I think I overdosed on kale today. I guess it could be worse, but I FINALLY made baked kale chips for the first time and am SO in love. I can't believe I waited this long into my love affair with kale to prepare it this way. Now that I have, I'll be making it very, very often.
Here's my recipe, but feel free to tinker with spices and toppings. Baked kale chips are a great way to prepare kale for kids and fickle family members, as well as a convenient way to ensure you can eat this fantastic, super-powered vegetable on-the-go! Once it's baked and cooled, store it in a container and tote it anywhere. Enjoy!
This is just one of over 120 delicious and easy recipes in my new book, Practical Paleo!
Easy Baked Kale Chips
(all measurements are approximate, use all organic ingredients when possible)
Ingredients
- 1 Large bunch of curly kale, stems removed and leaves chopped roughly
- 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- Celtic/Sea Salt (Redmond's Real Salt is my favorite!), to taste
- Garlic powder
- Raw parmigiano cheese (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place chopped kale on a cookie sheet and drizzle with coconut oil, just enough to get the leaves lightly coated, but not drenched. Pour a little at a time and use your hands to get the leaves coated.
Sprinkle the oil coated leaves with a little bit of the sea salt and a little bit of the garlic powder- just to taste, more can be added after baking.
Bake approximately 10-15 minutes until some of the edges of the leaves turn brown. Remove the tray from the oven and grate some raw cheese over the top so that some of it melts. Then turn the oven off and allow the kale to dry/cool in the oven. Remove from the oven when they feel crispy. (If you don't want to let them cool in the oven, you can remove them to a countertop).
Variations
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds once they're baked.
- Try a chili powder or a tiny bit of hot sauce sprinkled onto the kale before baking.
- Use any other spices you enjoy to see what flavor kale chips you like best!
Try this out and let me know what your favorite way to season it is! If you've made it before, share your tips below for other ways to make it.
Comments 19
Yummy, healthy kale! I found your site from the Bauman forum. I'm a DL Nutrition Educator student. Love your blog!
Adrienne- Great! Thanks- try it out and let me know what you think and if you try a variation, share it with us! 🙂
Diane
I use nutritional yeast instead of salt and finish with lemon & freshly ground pepper. Just noticed you're a graphic designer, so am I 🙂
Thanks for the direction to this post! I'll try your recipe!
Thanks for posting this recipe – I tried it out last night with purple kale and it worked out really well!
Julia-
Yay! I'm so glad you tried it and liked it! Kale is so good for you 🙂
Enjoy!
Diane
Diane, I make mine in the dehydrator and I want to share this recipe with you. They are AMAZING.
http://www.lauralavigne.com/KaleChips.html
@Laura-
I don't have a dehydrator, so that recipe sounds yummy but I wouldn't be able to make it just yet. It's nice to have options, I think, for people who have one or the other- or both! I think next time I'll try making them at a low temperature for longer, however, with the concept of using a dehydrator in mind even though it only gets as low as 170 in my oven!
I followed this recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/02/tuscan_kale_chips which has you bake them for 33 minutes at 250. Works great, even with curly kale (I’ve never found the Tuscan kale they call for). My problem is I tend to put too much olive oil, so they don’t dry out; some of them stay a little soggy. Next time I try it, I may not use oil at all, but drizzle it on afterwards, like you would butter on popcorn.
An aside: The first couple of times I made these, I had a splitting “hangover” the next day. I later found that kale is in the same sulfur family as onion and garlic, both of which give me a serious sinus headache if I eat too much, especially raw (saddest allergy ever!! I live in pico de gallo country!). I consulted a chemistry professor/herbalist friend, who recommended I eat more blueberries (or take a bilberry supplement) – I added blueberries to my diet, and my sensitivity has dropped dramatically! The body is amazing!
olive oil when heated becomes rancid.. and unhealthy. Try it with Coconut oil or grapeseed oil.
Right, I wrote this post in 2009 and wasn’t really as opposed to cooking olive oil then as I am now. That said, baking olive oil may not be as problematic as some think (though I don’t do it), since it has antioxidant in-tact that do protect it from the oxidation of the heat and since the heat doesn’t get super hot compared to pan frying. I don’t think it’s a huge problem if folks continue to make kale chips with EVOO, though I tend to use coconut oil myself now.
I had some totally brown and some not crispy at all on the same sheet. :/ Maybe I should try the longer at lower temp one and work harder to make sure they are all the right size……
I would also make sure you get the oil massaged into the kale pretty evenly and make sure some of it isn’t damp while other pieces more dry or just oiled. I don’t honestly care if it’s varied in finished texture- but the more consistent the pieces are going in, the better. It sometimes also varies based on your pan/oven heat distribution/etc.
Hello Diane…
What’s the best way to store these after and how long do they keep?
They truly don’t store well or stay crispy! That’s why store-bought ones have those anti-humidity packets in them. Sometimes if you get them very dried out they can keep in an air tight container, but typically it’s best to eat them when they’re made. Often you’ll do so anyway since they’re a bit addictive!
I made these as directed with 1 whole bunch of kale, and I finished them by the end of the day. I don’t think I’ve ever had that much kale in one day. I did use too heavy a hand with the sea salt though. Now I know for next time.
Author
HA! I definitely went too heavy-handed on salt the last time I made kale chips, too – it happens!!
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