How to Make Kale Chips
38 Comments
Updated Feb 07, 2025
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Kale chips are the perfect healthy snack and easily satisfy any salty, savory, or crunchy craving. Just massage torn kale with a little bit of olive oil and salt, then pop them in the oven until crispy!
Kale chips are very thin, delicate, crispy chips. If you’ve ever had seaweed chips, they’re similar in density, with the feeling that you’re chomping on salty air. There’s not much to them. But the good news is that they’re nutrient-dense and satisfy all your salty and savoring cravings with very few calories.
I love homemade chips made from fruits and vegetables, and have recipes for apple chips, zucchini chips, and plantain chips. But these oven baked kale chips are one of my all-time favorites for a healthy snack. Plus, they’re incredibly easy to make!
Kale Chips Ingredients
- Kale: Two popular varieties of kale you’ll find at the market are curly kale and lacinato kale (Tuscan kale). These vary slightly in texture and taste, but either will work for this recipe.
- Seasoning: A little olive oil and kosher salt is all you need to make salted vegetable chips. But if you want to add extra flavor, I’ve got some delicious ideas listed below.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Kale Chips
Remove kale leaves from the stem. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Wash and thoroughly dry the kale. Remove the kale leaves from the stems and tear them into pieces. Place the torn kale into a large mixing bowl.
Season the kale. Add the oil and salt to the mixing bowl and gently massage the kale until all pieces are lightly coated in oil. Don’t massage them too much, as you would for a massaged kale salad, otherwise, they’ll turn too soft.
Bake the kale. Lay the kale pieces in one single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and cook for an additional 2 to 6 minutes, checking every minute or two to ensure they don’t burn.
Let the kale rest. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the kale chips cool for 3 to 5 minutes.
Common Questions
The key here is to cook them at a lower temperature (even if it takes a few minutes longer) and keep a close eye on them. You’re essentially dehydrating the chips. The cooking times may also vary if you’re using lacinato kale rather than curly kale. Just check on them frequently towards the end of the cook time.
Your kale is probably too wet or moist from water or oil. First, after you wash the kale make sure that it’s 100% dry. You can use a salad spinner if your kale is already chopped, or you can blot the kale dry with a paper towel if it’s still full stems. Second, use a minimal amount of oil. You really only need about 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil per bunch of kale chips. If you drench the kale in too much olive oil, it won’t crisp up.
Yes! After seasoning and massaging your kale, add the pieces in a single layer in your air fryer and cook at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes.
Seasonings and Flavors
Salted kale chips are great, but there are plenty of ways to make them extra flavorful. For all dry seasonings, add those seasonings before cooking the kale chips. For liquid seasonings, I recommend a light spritzing after they’ve baked (keeping in mind that they’re quite fragile).
- Dry seasonings: Toss the kale in sea salt, truffle salt, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, parmesan, nutritional yeast (for a dairy-free cheesy flavor), onion powder, and ground mustard.
- Liquid seasonings: Add a drizzle of vinegar, truffle oil, or tamari soy sauce.
Storage Tips
I doubt you’ll have leftovers as it’s so easy to keep popping these kale chips in your mouth! But if you do have some left over, let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
More Healthy Snacks
- Baked Zucchini Fries: Everyone’s favorite snack or appetizer!
- Curly Sweet Potato Fries: A delicious way to use your spiralizer.
- Baked Yuca Fries: A great alternative to regular potato fries.
- Flax Seed Crackers: Crispy crackers loaded with healthy seeds.
- Or enjoy this list of healthy snack ideas!
I hope you enjoy these kale chips! If you make them, I’d love to hear how they turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.
Crispy Kale Chips Recipe
Description
Video
Equipment
- Heavy Duty Baking Sheet My favorite baking sheet that I've had for years!
Ingredients
- 4 kale stems
- 1 to 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove kale leaves from stem. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Wash and thoroughly dry the kale. Remove the kale leaves from the stems, then tear into pieces. Place the torn kale into a mixing bowl.
- Mix together. Add the oil and salt to the mixing bowl and gently massage the kale until all pieces are lightly coated in oil.
