Very easy! Failed at my first attempt months ago, so I decided to get back on that horse. I determined the problem to be that the leaves were still damp when I put them in the oven, so they never crunched up. They steamed instead. This attempt went much better, and there is so much room for creativity! You should make your own kale chips always, because who wants to pay $6.99 for a bag at Whole Foods? You can get a bag of Lay’s potato chips for less than half that and for double or even triple the quality. Sad but true.
Anyway, I used green curly kale, but I hear people have good luck with Dino Kale, too. Use whatever looks good at the market.
Dino kale
Green curly kale
Here’s what I did:
De-stem kale leaves from stalks and do a rough chop, then wash it and spin is several times in a salad spinner so make sure it’s completely dry. Pre-heat oven to 350 and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Here is where you can get creative. For this batch, I tossed the kale with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil, maybe 1/4 cups, maybe 1 tbsp garlic powder, a little sea salt, and chili powder, then spread the leaves on the sheet and baked for about 10 minutes, then flipped the leaves and bakes 8 minutes more. You could make any kind of tossing mixture you want: one recipe I ran across suggested apple cider vinegar, cayenne, garlic powder, honey, and sea salt. I might even try tahini next time.
I used sesame oil for a batch, but its delicate flavor was lost in the crunchy kale texture. Do not recommend. All in all, a very kid friendly, mineral-rich snack that is oddly addictive! Great for when your produce box runneth over with kale and you’re looking for a good use, or if you just want a great snack. Trust me, you can’t eat just one.
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
Sounds like a very interesting recipe.