Make Avocado Chips Yourself With Just 3 Ingredients

Many folks know about the crisping qualities of Parmesan. If you melt this cheese and then keep melting it — in the oven or on the stove — it'll sizzle and then brown around the edges. Like the lacy cheese crust that forms around the bottom of a grilled cheese sandwich, only in this instance there's no sandwich — just a salty, umami-rich snack that's crisp as can be. Most folks, on the other hand, don't know about the crispy qualities of fresh avocado, probably because they don't exist. Bake an avocado and you end up with a warm avocado (grilling an avocado, of course — that's another matter).

Combining the aforementioned ingredients, though? Now you're onto something: the avocado chip. It's gained traction in recent years for being keto-friendly — protein-rich, low-carb, and vegetarian, unlike other keto treats like pork rinds. That's not the main reason to eat avocado chips, though. The main reason to eat them is that they're delicious.

Need another reason? These chips are extremely easy to make: All you do is mash up some avocado with shredded Parmesan (for crunch) and lemon juice (to help the chips keep their color), divide the mixture into thin discs, and bake till they're brown. The hardest part is figuring out how you want to flavor them; the second hardest part is not eating all the chips in one sitting. If you must, though, at least let them cool fully first — that's how to get them at their crispiest.

Start with a ripe avocado, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and about 3/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan. Mash the avocado in a bowl till it's smooth, then stir in the Parm and lemon juice. Use a tablespoon to divide the mixture into mounds on a parchment-lined sheet pan, then flatten the mounds into thin discs with a bottom of a glass, coating the glass with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Then sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice — more below — and bake the chips in a 350-degree oven for 20 or 30 minutes, until golden brown in the center. Let cool.

Everything-bagel seasoning is a popular topping for avocado chips, but it just scratches the surface. Virtually any seasoning or seasoning mix is fair game. Old Bay? Smoked paprika? Homemade Cool Ranch powder? The true everything seasoning — Tajín? The sky's the limit.

The baked chip itself, though, need not be the limit: You can keep gussying these up even after you've seasoned them. Serve them with dips like hummus (to keep going with the creamy, vegetal theme) or sour cream and onion (to play off the chips' salty richness). Or go bigger: If you're opted for everything-bagel seasoning, serve the chips on an hors d'oeuvres platter with a dollop of cream cheese (or crème fraîche) and a sliver of lox, or a smear of goat cheese and a candied walnut. Maximum fanciness for a minimum of effort.