- Bake the kale. Lay the kale in one single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and cook for an additional 2 to 6 minutes, checking every minute or two to ensure it's not burning.
- Let rest. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, let the kale chips cool for 3 to 5 minutes, then enjoy.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted November 2016, then again in February 2019, but updated today to include new information and photos for your benefit!
This actually worked! I had to force myself not to rush any step – to make sure the leaves were completely, to keep the oil to a teaspoon for one bunch. But, it worked! Crispy, light and crunchy.
Glad your kale chips turned out perfectly with this recipe, Tracy!
Fabulous! Crisped up quickly and taste great! I used salt, pepper and garlic powder. I’m trying not to eat the entire batch that I just made!
It’s always hard not to eat the whole batch of these kale chips! Glad you love them, Susan.
These are so yummy even my 1 year old devoured them
These really are the tastiest kale chips! I’m glad you and your family loves them.
I covered them with garlic olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Amazing. And I don’t like Kale…but this way? I snack all day!
Happy to hear you found a way to enjoy kale again, Diahann!
Just made the kale chips using your recipe and it’s sooo good. Thank you so much! also thank you for the recipe videos. I’m a visual learner and I can pick it up a lot faster with the video. 👍🏻👏🏻
Glad you enjoyed this kale chip recipe, Ana!
I just tried your Kale chips recipe and it turns great!
My husband loves them.
Thank you for sharing it!
I made these with chopped kale pieces. They didn’t get crispy. Next time I’ll try without the stems. Thanks all your food is good.
I was always looking for something like potato chips at healthy for me and you made my day by showing me kale chips thank you
Can’t beat kale chips for the ultimate healthy snack! :)
I have just made kale chips and they came out perfection!!!! This is the first time that the chips came out crispy. I have tried many times in the past using different recipes unsuccessfully. Thank you :)
Happy to hear your kale chips finally turned out crisp!
Satisfying crispiness😋
Tried the kale chips today and they were absolutely delicious! Have some left over is it best stored in the fridge
Glad you enjoyed this recipe! :)
Hi..
Just made these today…
Love them
No more store bought for me
Wonderful! Homemade kale chips are the best :)
Simple and great! I will no longer buy these from the store.
Hi Ryann – Homemade chips are the best! I hope to create more veggie chips soon :)
Hi Lisa,
I was wondering if you trued to keep kale frozen. In my country it is a bit more difficult to findand I am ordering it. Therefore I would like to know if it would be ok to freeze it.
The kale chips were just amazing!
Thank youuu!
Regards,
Lore
Hi Loredana – Yes! You can freeze kale, as you would any vegetable :) Glad you loved the recipe!
Two questions please – 1. Can you use a toaster oven, (smaller batches of course) and 2. Can you refrigerate kale after prepped with oil, if so how long?
Hi Tammy – I’ve never tried making the kale chips in a toaster oven, but I don’t see why not. And for the refrigeration, I’m sure you could, but the kale would definitely soften up and I’m not sure how that might impact the baking. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
May I suggest cutting the kale *before* washing it?
That helps reduce its inherent bitterness and allows the full kale flavor to be appreciated.
That’s a great tip, thank you!
Love them! They make a great healthy and salty snack! Thanks
Thanks Mary! They sure do. :)
Hey there! Excited to try this recipe:) just wondering how long the chips stay crisp and fresh? I’m meal prepping for the next week, and wondering if I should bake them all now and seal them, or just separate them and bake as needed. Just found your channel the other day and have been obsessed with your videos these past couple days!!!
Thanks so much! I’ll usually make enough kale chips for a couple of days. :)
I can definitely see it. Berlin is covered with lights and decorations. But I like it a lot :D
I have never made kale chips but have had them a few times and loved them. Thanks for all the hints and tips – I love the sound of adding tamari. Yum!
I think most people (including myself) always thought there were more difficult to make than they are. But they’re super easy! Hope you like them and yes, add a spritz of tamari! :)
Love this kale chips recipe and video tutorial! Crispy is key, for sure.
Definitely. And maybe truffle-salty. ;) x