Kale Chips

Kale Chips are a delicious snack and taste great crumbled on salads, grains and vegetables. They can be found in all many markets, and are a healthier alternative to chips. After trying a few different brands, I found they were either too salty or over spiced. I set out to make my own and found they are super quick and easy to make. If you don’t have a dehydrator, they can be slow baked in the oven. The recipe for both follows. After many different tries, the favorite has been creating a paste in the blender of  olive oil,  lemon juice, raw almonds, raw walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sea salt, sesame seeds and if you want a little heat, a few pinches of red pepper flakes. They can be made with any spices and nuts you have on hand. Sesame seeds give the chips a nice flavor, as do cashews.

Start with one to two heads of Lacinato kale. Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale because of its bumpy texture, is slightly sweeter than curly kale and stays crunchier longer after it is dried or slow baked.

Strip the kale leaves from the large ribs. The smaller ribs at the top can remain. I like to keep the pieces large, as they shrink considerably once dried. Start at the bottom of the rib, hold rib with one hand and pull leaves down with other. Leaves should strip away easily and stay in tact.

Once stripped, wash and dry the leaves by rolling in a clean, dry dish towel. Set aside while you begin working on the seasonings. Discard the ribs.

Using a blender, combine olive oil, garlic powder, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, raw almonds, raw walnuts, sea salt and if using, red pepper flakes.  The paste should resemble hummus in texture. If it is too thick, add additional oil and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add mixture to the kale mixture and massage into the leaves, spreading evenly among the kale. If using a dehydrator, spread onto sheets, leaving space between between the kale leave to ensure they get crispy.

If baking in the oven, spread evenly onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds if want cheesier chips, some more nutritional yeast.

Place into the dehydrator or preheated oven and follow the instructions in the recipe.

Kale ready for the dehydrator.

Once reach desired crunchiness, remove and enjoy.

Finished kale chips