How to Make Kale Chips
30 Comments
Updated Apr 28, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Kale chips are the perfect healthy snack and easily satisfy any salty or savory craving. They’re light, crispy, nutrient-dense and very easy to make. If you’ve never made them at home, give them a try!
Kale Chips
When it comes to snacks and munchies some are definitely healthier than others. But the top of the list in terms of a nutrient-dense, healthy snack are these kale chips.
Kale chips are very thin, delicate, crispy chips. If you’ve ever had seaweed chips, they’re sort of the same in density, with the feeling that you’re chomping on salty air. There’s not much too them. But the good news is that they’re nutrient-dense and satisfy all your salty and savoring cravings with very little calories.
Kale is a member of the cabbage family and it’s a cruciferous vegetable, just like broccoli or cauliflower. It comes in several varieties including curly kale and lacinato kale (also known as Tuscan kale), which are the ones you’ll find most often at the market.
Kale is loaded with antioxidants as a leafy green and contains nearly 5 times as much vitamin C as spinach. It’s also one of the best sources of vitamin K1. Needless to say, it’s a nutrient and vitamin powerhouse. Now you see why it’s tops on my healthy snack list!
How to Make Kale Chips
Kale chips are really easy to make, but there are some important tips that I’ll share with you below. Here are the basic steps:
- Wash the kale and thoroughly dry it
- Remove the kale leaves from the stem.
- Tear the kale into larger bite-sized pieces.
- Massage the kale with the olive oil until well coated.
- Lay the kale flat on a baking sheet and bake at 300F for 8-15 minutes.
Tips for the Best Kale Chips
Don’t Burn Them
The key to kale chips is not burning them. Because burned kale chips (even slightly burned) taste, well, horrible. I prefer to cook them at a lower temperature, even if it takes a few minutes more.
So I cook them at 300 degrees fahrenheit rather than 350 degrees. In my current oven that takes about 8-10 minutes, but it may take a few minutes more in your oven (as it used to take 15 minutes in my previous oven). The key is just keeping an eye on them and rotating the pan halfway through.
The cooking times may also vary if you’re using lacinato kale rather than curly kale – though either works just fine. So I’d say check them at 8 minutes and maybe every minute or two thereafter until they’re done.
Don’t Make Them Soggy
Soggy or limp kale chips aren’t very fab either. So let’s talk about how to not make them soggy or limp, which all has to do with moisture.
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 could 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 1-2 teaspoons (not tablespoons) of olive oil per bunch of kale chips. If you drench the kale in too much olive oil, it won’t crisp up.
Kale Chips Seasonings and Flavors
Kale chips can be made plain or tossed and topped with a variety of seasonings. For all dry seasonings, you can add any that you choose 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: 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: vinegar, truffle oil and tamari (or coconut aminos).
For More Healthy Snacks
- Curly Sweet Potato Fries
- Baked Plantain Chips
- Apple Chips
- Zucchini Chips
- Baked Yuca Fries
- Flax Seed Crackers
- Baked Zucchini Fries
And if you’ve got leftover kale, you can easily whip up a Massaged Kale Salad. It’s delicious!
Crispy Kale Chips Recipe
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 4 kale, stalks
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
- Wash and thoroughly dry the kale. Remove the kale leaves from the stems and then tear into pieces. Place the torn kale into a mixing bowl.
- Add the olive oil and sea salt to the mixing bowl and gently massage the kale until all pieces are lightly coated in oil.
- Lay the kale in one single layer on a sheet pan and cook for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan. Cook for an additional 2-6 minutes, checking every minute or two to ensure it’s not burning.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, let cool for 3-5 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, but updated to include new information.
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