Homemade vegetable chips are a good way to get a crunchy snack without the amount of oil and salt typically packed into store-bought versions. Beet, carrot, and zucchini together make for a nice mix of flavors and colors on one plate, and the oven does nearly all of the work.

The main rule for crispy vegetable chips is thin, even slicing. Uneven thickness means thin slices burn before thicker ones finish drying out, which is why a mandoline works better than a knife here. It’s also important not to crowd the baking sheet — vegetables need a single layer with a little breathing room, otherwise they steam in their own moisture instead of drying out and stay soft.

Different vegetables dry at different rates — beet and carrot usually need a bit more time than zucchini — so it helps to bake them on separate sheets or check each type on its own, pulling out whichever finishes first. Finished chips should feel dry to the touch and bend slightly rather than stay soft; they crisp up further as they cool.

These chips taste best the same day they’re made, while still at their crispiest, but if you need to keep them longer, store them in a sealed container only once they’ve cooled completely.