Crispy Kale Chips

As a lover of these, I credit my friend Carri for finally motivating me to make them myself and now I’m hooked. In case you haven’t noticed from my previous Tuscan Soup and Sauteed Kale with Olive Oil, Garlic and Lemon posts, I have a love affair with kale. I’ve loved kale for a long time but it’s only in the last few years that it’s finally gained the spotlight it deserves.

So far, this has worked with both curly kale and also the type of kale I used this time, which was a flat leaf, organic Lacinato Kale. I do mine to the point of true crispiness, though I’ve had store-bought brands that still have a little chewiness to them. In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong either way. (have I mentioned how much I love kale?)

Crispy Kale Chips Recipe

Preheat oven to 275º

• 1 bunch kale, rinsed well with tough stems removed, torn into 1 to 2 inch pieces (if you want me to guess, I’d say it was about 15-20 leaves) Don’t make yourself crazy here – these can be small, like mine so they’re “poppable” or larger so they’re more like a potato chip.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or grapeseed works well too) Be shy with the oil – you just want to very lightly coat the kale, not drown it.
• sea salt to taste

On a large baking sheet, toss kale pieces with olive oil and salt until all of the leaves have a slight sheen to them from the oil.

Spread the kale pieces out evenly across the baking sheet. A little overlapping at first is fine, as the kale will shrink as it dries out.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and toss the kale around a bit, evening out to a single layer again and bake for another 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 225º and, using a spatula, turn the kale over and redistribute again into a single layer. Bake for 20-30 more minutes, depending on the level of crispiness you like. (You may want to toss around once or twice more during this round, to keep the kale cooking evenly)

That’s it! Really, you’re not cooking them as much as you’re dehydrating them. Too high of a heat for too long will start to burn the edges of the kale, which won’t be pleasant tasting. There are a number of methods out there for making these but this is how I’ve found I like them best.

I’ve found that a great way to serve them is in a tube of heavy paper or parchment paper. This keeps the bits of oil off your hands and makes them easier to eat in large quantities…which I do.

Enjoy!