose their crunch when defrosted. You can, however, freeze the uncooked skin to make chips at a later time.
Eat pumpkin chips like you would potato chips, as a healthy snack. They can be dipped into ice cream or broken into small pieces and used as a topping for Fall salads, pastas and soups, like pumpkin soup or pumpkin pasta.
Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Recipe
Pumpkin Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb pie pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil extra virgin
- ½ - 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
Air Fryer Method
- Cut the pie pumpkin into small pieces. Spray with a little cooking oil and air fry for 15-18 minutes at 400°F (204°C), until the pumpkin pierces easily with a fork and the skin peels easily. Alternatively, leave the pumpkin whole and air fry for about 24 minutes.
- Remove from the air fryer and let pumpkin cool slightly. Use your fingers or tongs to peel off the skin, as you would peel a banana. Be careful to take as little flesh off with the skin as possible. If some skin has flesh attached to it, scrape off as much as you can. Reserve seeds and pumpkin flesh for another use, such as roasted seeds and pumpkin puree.
- Place pieces back into the air fryer basket. Set to air fry at 375°F (196°C) for 8 minutes. Toss halfway through (see notes about single layering).
- Check chips to see if they are done. They will be a very deep orange, almost brown and have a very crispy texture. If not done, continue to air fry in 2 minute increments. You may need to remove smaller/thinner chips before the large or thicker ones are finished.
- Remove from air fryer, taste, and season with more salt if desired.
Oven Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Remove the stem, seeds and stringy flesh. Toss the pumpkin chunks with a little olive oil and place on the parchment paper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until a fork easily pierces the flesh and the skin easily peels off. .
- Remove from the oven. Let the pumpkin cool slightly. Use your fingers or tongs to peel it off, as you would peel a banana. Be careful to take as little flesh off with the skin as possible. If some skin has flesh attached to it, scrape off as much as you can. Reserve seeds and pumpkin flesh for another use, such as roasted seeds and pumpkin puree.
- Cut large pumpkin skin pieces into smaller ones, about 1-2 inches long and wide. Put into a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Place back on the baking sheet and bake until crispy and deep orange brown, about 10 minutes. Flip halfway through.
- Once done, let cool and season more if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Colleen says
We had a weekend visit to the pumpkin patch so I'm all stocked up. This recipe is so intriguing! I'm so glad one of my pumpkins is small enough for the air fryer.
Linda says
I would have never thought to make pumpkin chips! What a great idea and so tasty. Love all those autumn spices flavoring these crispy bits of deliciousness.
Marie says
I'm all about finding new ways to use up whole pumpkins and not waste any part but I have to say eating the skin had never crossed my mind! This is such a genius recipe, the chips came out amazingly crispy and delicious. Thanks for this super clever no-waste recipe!
Bernice says
Well. As they say, you learn something new every day. Today I learned you can eat pumpkin peelings and they're pretty darn delicious. Thank you!
Kayla DiMaggio says
Yum! I love the idea of these pumpkin chips! They were so delicious!
Liz says
i never know what to do with leftover pumpkins as i dont care for pumpkin pie so this is such a great idea!
Jean says
Ive never tried pumpkin chips before and now I want, love this idea of a healthy snack. Thank you for this.
Oscar says
This is a great way to use pumpkin, I would have never have thought of making them in the air fryer. Going to try this recipe. Thank you.