Back in March when we began our grain-free journey with a Whole30, I found myself doing a ton of research on paleo eating, specifically related to paleo snacks that my children and husband would enjoy. I knew that their normal snacks of granola bars and muffins were easily paleo-itized. But those snacks used pound after pound of insanely expensive almond flour or a dozen eggs per batch of muffins.
When reading one of my now favorite cookbooks, Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan, I stumbled across a recipe for toasted coconut chips. I immediately knew that my boys would LOVE toasted coconut chips. Tip: If you click on this Well Fed link you can download a free PDF sample of the book with a ton of fabulous recipes!
Melissa’s recipe uses a skillet on the stovetop to toast the coconut chips, which I cautiously did a few times with mixed results. Sometimes the coconut burnt. Other times it toasted nicely. Most of the time I got a combination of both.
This process was pretty daunting because I wanted to batch prep a ton of coconut chips (think a half gallon ball jar full of them). And that meant standing next to a screaming hot cast iron skillet for 30 minutes trying not to burn the coconut or my hands. I knew there had to be another way.
One evening I decided to put the untoasted coconut chips on a pan and put them in a 350* oven, just to see what happened. The results? Perfectly toasted coconut chips in 6-10 minutes.
We eat our toasted coconut chips topped with sea salt and cinnamon. However, they would be amazing with curry spices, paprika, nutritional yeast or cacao powder. The options are endlessly delicious.
This is one of those recipes that is more technique versus actual recipe, so don’t overthink it. Just keep a watchful eye and nose to the oven during the last few minutes and you should be golden. Remember that all ovens heat differently and have their own quirks (convection vs non convection, hot spots, etc.). So don’t leave the room while you are toasting your coconut chips.
Toasted Coconut Chips
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 6-10 minutes
Keywords: bake appetizer snack dairy-free gluten-free low-carb low-sodium low-sugar nut-free soy-free sugar-free unsweetened vegan vegetarian
Ingredients (4-6 cups)
- 4-6 cups coconut chips
- 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350*.
Spread coconut chips on a large rimmed baking sheet and place on the center rack of the oven.
Bake for 6-10 minutes or until the coconut smells toasted and is lightly browned. Stir halfway through cooking time to ensure all of the coconut is evenly toasted.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with sea salt and cinnamon. Stir to distribute spices. Allow to cool on the pan for at least an hour. The coconut will crisp as it cools.
Tips and Tricks
You can toast multiple batches in the oven at one time. Note that the coconut on the top rack will toast faster than the coconut on the lower racks.
If you have hot spots in your oven or are baking multiple sheets at once, it might be helpful to turn the pans or switch racks mid-way through the cooking time when you are already opening the oven to stir the coconut chips.
Thanks for the shoutout! Glad you like the coconut chips and that you discovered an oven method that works for you. YAY!
Thank you for stopping by and for your amazing books!