Over the last few months I’ve seen quite a few mentions for crispy kale chips on my favorite foodie blogs so we finally decided to give them a try. They’re so easy to make and pretty tasty. Better than you’d expect from a bowl full of kale and much more healthful than a bag of potato chips or cheese doodles. You’ll be surprised at how light and delicate they are. The whole family agreed that they are snack-able enough to make the cut for movie night and even Luca, who views green food with more than a dose of suspicion, gave this the thumbs up and suggested that we might some for snack day at preschool. High praise indeed.
All you need for this recipe is a bunch of kale, olive oil and salt. You could certainly add a little pinch of spice (I know Simran would be all over that) or maybe even a bit of garlic or onion powder. In addition to their snack-ability, I’m thinking these could be a fun garnish to play around with… perhaps crumbling them over rice with some toasted sesame seeds like furikake or using them to fancy-up a simple pureed vegetable soup. The possibilities are inspiring us to try our hand at growing kale in our garden this year.
Crispy Kale Chips
- Trim the kale leaves from their stems. Tear the leaves into slightly larger than potato chip-sized pieces. Keep in mind that they will shrink significantly.
- Wash and get the kale as dry as you can (I used a salad spinner and then patted them thoroughly with kitchen towels to get them extra dry)
- Toss the dry kale lightly with olive oil and spread on a single layer on a cookie sheet (do not add salt yet or they will sog up in the oven).
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes. Check them frequently from about 10 minutes on. When done, they will be bright green, totally dry and very crisp to the touch. You do not want them to brown.
- Sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings of your choice. Toss well and enjoy!
These poor kale chips didn’t stand a chance!
