Kale chips have been all the rage in blogging over the past several years. The first time I saw them was on KERF – Kath Eats Real Food back in 2008. Kath said that she read about them somewhere and knew she had to try them. The weight loss community and vegetarian communities all seemed to be eating kale chips.
I have bought kale on 3 different occasions specifically to make chips. Each time something comes up and it goes bad before I get the chance. I think my new baking sheets were the exact push I needed.
I purchased a bunch of curly kale at the grocery store. I took it home, photographed it and then gave it a bath and ride in my new collapsible spinner – thank you Mom and Dad. I swear, they got me the best birthday presents ever!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
After tearing or cutting the kale into bite size pieces, put them into a spinner. They need to be washed because little bugs like to hide in the curls – especially when it comes straight from the farmer’s market.
You should be left with a bunch of stems that look like this:
Once you get your bite size kale pieces out of the spinner, put them on a paper towel to get any extra drips of water off them. It’s important that they are dry.
I arranged my pieces on the baking sheet – gave them a good coating of olive oil spray – if you don’t have a spray, you can just toss them in drizzled olive oil. My spray is garlic infused, it was perfect! I then grated Parmigiano Reggiano onto the pieces (a fine grade) and then added kosher salt. Use as much or as little salt as you like. I went with the same amount I’d use on French fries – pretty generous. I checked the chips at 8 minutes. I left them in for another 4-5 minutes. When you start seeing brown around the edges, and can easily move them around on the sheet, they are done. You don’t want them to burn… unless you are that freak that digs the burnt potato chips out of the bag, hah!
This is a direct quote from Dan – “Dude, it looks like you dug that plate of stuff out of the yard waste!” – LOL… he had no interest in even trying one. I sat on the couch and happily crunched away. They are super light and crispy. They really do crunch like potato chips and practically dissolve right in your mouth. I dipped some of them in ketchup and loved that too! I am super excited to have a new (old to most) side dish. I am picturing them piled next to a fabulous veggie or turkey burger and a multi-grain bun, yum!
Be brave, give them a try – they’re magically Lucky Charm delicious!
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OK, I’m going to have to try these now that you made them. I read Kath’s blog and everytime I’ve seen her making/eating them, I’ve wondered about them. Need to invest in the salad spinner, and then I should be ready to roll!
You probably could just dry the kale really well with paper towels after washing – but I do indeed love my spinner!
I LOVE kale chips… they are really good dipped in hummus too, although the trick is finding a hummus that is thin enough that it doesn’t snap the chip when you dip! Trader Joe’s tahini-free hummus is the best for this. Or… make yourself. 😉
I’ve tried the tahini-free hummus, never thought to try them with the chips – thanks Jess!
are you serious?! SERIOUS!?
they dont taste like kale at all?
i swore i’d never like sweet potato fries but i do… i guess i can try these! 😉
They have a nutty taste – but I really did like them! I never pass on a good tasting low-cal snack, ever!
I love kale in soups/stews, but usually have some left over that I throw out. Now I will have something new to try with kale. I wonder how they taste dipped in ranch…lol…I guess that would kind of defeat the healthiness! 🙂
Hah! Hah! – um…low fat ranch? Who am I kidding, not the same!
I’ve seen these on KERF and have been wanting to try them. Can these be made and then kept or do they need to be eaten right away? Sounds like too much work for weekdays (yes, I realize they are super easy, but when you only have to nuke your food to eat it, this seems like a lot), but if I could make them Sunday to have during the week, that would be awesome.
It’s super easy Steph! Seems like a lot of work, but easily do-able in less than 30 minutes. I don’t think they would keep well – something about the warmth straight out of the oven and they are pretty dainty and breakable when they come out.
I’ve been reading KERF for years and every time Kath raves about them I was wondering if they are really that good. LOL You have now convinced me that this is something I need to try, I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I always wondered too. Mixed reviews from people all over the blogging world. It seems the people that don’t like them – over cook them, use too much oil or salt or are expecting them to taste like Lays – LOL. I really liked them, I’m definitely interested to see what you think.