I’ve suffered through one too many batches of burned or soggy kale chips over the years. It took me a while to master my baked kale chip recipe, but I’ve learned some valuable lessons along the way and I’d like to pass my tips along to you! From the good ‘ol Culinary School of Hard Knocks (aka: my kitchen) to you. Gotta love it.
The first time I made kale chips I remember thinking, “Should they taste burnt like this??” The easy answer is no. I’ve come to find a nice balance between crispiness and chewiness without any burnt edges. Yes, this is very serious business, this kale chip business. When baked properly, they really do make the perfect base for a satisfying chip alternative.
I know some people are eager to claim that kale is “over” due to its popularity in recent years, but seeing as it’s still rated number #1 (along with Mustard/Turnip/Collard Greens) on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI), I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon. At least not in my diet. Kale for life!
With these few simple techniques you’ll be well on your way to kale chip bliss. Or maybe you already are, in which case, feel free to skip ahead to my All-Dressed Baked Kale Chip recipe below and get crunching!
Ok, here are my top 6 tips for baking the perfect kale chips. No dehydrator required.
1. Remove the stems and tear leaves into large pieces
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of chewing through woody baked kale stems. I remove the stems very quickly by grabbing the base of the stem with one hand and pushing outwards along the stem to slide off the leaves. Works like a charm!
2. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves before beginning
If the leaves aren’t properly dried, the water can “steam” the kale chips while baking and lead to the dreaded soggy kale chip! Be sure they are nice and dry before you massage in the oil. A salad spinner works great; just be sure not to overload it so the leaves can properly dry.
3. Don’t skip the oil, but don’t drench it in oil either
A little bit of extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil, if you prefer) goes a long way. I like to use ½ tablespoon of oil per baking sheet of kale chips. “Massage” the oil into the leaves to ensure all the nooks and crannies are coated. Oil also helps the spices stick to the leaves.
4. Spread kale into a single layer on the baking sheet
I used to dump all the kale into a very thick layer on the baking sheet and hope for the best, but doing this tends to lead to soggy, unevenly baked kale chips. I’ve learned to be a bit more patient and spread them out into a thinner layer on each baking sheet. Be sure to rotate the baking sheet half-way through baking. There’s no real need to flip the chips unless you have the patience for it.
5. It’s all about the low-heat for even baking
As I wrote in my cookbook, I tested all kinds of kale chip recipes at different temperatures from very low to high heats. Surprise, surprise the batches that worked the best were the ones I baked at a very low temperature of 300F. Sure, it takes a bit longer to bake, but I can assure you it’s worth it because you don’t get any burnt pieces. Remember, the goal is to crisp the kale, not scorch it into smithereens! In my oven, I bake at 300F for 10 minutes, then I rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes. So 25 minutes total for kale chip perfection in my oven. This will vary based on your oven, but it’s a good starting off point!
6. Cool for just a few minutes on the baking sheet
I’ve found that waiting just 3 minutes allows the kale chips to crisp up even more once they are out of the oven. Just like baked cookies or roasted chickpeas, kale chips really firm up even more when cooled. Those 3 minutes will feel like hours though. I won’t lie.
Bonus tips: Avoid adding liquids (such as vinegars or hot sauces) pre-baking as liquids can result in soggy chips. It’s best to add a light spritz of liquid seasoning after they’ve been baked, if at all. Also, if your oven has one, feel free to try out the dehydrator or convection setting.
Now, read on for my All-Dressed Kale Chip recipe! I promise this batch will not last long…minutes while standing in front of the oven if you are like me.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
All-Dressed Kale Chips
Yield
1-2 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Crispy and chewy kale chips baked in the oven and seasoned to perfection. Enjoy these as a healthy alternative to potato chips.
Ingredients
per baking sheet:
- approx. 1/2 bunch kale leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 1.5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove leaves from the stems of the kale and roughly tear it up into large pieces. Compost the stems (or freeze for smoothies). Wash and spin the leaves until thoroughly dry.
- Add kale leaves into a large bowl. Massage in the oil until all the nooks and crannies are coated in oil. Now sprinkle on the spices/seasonings and toss to combine.
- Spread out the kale onto the prepared baking sheet into a single layer, being sure not to overcrowd the kale.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 12-15 minutes more until the kale begins to firm up. The kale will look shrunken, but this is normal. I bake for 25 mins. total in my oven.
- Cool the kale on the sheet for 3 minutes before digging in! This really makes all the difference! Enjoy immediately as they lose their crispiness with time.
- Repeat this process for the other half of the bunch.
Tip:
Feel free to make these in a dehydrator if you have one. You can also experiment with the convection or dehydrator setting on your oven (if applicable).
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)I can’t end this post today without thanking you for your lovely comments in my recent post. I’m reading through all of them and greatly appreciate the support, advice, and love. Sketchie’s staple removal went fine (it took a few minutes and didn’t seem to even bother him) and he is healing well from surgery.
Thank you, thank you so much! I have been trying to make good Kale Chips for a while. Dah I never thought about turning down the temperature on the oven. These things were crazy good!
I tried one batch with your spice mixture and it was very good. Well I have been into lemons (I fried some lemon slices and oh my goodness so good) so I used some lemon pepper and wow!! Very, very good!! (I like lemons though).
