This simple homemade kale chips how-to is a fun, versatile and healthy snack packed with nutrients, vegan, GF and extremely low fat!
I don’t know about you – but when I spend too much of an extended period in my house, I also find myself snacking a lot more, which is why I make it a priority to make time to prepare lots of healthy snacks to ‘grab-and-go’, like these homemade kale chips, to stop me reaching for the not so healthy items. This post teaches you how to make crispy kale chips in the oven for a super nutritious, healthy snack.
I’ve always had quite a savoury tooth when it comes to my snacking, so these baked kale chips definitely hit the spot. They are light and crunchy and can be flavoured a hundred and one different ways, so you never get bored. So, next time you find yourself wanting to reach for a bag of potato chips, why not try some of these instead.
Not to mention when making them at home, you won’t have to worry about any nasty preservatives. Kale doesn’t just have to be shoved into a green smoothie to be a delicious snack! And if you always have a bag of kale in the fridge anyway, this is a super fun and simple new way to consume it.
So, what are the health benefits of kale?
Kale became a bit of a ‘superfood’ a few years ago and suddenly had everyone running to the shops for this leafy green. While some people might think the love for this ingredient is a bit over the top, you can’t deny that this vegetable packs a lot of nutritional punch.
- In fact, kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is. Within just a single cup of raw kale there is only 33 Kcal but over 680% of your daily Vitamin K, 200% of your daily Vitamin A, around 134% of Vitamin C – as well as lower (but not insignificant) amounts of Vitamin B6, manganese, copper, calcium and potassium.
- Kale is also extremely low fat. However, the fat content it does contain is a heart-healthy omega-3.
- There is also a very high amount of antioxidants found in kale, which help to reduce oxidative damage to our cells and can improve heart health, are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, lowers blood pressure, and even works as an anti-depressant. Not to mention that it has anti-cancerous properties.
- As well as the above benefits, kale has also been found to lower harmful LDL cholesterol levels.
As that’s just a few of its many benefits.
How To Make Kale Chips In The Oven:
What’s needed:
- Curly kale
- sea salt, pepper, paprika or chili powder (or even red pepper flakes)
- nutritional yeast (optional)
- olive oil
- other options: garlic powder, cumin
You can experiment with flavours. However, this is my absolute favourite simple seasoning for delicious kale chips every time.
Steps:
Begin by preparing the kale. First, wash the kale thoroughly. Make sure you first submerge all the leaves in salty water. You can also add a bit of white vinegar (as it acts as a natural disinfectant), but this is not necessary, especially if you are using organic kale.
Rub the leaves with your hands to remove any dirt from the curly leaves. Then rinse under running water.
Dry the kale leaves as much as possible. You can do this with a salad spinner or by pat-drying them with a clean towel or paper towels. It’s crucial that it’s as dry as possible to have crispy, crunchy kale chips (because nothing is sadder than limp, soggy chips!).
Remove the stems. You can either pull the steam off the leaf from the bottom (wide part) up or by cutting with a small knife.
Note: Don’t throw the stems away – you can use them in smoothies and green juices or add them to soups and stews. Make sure they are well dried, and you can freeze them.
Depending on the size of chips you want, you can also cut the leaves into smaller bite-size pieces.
Next, prepare the spice mix. Add all the spices into a small bowl, add the olive oil and whisk well. If you are using nutritional yeast, add it to the mix (this will add a delicious nutty, cheesy flavour).
Pour the spice mix over the kale leaves in a large bowl and massage the kale with your fingers to make sure all leaves are coated with the olive oil and spices.
Lay the kale chips in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking sheet or if you are using a dehydrator make sure the leaves should not be too crowded so they can cook evenly.
Bake the kale in the oven at 100ºC for 30 minutes or in the dehydrator at 52ºC for about 4 hours.
For the oven method toss/turn carefully midway, so the leaves cook evenly. And keep an eye on them as they can burn easily. Bake until the edges start turning slightly brown.
And that is it – enjoy your freshly baked homemade kale chips. I have been known to sometimes sprinkle on some additional nutritional yeast before munching on these if I want a super ‘cheesy’ treat too.
To store the kale chips, you can keep them in an air-tight container in your cupboard/pantry for up to 3 days.
Here is the detailed recipe for how to make baked kale chips:
How to make Crispy Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale stems removed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tBsp nutritional yeast optional
- 1/2 tsp paprika or chilli powder
- 1 tBsp olive oil
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the kale. First, wash the kale thoroughly. Make sure you first submerge all the leaves in salty water. You can also add a bit of white vinegar (as it acts as a natural disinfectant), but this is not necessary especially if you are using organic kale.
- Rub the leaves with your hands to remove any dirt from the curly leaves. Then rinse under running water.
- Dry the kale leaves as much as possible. You can do this with a salad spinner or by pat-drying them with a clean towel or paper towels. It's important that it is as dry as possible in order to have crispy crunchy kale chips (because nothing is sadder than limp, soggy chips!).
- Remove the stems. You can either pull the steam off the leaf from the bottom (wide part) up or by cutting with a small knife.* Depending on the size of chips you want, you can also cut the leaves into smaller bite-size pieces.
- Next, prepare the spice mix. Add all the spices into a small bowl, add the olive oil and whisk well. If you are using nutritional yeast, add it to the mix (this will add a delicious nutty, cheesy flavour).
- Pour the spice mix over the kale leaves in a large bowl and massage the kale with your fingers to make sure all leaves are coated with the olive oil and spices.
- Lay the kale chips in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking sheet. They should not be too crowded so the leaves can cook evently. ( Check out how I arrange them in the video on the blog.)
- Bake the kale in the oven at 100ºC for 30 minutes. Toss/turn carefully midway, so the leaves cook evenly. And keep an eye on them as they can burn easily. Bake until the edges start turning slightly brown. Alternatively, you can also use a dehydrator to get dehydrated kale chips (at 50ºC for 4 hours).
- Enjoy your freshly baked homemade kale chips.**
To store the kale chips, you can keep them in an air-tight container in your cupboard/pantry for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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