These Raw Gluten-Free Vegan Corn Chips are an easy and healthy recipe made with only 4 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect homemade plant-based snack made in a dehydrator, contain no oil, and can be customized with your favorite flavors!
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Healthier Than Store-Bought Chips - You can control the quality of ingredients used and they're "raw" and not fried!
- Can be Prepared in Under 10 Minutes - You can prepare the mixture in under 10 minutes with the remaining time being inactive.
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - Nutrient-dense and healthy ingredients such as non-GMO corn, ground flax seeds, filtered water, and Himalayan pink salt.
You can feel good about making my healthy, plant-based recipe because it's raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, oil-free, nut-free, and egg-free.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to use organic if possible.
- Organic Corn
- Ground Flax Seeds
- Filtered/Purified Water
- Himalayan Pink Salt
Optional Add-Ins: Jalapenos, Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder, Chipotle Powder, Garlic, Sesame Seeds...anything you like!
Frequently Asked Questions
In my opinion, yes!
Store-bought unflavored corn chips, in general, do not have a long list of unhealthy ingredients, but unless you buy an organic brand, you are eating chips made with GMO ingredients and unhealthy seed oils.
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Dorito's Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips Ingredients: Corn, Vegetable Oils (Corn Oil, Canola Oil, Sunflower Oil), Salt
When you make homemade chips, you can use organic ingredients and keep them raw by using a dehydrator.
Here are some healthy, clean eating, raw or vegan dip recipes to enjoy with your raw corn chips:
Spinach and Avocado Dip
Cilantro and Lime Salsa
Zucchini Hummus
Pineapple Guacamole
Yes! This recipe is for a basic corn chip but feel free to add your favorite spices!
Some examples are:
Smoked Paprika
Nutritional Yeast
Ground Cumin
Garlic Powder
Lime Juice
Chili Powder
Jalapenos
Cayenne Pepper
Keep in mind:
1. If you add extra liquid (example: lime juice) you may need to reduce the amount of water in the recipe
2. If you add something extra like nutritional yeast which would significantly thicken the mixture as opposed to adding extra spices, you may need to increase the amount of water in the recipe.
It's important to make sure the chips are stored in an air-tight BPA-free container until you are ready to enjoy them.
When they are left out at room temperature, they will absorb moisture from the air and lose their crispiness.
Dehydrator Tips
Dehydrator Tip #1: When you spread the mixture on the dehydrator tray, make sure it is not as thick as you would spread it for a cracker and not too thin (paper thin) - try to get something in between. If it's too thick, it will take too long and will be like a cracker. If it's too thin, they won't be thick and sturdy enough to scoop up your favorite dip or salsa. In addition, make sure the mixture isn't thicker in the center, or it won't crisp properly. I like to use an offset spatula to do this, and it works great!
Dehydrator Tip #2: When you flip the chips over halfway through the dehydrating process, you will need to transfer them from the Paraflexx liner to a mesh tray. They should be able to hold their shape after about 4-6 hours. Simply peel them off the Paraflexx liner and place the chip mixture directly onto a mesh tray.
Dehydrator Tip#3: There are two options for shaping the chips:
- Scoring: If you want to break the chips into even pieces later, don't forget to score them (a simple pizza cutter works great!). The best time for scoring the chips is after they have been in the dehydrator for about 4-6 hours.
- Breaking By Hand: Another option is to just break them into chip size pieces by hand once they're finished dehydrating, which will give you random-size pieces.
Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Ground Flax Seeds: Make sure they are fresh - using old or rancid flax seeds will give the chips a bitter taste. I like to use fresh ground flax seeds by grinding them myself when I'm ready to use them, so they are as fresh as possible. I use an inexpensive coffee grinder to grind mine.
Corn: You can use either organic fresh corn, frozen corn kernels or organic corn kernels in a BPA-free can, either will work fine.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, you can always substitute with sea salt.
Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (30) chips. Nutritional information is for (8) chips which is (1) serving.
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Healthy Raw Vegan Corn Chips
Equipment
- Vitamix or high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups organic non-GMO corn
- ¼ cup organic ground flax seeds
- ¼ cup water (filtered/purified) (filtered/purified)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Optional add-ins:
- ground garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, chipotle powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, and blend until well combined and has a thick pasty-type texture, using a tamper if needed. I used a Vitamix Professional Series 750 Model, starting at the lowest speed setting (1) and gradually moving up to the highest speed setting (10).
- Transfer the mixture to a Paraflexx drying sheet and spread it evenly, not too thick or too thin.
- Before placing them in the dehydrator, you can lightly sprinkle some Himalayan pink salt over the top of the mixture.
- Dehydrate at 105 degrees for approximately 18-24 hours, or until crispy, flipping them over about midway through and transferring them to a mesh tray to continue dehydrating.
