Diet by Priyanka
Air fried zucchini chips
Two hundred grams of zucchini sliced thin, tossed in a teaspoon of olive oil and air fried until crisp. The bowl is 76 kcal, 2.4 g protein and 4.2 g net carbohydrate.
Why this dish works
A packet of potato crisps is around 500 kcal and 50 g of carbohydrate for 100 g. This is a bowl of something you eat with your fingers in front of the television for 76 kcal and 4.2 g, and that is the entire argument for it.
Slice them thin and even, two to three millimetres, ideally with a mandoline. Thick slices never lose enough water to crisp, and uneven ones burn at the thin end while the thick end is still soft.
Pat the slices dry with a kitchen towel before the oil goes on. Water on the surface is what stands between crisp and chewy, and this is the step people skip.
What you need
Makes one bowl:
- 200 g zucchini, sliced 2 to 3 mm thin
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp chaat masala
- Salt, after cooking
How to make it
Slice the zucchini as thin and as evenly as you can, then spread the slices on a kitchen towel and pat the surface dry.
Toss them with the olive oil, chilli powder and pepper. A teaspoon of oil is enough for 200 g if you toss with your hands.
Preheat the air fryer to 180 C. Lay the slices in a single layer, in two batches if you have to, because a crowded basket steams instead of crisping.
Air fry for eight minutes, shake or turn them, then another four to six minutes until the edges brown and curl. They crisp further as they cool.
Salt them and dust with chaat masala only after they come out. Salt before cooking pulls water back to the surface.
Nutrition per bowl
| Calories | 76 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 2.4 g |
| Fat | 5.2 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 4.2 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
Figures are for one bowl from 200 g of raw zucchini with 1 tsp of olive oil. More oil is the only thing that moves them much. Priyanka corrected the carbohydrate figure on this row in September 2026.
Who this suits
This is the snack to make when the craving is for something crunchy and salty, which is the craving that ends most weight loss plans.
It is also a genuinely low-carbohydrate snack, which is rarer than it sounds, so it holds up on a prediabetes plan where roasted namkeen does not.
Have a question about this recipe?
Priyanka answers WhatsApp herself. Ask about ingredient swaps, portion size, or whether this dish suits what you are working on:
There is no charge for a question, and you will be talking to Priyanka, not an assistant.
More from Priyanka’s kitchen
Every published recipe is listed on the low-carb recipes page, with macronutrients listed for each.
If this one worked for you, these are close cousins from the same plans:
- Broccoli and paneer tikki
- Paneer cubes with cherry tomatoes and chilli flakes
- Coconut and almond flour ladoo
- Coconut chutney with curd and tadka
Recipes work best inside a plan built around your history and your routine. To start there, book a Discovery Call with Priyanka.
These meals come from the same plans Priyanka builds for PCOS, thyroid, prediabetes and fatty liver support.
Written by Priyanka Chanana, nutritionist, practising since 2021. Nutrition support runs alongside medical care rather than replacing it.