Baked Kale Chips

Baked kale chips made the rounds on food blogs last spring, and I made them once and promptly forgot about them. Recently, after finishing a bag of Sun Chips in less than 24 hours (between 2 people, but still), I was at the farmer’s market and noticed kale at a lot of stands. Light bulb!

This is so simple that it barely qualifies as a recipe. It’s an incredibly easy and fairly quick way to make a healthy snack. I’m not sure if your kids will be willing to eat them, but if you can get them to try, they’re actually really good. Once baked, the pieces of kale become crispy, crunchy little chips that fall apart in your mouth. Plus, you can season them with your favorite flavors, which easily mask the fairly neutral kale flavor. I use kosher salt and some cayenne pepper for a bit of a kick.

Which spices would you put on kale chips?

Recipe:

Spicy Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
~1 T olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Rinse the kale and dry. Rip the leaves into large pieces, discarding the tough center ribs and stems. Toss with olive oil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Place in one layer on a baking sheet and bake for around 20 minutes, or until crispy.

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10 Comments on Baked Kale Chips

Dani
January 21, 2011 at 1:47 pm (14 years ago)

I have to try making these again! Last time, I didn’t so much toss them in olive oil as drizzle it on them when they were on the baking sheet, and they flattened out in the oven and pretty much just boiled in the oil. Not tasty OR crisp!
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Dani
January 21, 2011 at 1:47 pm (14 years ago)

(And by “drizzle” I mean “pour”.)
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sensiblecooking
January 21, 2011 at 2:24 pm (14 years ago)

This is my kind of recipe for lazy weekends.
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Tiffany
January 21, 2011 at 11:21 pm (14 years ago)

My sister SWEARS by kale chips with nutritional yeast! I would love to make them with chili and brown sugar. Mmmmmm 😀
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Stephanie
January 22, 2011 at 5:59 pm (14 years ago)

Dani – that’s a good point; too much olive oil = soggy leaves, not crisp. Definitely try again – when done with less oil, it’s amazing how they crumble in your mouth. It’s not like a veggie at all!

Tiffany – great ideas for seasonings! I didn’t think of nutritional yeast but I have some in my pantry. I’ll try that next time!
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torviewtoronto
January 22, 2011 at 9:48 pm (14 years ago)

delicious and healthy chips lovely colour
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Treat and Trick
January 23, 2011 at 10:39 am (14 years ago)

Fast to cook and nutritious too! Regarding the fruit cake, it is a great idea to replace some of the flour with whole wheat, will try this next time…
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Marea Davis
January 26, 2011 at 10:23 am (14 years ago)

Fantastic!! I adore kale. I’ve been using it in my salads a lot lately but always have extra that I can’t seem to use in time. This is the perfect solution.

Thank You!

<3Marea
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Tina
April 22, 2019 at 4:55 pm (6 years ago)

Can’t wait to try
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