Sometimes all I want is the crunch of a cracker, but with the greater nutrition of the humble vegetable.  Dehydrated vegetable crackers to the rescue!  They’re also a great way to use up bumper crops of vegetable or the results of a raid at the bargain bin of the grocery store.

The variations on this are endless: change the spice blends, add some ground or coarsely chopped nuts, work with raw vegetables instead of cooked, include fruit or hemp seeds, seaweed, greens – sky’s the limit and they usually turn out just fine.  They can be served solo or added to a plate of mixed crackers along with carrot dip and cashew cheese as shown.

Note – you do need a dehydrator and a blender or food processor to make these, so just keep it in mind prior to beginning.

Yield: 2 dehydrator trays worth of each flavour

Beetroot Crackers – What you need :

• 1 cup chopped cooked beets
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup besan (chickpea flour) or sunflower seed meal
• 1/2 a small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons filtered water (if the mixture seems too thick to spread easily)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon anise seed

Pumpkin Crackers – What you need :

• 1-1/2 lbs cooked pumpkin or winter squash, about 3 cups of purée
• 1/4 nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons flax seed
• 1/2 a small onion, chopped
• 1 small clove of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or less)

What you do for either recipe:

1. Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor (blender preferred here) and process until smooth. The pumpkin crackers will have little flecks of herb and flax here or there, the beetroot crackers yield a perfectly uniform vegetable purée.
2. To save on dishes and maximize the use of the dehydrator, make both recipes one after the other, rinsing out the blender container or food processor work bowl between recipes.
3. Line the trays of a dehydrator with parchment paper or teflex sheets, it requires about two trays per recipe. Pour half the vegetable mixture onto each prepared tray and spread out evenly using a spatula.
4. Dehydrate at 140F (60C) for 12-15 hours or until crispy.
5. Break into cracker-sized pieces and store in an air-tight container.