- Cut or break into triangle shapes and serve.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container until ready to serve - exposure to moisture in the air will make them soft and lose their crispiness.
Recipe Notes
- Scoring: If you want to break the chips into even pieces later, don't forget to score them (a simple pizza cutter works great!). The best time for scoring the chips is after they have been in the dehydrator for about 4-6 hours.
- Breaking By Hand: Another option is to just break them into chip size pieces by hand once they're finished dehydrating, which will give you random-size pieces.
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
More Vegan Cracker Recipes
Check out these:
- Carrot and Flax Crackers
- Turmeric and Black Peppercorn Sesame Seed Crackers
- Thyme and Garlic Crackers
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Rand says
HEllo,
Thank you very much for this great recipe. My question is do you use the raw corn or you boil it first.
Thank you very much.
Rand
Xoxo
Karielyn says
Hi there Rand! Since this is a "raw" recipe and you would be using a dehydrator, it would be best to use un-boiled corn. I've used both organic frozen corn kernels, as well as, organic canned corn kernels and both worked fine.
Thanks for the question and I hope that helps. Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Sharon says
Is there any way to make these without a dehydrator? Can they be baked?
Karielyn says
Hi there Sharon! I've had success making kale chips and apple chips in the oven in lieu of my dehydrator with no problems so I'm assuming it would work the same, but don't know for sure. I haven't attempted to make these without a dehydrator, but you could try to make them in the oven. The dehydrator removes the moisture from the mixture which is how they turn out crunchy. So if you try them in the oven, I would use the lowest setting possible and keep checking on them every 30 minutes or so and flipping them over each time to make sure they bake evenly. I'm not sure exactly how long it will take, but it will probably be a couple of hours.
Thanks for the question and I hope you are able to make them 🙂
Viviane Kraus says
Does this recipe works in the oven as well? Would you know the time and temperature if does? Thank you
Karielyn says
Hi there Viviane! I've never tried to make this in the oven, but if you want to give it a try, I would put it on the very lowest heat and just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. One of the things a dehydrator does is remove the liquid (or dehydrate) the foods so that's what turns the liquid mixture in this recipe into a crunchy/crispy chip.
I'm not sure what would happen in the oven since it doesn't really remove the moisture/liquid like a dehydrator, but might come close on low, low heat? I'm sorry I don't know the answer but I would give it try! 🙂
Tamara says
Just whipped this up, in the dehydrator now 🙂 Looking forward to seeing how it turns out because the raw mixture tasted amazing!
Karielyn says
Hi there Tamara! Thanks for trying out the recipe and I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Helyn says
YES!!! Thanks for this. I love it and can't wait to make it again..
Karielyn says
Hi there Helyn! Hope you enjoy them...they are really easy to make! 🙂
Sarah says
Hi! I don't have a dehydrator, do you think it would work to make these in an oven at its lowest temperature? 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi there Sarah! I haven't tried that before, but if I did, I would put it at the very lowest temperature like you suggested and keep a close eye on them.
The dehydrator removes all the moisture from them and that's what makes them crunchy so you'd have to watch them in the oven to make sure they get crispy but without burning. And you might have to leave them in there for a good while.
Thanks for the questions and I hope you get them to work in the oven so you can taste them because they are really good and so much better than store-bought chips 🙂
Diane Lanthier says
Hi, I made this recipe and love it! I used organic frozen kernels and let the bag thaw out in the fridge for 2 days. I used Chia seeds instead of flax and added a bit more salt and the juice of a lime. I love them and will definitely be making more!!
Karielyn says
Hi there Diane! I'm so excited to hear you liked the chips and I ~really~ love the changes you made like the chia seeds and lime juice...yum!!
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it...I really appreciate it 😉
Morgan says
I am a snacker and love chips and salty foods over sweets which is not so great. I went in search of a healthier option to satisfy my craving and found it! I made a batch of these earlier this week (unfortunately did not have fresh corn so I used defrosted frozen corn)and they are amazing! I have a second batch in my dehydrator right now (used garlic salt on the second batch instead of regular salt...mmmm) Going to the store tomorrow to buy mass quantities of corn on the cob tomorrow so I can fill my dehydrator sheets up with these!
Karielyn says
Hi there Morgan! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed them! Some other variations I've made (but haven't posted yet) are adding jalapenos (yum!), chili powder, chipotle powder...really whatever you feel like to spice them up.
And you're right...these are the ultimate guilty-free snack!
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you like it 😉
Simone says
Hi,
what if you don't have a vitamix?
Karielyn says
Hi Simone! I haven't tried either of these, but you could try to make it in a regular blender or even a food processor.
You would need to be able to blend the corn kernels to a puree-type consistency. You might have better luck if you use canned corn instead of frozen since it would be softer.
I hope it works...if you try it out, be sure to let me know 🙂