Dani's Corner

Dani Spies is a Certified Health and Nutrition Counselor, Fitness Trainer and Mom who is passionate about finding simple ways to make real, whole, nutrtious foods a part of an everyday kitchen. More about Dani »

Sign up to get recipes via email:

Or enter your email to receive my newsletter, which features lots of bonus information:

Sites To See

More Sites to See »

How-To Make Kale Chips - Video

Oh, Kale Chips... where to begin? 

Salty, crunchy, crispy AND nutritious... you are a pregnant (and non-preggo) womans dream!  Unbelievably, amazingly, delicious! 

I mean after all, you are a dark leafy green vegetable!  And you know how it is with dark, leafy green veggies... we know we should eat you and so we do, but rarely do we expect you to taste as good as you do.  You're quite deceiving with your green, leafy looks.

And then to top it all off, who in the world would think you could stand in as a chip substitute? It just seems so "out of your league".  But I've gotta give it it to you, not only do you pull it off BUT you excel!  As a matter of fact, you do the "chip thing" so well, that people will really have to try you themselves to believe it!  You're crunch is amazing!

I am definitely going to be making you for my little lady once she is old enough to eat real food!  I can't imagine anybody turning away from your crunchy, crispy, d'lishes self!!

Thanks Kale Chips!!  Thanks for being you and thanks for being so good for ME.  You're the kinds of food that makes eating clean a breeze.  Here's to you!!

How-To Make Kale Chips - Video

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, washed and dried really well
2 tsp of olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp of salt

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350

Remove the stem for each kale leaf and rip or cut the leaves into bite size pieces.  There’s no need to be precise or exact, you can make them however big or small as you like.

Place kale in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and salt.  Take a minute to massage the kale, make sure each piece is lightly coated (trust me, this little step is SO worth it).

Spread kale out amongst two rimmed baking sheets being sure not to overlap any of the  pieces.  It is important that your kale is in a single layer because if the leaves are piled on top of each other they will steam rather than bake which means they won’t get crunchy.

Pop in the oven for about fifteen minutes or until your leaves are crispy, crunchy!  Serve in a bowl and enjoy!!

Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional Analysis

Calories: 81 Total Fat: 5.1g; Saturated Fat: 0.7g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 600mg; Carbohydrate: 8.4g; Dietary Fiber: 1.7g; Sugars: 0g; Protein: 2.8g
Other Recipes you may enjoy:
Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato and Kale Chips from KathEats
Raw Kale Salad w/ Oranges from Elana's Pantry
Potato and Kale Frittata from Eggs on Sunday
Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes from 101 CookBooks
Rustic Red Kale and White Bean Soup from Fat Free Vegan

Wanna learn more about working with Kale?  Check out my Kale "101" video.

Comments

Ricki :

LOVE kale chips! :)

posted on April 13, 2009 4:32 AM

Cyndi :

This recipe sounds fantastic! It appeals to me on so many levels - the crunch factor, the gorgeous appearance and the dark green color (and nutrients) - can't wait to try it. Thank you and I hope you are feeling fabulous these days!

posted on April 13, 2009 4:41 AM

Gretchen :

Be careful at the end that they don't burn! It is really sad. So yummy though. Thanks for reminding me about this simple treat.

posted on April 13, 2009 6:58 AM

Dani :

Ricki - Me too!

Cyndi - They really are so good! I'm feeling great, thanks... eight more weeks to go:).

Gretchen - Good point... you definitely have to keep an eye on them.

posted on April 13, 2009 7:14 AM

Tammy :

Sounds good! But where is the video? I would love to see it. And congrats on the baby! :)

posted on April 13, 2009 9:45 AM

D :

Technical problems: is the video just not working for me or it's not set up properly?

posted on April 13, 2009 9:53 AM

Dani :

Tammy and D - Yikes!! thanks for the heads up! The video should be available now. Sorry about that.

posted on April 13, 2009 9:59 AM

D :

Dani: Can you store kale chips in an airtight container for a few days? I would love to try the kakechips.

I have made roasted kale as a vegetable dish and love it. It is basically the same method except you don't have to spread it on the sheet pan in one layer. I love kale. I can just eat roasted or sauteed kale over a bowl of rice and be totally satisfied as a meal.

posted on April 13, 2009 11:10 AM

Dani :

D - Good question and YES! You can store them in an air tight container or Ziploc bag and they will stay nice and crunchy. They never make it past a couple of days around here so I don't know exactly how long they will last for. I know they last at least two or three days.

posted on April 13, 2009 11:16 AM

Jona :

Can't wait to try these. The video really helped to show how crunchy and good they can be. I don't think I would have been as interested in trying them from just reading the recipe. Thank you.

posted on April 13, 2009 5:16 PM

D :

Dani: Have you ever tried the kale chips using the Lacinto Kale?

posted on April 13, 2009 8:54 PM

Dani :

Jona - Glad to hear it. Hope you like them!!

D - Yes I have. The kale in the picture is actually Lactino Kale and it works out great.

posted on April 14, 2009 8:10 PM

Debbie Bethell :

I was actually cruisin some sites looking for info on Kale chips and there you were.. I check your site daily and was glad to find we were on the same page.. I have tried these before and 1 batch was great and the next batch I made was so bitter tasting we couldn't eat them.. I am thinking now I cooked them to long??
I am trying them again as they were so yummy..

posted on April 15, 2009 11:18 AM

Dani :

Debbie - Bitter brings two things to mind... either, 1. maybe you didn't massage each leaf with the oil and salt OR 2. (and I think it is more likely this) you had a really mature bunch of kale. Sometimes an "older" bunch of kale will tend to be a little bit bitter (sadly, there's not much you can do about that).
I really doubt that it had to do with cooking time. Cooking them to long would burn them before making them bitter (but that's just my guess!).

posted on April 16, 2009 10:28 AM

Kay :

Yum! And my hands are so soft too!

posted on April 17, 2009 9:44 AM

Kalyn :

Been meaning to try making these for the longest time! Bookmarked!

posted on May 7, 2009 2:37 PM

Jennifer :

How could you package the kale if you wanted to store the kale chips for longer periods of time? Is it possible to mimic how potato chips are packaged in bags - yet without using hydrogenated oils?

Thank you!

posted on May 8, 2009 1:41 PM

Sfr :

Great idea! One question though: does oven time eliminate the healthy benefits of kale?

posted on May 11, 2009 6:15 PM

Karen :

I just stumbled upon your site while looking for some recipes. I just made the Kale chips....YUMMM!! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!!

posted on June 26, 2009 3:39 PM

Jason :

If I can get my boys to eat these as a replacement for potato chips, just once in a while, I will faint. Experiment time is here again!

posted on August 19, 2009 2:47 PM

Rachel :

Thank you for this recipe. These things are WONDERFUL. I can not wait to try the popcorn.

posted on November 29, 2009 6:43 PM

Melissa :

I just tried these and LOVE them!!!! But the main thing is My kids (2,5,8) love them. They devoured them! Thanks for this idea

posted on December 11, 2009 5:14 PM

asa :

Hi
Wondered....can I make the chips in a regular oven instead?

posted on March 13, 2010 6:19 PM

Nihi :

Hi Dani,

I have been browsing your site for the past 10 days. Your 101 videos are really informative. I never ate kale and quinoa in my life. I tried them after seeing your videos and I really liked them. I made kale chips the other day, I and my husband couldn't stop eating them. I'm trying to eat healthy and your site really helps me a lot. Thanks a lot.

posted on March 29, 2010 9:34 AM

Suzana :

These are a great snack.... thanks sooo much

posted on April 23, 2010 7:24 AM

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)