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These carnivore chips are so crispy and crunchy. They are so easy to make and only require 1 ingredient. No dehydrator needed. The chips are low carb, high protein and keto-friendly. The chips can easily be customized with different flavors.
Carnivore chips with a dipping sauce

These chips are my favorite recipe I’ve made this year. They taste like chips but are healthier than regular chips. Most carnivore chips require a dehydrator or using your oven to dehydrate the chips, but not for this recipe. These chips are simply baked. I love how easy they are to make and they truly satisfy my craving for a crunchy snack.

Ingredients

Ground chicken

Ground chicken: I recommend using regular ground chicken and not ground chicken breast or any sort of very lean ground chicken meat. If it is too lean, then the chips will have issues crisping up completely. If you need a substitute for chicken, I have also made these with ground turkey (93% lean).

The only ingredient you need to make these chips is ground chicken. You can also add salt and seasonings to add more flavor. And you can also add baking powder for an even crunchier chip, but it is optional.

Optional additions and variations

Salt: Depending on how much salt content is in your ground chicken, you may want to sprinkle a little salt into the ground chicken before baking these chips or salt them after.

Baking powder: The chips come out very crispy but if you want an even thicker crunch, stir baking powder into the ground chicken. Baking powder helps draw out the moisture and gives the chips an even crunchier texture. If you make the chips without baking powder they will be thin and crispy like a regular potato chip. If you add the baking powder, they will have a thicker crunch, like a thick tortilla chip. Make sure to use baking powder and not baking soda. I got the idea to use baking powder when I came across a few chip recipes that used baking soda. That didn’t seem right to me because of how strong baking soda is and when I tried it, it left a very unpleasant metallic flavor on the chips. But seeing those recipes reminded me that I use baking powder to help crisp up chicken skin and it works for crisping up the ground chicken as well.

Dry herbs or seasonings: You can add dry herbs to the ground chicken before baking it to add more flavor. You can also add dry seasonings. I actually recommend that you add any dry seasonings after the chips are done baking because otherwise the seasonings can cause the chips to brown too quickly. I dusted my chips with homemade taco seasoning after they were done baking.

How to Make Carnivore Chips

Stir the ground chicken until it is mashed and paste-like. If desired, mix in baking powder and/or salt.
Divide the meat between two parchment lined half sheet baking pans. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on top of the meat and roll out the meat until it is very thin, stopping just before it will start becoming transparent. The thinner you roll out the meat, the easier it will be to crisp up your chips. You just want to avoid rolling out the meat so thin that it is transparent because it then sticks to the plastic wrap.
Lift off the plastic wrap. If desired, you can use a butter knife to cut the ground meat into squares or rectangles. This will then allow you to easily break into these shapes when the chips are done baking. This is optional. You can just bake it as one full piece and break it up into smaller pieces once it is done. But if you want a specific shape for your chips, cut them beforehand.
Bake the chips for about 30-50 minutes or until crunchy. When the chips are ready they should feel firm when you tap on the surface. They should also lift off of the parchment paper. How long you need to bake the chips will vary depending on how much moisture is in your ground meat and also how thin you rolled it out. I also find that the edges will bake faster than the middle so if you find that the edge pieces are already fully crisp, you can break those off first and then bake the middle section longer until it is fully crispy.
Once chips are ready, let them cool to room temperature as they will continue to crisp up a little more as they cool. Then break the chips into smaller pieces.
If desired, sprinkle chips with salt or other seasonings.

Texture

These chips have a very crispy and crunchy texture, just like regular potato chips. If you make it with just ground chicken, the crunch will be more delicate like a classic potato chip. If you prefer an even thicker crunch, like the texture of tortilla chips or kettle chips, add baking powder to the ground chicken before baking.

Different brands of chicken contain different amounts of sodium, so depending on the brand of ground chicken you use, you may want to add salt to your chips. How much salt you want to add really depends on personal preference and dietary restrictions. My family is always trying to eat less sodium so I used a no-salt taco seasoning blend and did not add salt

Expert Tips

The thinner you roll out your ground meat, the easier it will be for the chips to crisp up.
Make sure to use a good quality brand of parchment paper to prevent any sort of sticking to the parchment paper. I highly recommend Reynolds brand or Kirkland Paper Chef brand. There are many inferior brands of parchment paper out there that do not have a good nonstick coating.
You do need to use plastic wrap on top. If you try to roll the meat between two sheets of parchment paper, the meat does stick to the top sheet of parchment paper.
I recommend using regular ground chicken and not ground chicken breast. Ground chicken breast is very lean meat and the lack of fat makes it difficult for the chips to crisp up completely.

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