Also tried some spinach chips. Awesome sauce!! You prepare them like the kale but you don’t bake as long the kale chips I did about 16 minutes in my oven on 300 degrees turning the pan half way through.
Again thank you
These are awesome! No more burnt kale chips! ha! Thank you :)
Wow! Excellent recipe. Just pulled my chips out of the oven and my family has eaten almost all of them. They are perfectly crisp. I sprayed olive oil on the leaves with a refillable cooking mister ( “Misto”) to get a lightly oiled chip. yummm!
This worked great — they turned out perfectly. Thank you!
Fahrenheit! America in soo many ways soo behind the times and insular. Most of the world uses metric now at least give the equivalents if you want to be a world citizen.
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been wanting to make kale chips for a long time because they’re so expensive to buy. I used just over half of the spice mixture as given and even that was too much seasoning. Next time I’ll add a bit more nutritional yeast and much less of everything else. I found the spices really masked the taste of the kale. I guess my oven runs hot because after 10 minutes at 300 degrees they were almost done. I rotated, cooked for another 7 minutes and they were done. Thanks again!
OMG – They worked! My family groaned when I said I was going to try them again after many failed attempts. I followed your tips and this time they were great. Tasted like crispy seaweed snacks you can buy in the UK. Thanks!
What is nutritional yeast? Is it the same as yeast for bread?
Hi there, what a great question! The two types of yeast are actually different: the yeast used in bread is what’s known as “active” yeast, and it works as a leavening agent (helping your baked goods to rise); nutritional yeast, on the other hand, is an “inactive,” dead form of yeast. Nutritional yeast is great for lending a cheesy, nutty flavour to vegan recipes, and is also rich in protein and often fortified with B vitamins. I love adding it to sauces, gravies, and dressings, or sprinkling it on popcorn or garlic bread. Hope this helps! :)
Really appreciate the tips! The chips were delicious!
Yummy and inviting chips.. I am planning to try it today.. Thanks for your wonderful tips..
From the empirical scientist that I am, also one on a very limited fixed budget…
1) So the salad spinner and/or abundant paper towels are unlikely components to my method, in lieu I use a clean (i.e., washed with vinegar) beach towel, just roll up the kale in the towel, gently squeeze, and roll out nice, dry kale…
2) I use a very large bowl having a sealing cover to coat my dried kale with olive oil, and whatever other seasonings I like at the time, cover, then I work my appetite by generously shake the bowl, thoroughly coating the kale, and getting the heart rate up….
3) Lastly, to avoid standing over the oven eating the chips, I rotate between two or three baking sheets of chips…that way Another Rascal In The House May Eat The Igneous Kale…it’s all in the ARITHEMATIK!
Thank you so much for this! Thanks to you my first ever attempt at kale chips was a resounding success.
Hi Wiliam, that’s great! So happy to hear your kale chips turned out. :)
This recipe worked! Perfectly crispy and NOT burned kale chips! Thank you!!
Great tips, first time I’ve had Kale Chips actually work!
New one I added, a desert Kale Chip… coconut oil, xylitol and cinnamon! Tastes great!
Hi Jeff, glad you found this helpful! Those dessert kale chips sound delish – I’ll have to give them a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Used your spice mix and made a fabulous bunch of kale chips! These were very yummy!
Yum! Great combination, Ivy. Enjoy! :)
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve also tried for the longest time to make the perfect kale chip and gave up. so happy you figured this out!
I’m so glad this helped, Tanya! :)
I love. Love. Love! Your recipes. I’ve been wanting to try kale, and searched through dozens of recipes before I found yours. I just happened to have all the necessary ingredients, so I set to work with my freshly purchased bag of chopped kale. I put the kale into a large produce bag, and then sprinkled in the coconut oil. I shook the bag vigorously, and kind of mushed it around a little bit with my hands. All the leaves appear to be coated. I then sprinkled in the dry ingredients, and shook the bag again, distributing everything evenly. It all looked really good when I dumped it out on the pans. Kale is now the oven, and I can smell that wonderful aroma. I might not make it through the entire baking time.
Okay, I managed to make it through the entire baking time. Oh. My. Goodness! Have you ever tried to text while hanging onto the baking pan with one hand and eating with the other and texting with your nose? These are wonderful! The next time I make please, and there will be a next time, I will use my cajun spice on them. I must go now. I have two pounds of kale chips to eat. I mean put away!
Haha! Sounds like you’re definitely enjoying the kale chips, Jonette – I’m so glad! :)
These were perfect and delicious, my neighbor has these massive kale plants he didn’t know what to do with so I found this recipe and made chips all afternoon, not one failure! Simply scrumptious and sooo moreish and enough for everyone, will do it again tomorrow! Thankyou so much for this recipe :-)
That’s great, Victoria! Enjoy the kale chips :)
Yummy!!! I brought a bunch of kale to put in my salad, but had allot left over. I went in search of kale recipes and came across this one. I made a small batch since I wasn’t sure if they would turn out OK. OMG….they were wonderful and I ate them all. Going to make more very soon.
Glad you enjoyed them, Janet!
What do you mean when you say rotate the pan? Move the chips or just move it positions?
Hi Anna, you don’t need to worry about moving the chips themselves – just turn the pan in the oven, so that you get an even bake! :)