Kale Chips

28 July 27, 2010 ‹ newer older ›

There are bunches of kale ready to eat in someone's garden right now. What are you going to do with it all?

Try Kale Chips!

Can you name another food gives you a whopping 350% of your daily allowance of Vitamin A per serving (and 11% of your iron, too)!

True confession - I hate kale, BUT, after I tried this I decided I liked kale. There is something about adding olive oil that makes vegetables taste good like with the Green Beans with Olive Oil.

The recipe is really simple, and kale is readily available this time of year. It is crunchy and delicious and you find that you can eat an ENTIRE bunch of kale without noticing.

My kids will even eat kale with this preparation (something about salty crunchiness that stops the "EEEWW its GREEN" response).

The Eat More Kale movement started in (guess where?) Vermont. I have seen a few cars driving around with "Eat More Kale" bumper stickers.

I have to admit that there is probably no better food for you than Kale. It is an absolute SUPERSTAR in terms of nutrition.

Here is the recipe I modified from Kath Eats:

Kale Chips
(Makes 2 servings)

1 bunch kale (or 1/2 pound)
2 teaspoons good quality olive oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line rimmed cookie sheets (also called hotel pans) with parchment paper (see note below). Tear the leaves off the thick stems into chip sized pieces. An easy way to do this is to fold the leaf in half and just rip toward the stem. Spread pieces out on cookie sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt to taste. Bake 8 minutes or until edges are brown and kale is crispy when moved in pan.

If you don't have parchment paper, you can use aluminum foil or neither. The idea here is to make clean up easy (just toss the paper and then you have less work to do).

What are you going to do with all that kale?

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28 Comments:

These are the best and my kids actually eat them...and my daughter hates almost every veggie out there :)

Carrie on July 27, 2010

I have always been so intimidated by kale. Maybe I will buy some today!

Elle on July 27, 2010

Elle - do not be afraid - just make sure to rip the leaves off the tough stem because the stem is yucky (to use a toddler term :)
Lisa

Snack-Girl on July 27, 2010

I love kale! I've made a version of these a few times. Yum.

Alta on July 27, 2010

I LOVE kale Chips...next time try some sprinkled with a little fresh Parmesan - it adds an AMAZING flavor :)

Danica on July 27, 2010

This sounds yummy!!! Can't wait to try this.

Heather on July 27, 2010

These sounds yummy!! Going to try them later today!!

Joy on July 27, 2010

Never knew what do do with Kale, except feed it to my bird ~ she seems to like it! This sounds quite interesting, will pick some up at the Farmer's Market tomorrow and try it ... anything for a little green!

Char on July 27, 2010

Actually I am one of those crazy people who has always (even as a very young child) loved greens. But this way is fun and I feel like I am cheating. YUM!

GINGER BATTLE on July 27, 2010

How do you store the leftovers and how long can you keep them?

Cindy on July 27, 2010

I put them in a plastic container outside the fridge. They would be good for 3 days? They never last that long at my house.

Snack-Girl on July 27, 2010

Hmmmm......I will reserve judgement until I try it, but Kale soup? eeeeewwww!

Karen on July 27, 2010

I love these chips so much they are gone in 2 days.I sprinkle with rice cheese parmesan since I do not eat dairy.And I store in a pop side closure plastic.

GINGER BATTLE on July 27, 2010

Yes, a great way to get Kale into your kids' bellies!
Also, a great snack for their lunchboxes is Gudernoobs made by WooHoo Foods - especially picky eaters

Sandy on July 27, 2010

My 1st response is "ewwwww", but that was also my first response to the cauliflower as french fries you posted a few weeks ago...and they were AWESOME! (and I don't even like cauliflower) So, I'm going to try this ASAP. My husband and I were just talking about ways to get more green, leafy veggies! Thanks for the post!!

Mo'Betta on July 27, 2010

I made these chips months back- awesome! But KAle IS awesome!

Sally on July 28, 2010

How many calories?

julie on January 29, 2011

I make these in the dehydrator and they are awesome. My blog has a post on KALE shirts!! It's time to advertise for Kale.

Get Skinny, Go Vegan. on March 29, 2011

I eat a lot of kale in salads and soups, but never heard of toasting it for snacks. What a great idea! So how many points+ would this be - have to allow for the 2 tsp. of olive oil, right?

JaneG on April 28, 2011

JaneG, I am doing pointsplus too and I think all you would count is the point per tsp of olive oil. The Kale itself would be "free". I am so scared to try this, but from all the comments, I am going to have to give it a fair shot!

Aubre Rice on October 18, 2011

you should be the new Matha Stewart. I just discovered your website & I will live by it from now on....please, make videos!

Fay on November 8, 2011

My first reaction to "Kale Chips" was also: "Ewwww!"

But I had some wilty kale (left over from Lisa's Green Smoothie recipe -- yum!), so I figured what the heck.

Awe. Some.

We have a grinder with "Italian seasoning" in it, so it's a mix of salt, pepper, and a bunch of other stuff and I used that on the oiled kale.

Thank you, Lisa! This one definitely goes into my recipe book. Please keep 'em coming!!! :)

Andy D on January 18, 2012

I am so trying this... Can't wait to taste it!

ana on February 4, 2012

I made about eight batches of kale chips last night in our little convection toaster oven. Baked at 375°F for about 8 minutes (no oil or seasoning at all). Some pieces would burn slightly and some would be a little chewy.

While they were all good to me (except for the really burned ones), I started to dial it back to 7 minutes and just pulled out the chips that looked good and stuck the others back in for another minute or two.

I put the few I could bear to part with into a couple zip-top bags to see how well (or poorly) they kept for a few days. My wife wants to take some to work for the "ewwwww!" co-workers. :)

Thanks again, Lisa, for this idea. Easy, fast, yummy, and good for us. Super stuff.

(We hit Whole Foods last week and were thrilled to see how high on their "ANDI" scale (http://www.eatrightamerica.com/andi-superfoods) kale was.)

Andy D on February 4, 2012

what, no points???

desiree on February 22, 2012

I started the biggest loser contest at work this January 5th. I am in the lead having lost over 9% of FAT. I had been missing my salty chips. These were so yummy. I sprayed my pampered chef stone with a small amout of olive oil cooking spray, then sprayed the chips too, sprinkled on a little sea salt and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. The were so good, I intended to pass some on to my sister, but there wer NOT any left from my first batch. I will definately be making MORE! Love your site :) Keep up the good work!

Lisa Vickey on February 24, 2012

I just stumbled across this website. I was typing in Healthy snacks and this site appeared. I must admit I am a little scared of this recipe, however I am going to try it. I posted your link on my daughters facebook page and she said she would try it. So, tomorrow is grocery shopping day and Kale is on the list.

Michelle on February 26, 2012