KALE CHIPS. Get excited. These ones are seriously the best! So flavorful and crispy. Vegan, Paleo and Whole30 compliant.
Alright alright alriigghtt. (Matthew McConaughey anyone?)
I know kale chips are sooooo like 5 years ago, but I made them the other night and I was like “Good lawd I forgot how delicious these things are!” and I proceeded to eat the whole pan while Drew was in the basement doing “man stuff”. Not even mad about it. I intended to share with him, but the kale just got so small once it baked and I decided that maybe it was only a one pan serving size… He didn’t seem to mind. Can’t say he is ever going to be super excited about kale chips. I think we had a couple bad experiences of burning the kale chips to where they basically just disintegrated in your mouth. I suppose I don’t blame him. But I think I’ve mastered the art of the kale chip since then and I MUST share this easy recipe with you all! They’re literally the best… Okay, whatever I’m bias but just trust me when I say they’re really really good!
The BEST Kale Chips
What you need
- Kale (duh)
- avocado oil
- nutritional yeast
- garlic powder
- cumin
- chili powder
- cayenne
- pink salt
How To Make Kale Chips
First things first: cut the stalks away from the kale. You can also rip them off. You just don’t want to use them in your kale chips because they’ll honestly be gross and weird <–technical terms.
Once you’ve cut away the stalks you’ll cut or rip the bunch into medium to large pieces, then wash and dry. I used a salad spinner but if you don’t have one of those laying your kale out on a cooling rack and patting with paper towel will do the trick. Apparently you can also blow dry your kale, which is actually pretty genius…
Next I like to drizzle the kale with oil as well as putting on my fingertips. Then you MASSAGE THE KALE. Yes, massage it. I’ve said this before but just trust me on this one. Rub the oil into the leaves. After that’s done you sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and seasonings. Rub those in a little bit and sprinkle on the salt.
Kale Chip Seasoning Blend
Then you lay in a single layer on a baking sheet. You want to make sure you leave some space between the chips so they all get crispy. Depending on how many kale chips you want, you may have to do a couple batches of baking the kale chips.
Bake at 300ºF watching closely for about 8 minutes–all ovens are different so just watch–until slightly crisp. Allow them to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before eating the entire pan enjoying them at your leisure.
And in case you were wondering… Why yes, I basically ate another batch of kale chips all by myself. Not even ashamed about it.
Thank goodness these are Whole30 too. They make a great snack. I actually enjoyed the leftover chips (I had to cut myself off after pan 1) with my eggs the next morning. SO GOOD.
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How to Make...
The Best Kale Chips [ vegan, paleo ]
These homemade kale chips are easy to make and you won’t believe how flavorful they are! Vegan, Paleo and Whole30 compliant.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 large stalks kale, about 4 cups leaves
- 1 TBS avocado oil, plus more for hands
- 1 1/2 TBS nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 tsp pink salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a large baking sheet (or line with parchment paper) and set aside.
- Carefully remove leaves from the stalk of the kale. You can either pull the leaves or cut away from the stalk. Rip or cut kale into large pieces, then wash and dry kale in salad spinner. Make sure your kale is dry before the next step. You can pat down with paper towel and let air dry on cooling rack until dry.
- Place the dry kale leaves in a bowl and drizzle on about half tablespoon avocado oil. Massage oil into the kale leaves using your finger tips. Sprinkle on 1 TBS nutritional yeast, and all of your seasonings. Add another half tablespoon and repeat this process with well oiled hands, massaging the nutritional yeast and seasonings into the kale leaves.
- Transfer leaves to baking sheet, arranging in single layer. Sprinkle on the rest of the nutritional yeast and a few more dashes of salt if you wish.
- Bake kale at 300F for 7-9 minutes, watching very closely. All ovens are different, so adjust baking time to desired texture of kale chips. Allow kale chips to cool on pan for 5 minutes before enjoying.
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: 1/2
- Calories: 98
- Sugar: 0g
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0g
SOME OF THE PRODUCTS I USED IN TODAY’S RECIPE
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Lexi Lutz says
These were delicious!!! Loved them! Great tip about massaging the oil in, I think it made them crispy and perfect, a trick I never would have thought of! My mom and I might have eaten a whole pan at once…
Ashley says
Ah so great to hear you and your mom liked them Lexi! I can totally eat a whole pan too 😀
Eden says
Is the nutritional yeast necessary?
Ashley says
Hi Eden, you can omit the nutritional yeast but it does add a unique (and delicious) flavor. But if you already know you don’t care for the flavor, you can definitely leave out.
Jodi says
These were outstanding! My daughter and I called them Kale Nachos because they were so cheesy and spicy. Yum!
★★★★★