Pop Chips

       Popchips recently became available in several stores in the Boston area including Tedechi’s food stores and Stop & Shop. Never fried (too greasy) and never baked (too cardboard-y), popchips are a delicious line of popped chips with all the flavor and half the fat of fried chips. Popchips do not contain trans fats, soy, MSG, preservatives, or artificial flavors and they are certified gluten free.

        I recently had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of flavors including BBQ, cheddar, sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar, and kettle corn. My favorites for snacking were the cheddar and BBQ, but I was excited to learn that  in addition to a healthy and tasty snack popchips are great for cooking with. They're even endorsed by Jillian Michaels, several of her recipes are available online here.


After eating several of my bags as snacks, I decided to try them as an addition to a recipe I make already. I substituted cruched popchips for bread crumbs on the top of a chicken, broccoli casserole. They tasted great, and added a lot more crunch than bread crumbs!

Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Casserole with crunchy Pop Chip Topping

• 2 bags of frozen broccoli florets
• 24 oz boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 2 oz dry sherry
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat swiss
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 bags of popchips (I used cheddar potato and original)
• cooking spray

Steam broccoli in the microwave and set aside

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Crumble two bags of popchips in a bowl, and mix with parmesan cheese.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken on medium-low heat in a skillet until both sides are browned, and almost cooked through (5 minutes on each side). Remove from heat and transfer chicken to a cutting board. When cooled, slice chicken into bite sized pieces.

Add the butter and oil to the same skillet with chicken drippings. When the butter melts, stir in the flour with a whisk until smooth. Stir in broth, milk and sherry and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the swiss cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add broccoli and chicken to the sauce and mix thoroughly. Pour in a large casserole dish and top with popchips mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is crunchy.

          Stay tuned for a fun Blog and Tweet Boston event involving popchips in the near future. This is one you won't want to miss!