Prior to this year I don’t ever recall eating kale before. I even discussed it with a few of my friends, and they also weren’t sure if they had eaten it before either (have you?). I don’t know what it is about the name “kale”, but the sound of it just isn’t appealing for some reason. However, things have changed and since I am trying my best to buy and eat local foods, I decided to go out on a limb and try it!
I first discovered that kale can be substituted for (and even added to) spinach in some recipes like creamed spinach. I of course couldn’t get my daughters to even think about wanting to eat that. But (drum roll, please) when I received this super easy recipe below, courtesy of my husband’s step-mom, not only did my children like it, but they loved it and kept asking for more! I will add that when my daughter first saw this greenish looking dish, just like any 2-yr-old would, she said “I don’t like that” without even trying it. She did follow the rule of trying at least one bite though, and with surprise in her voice she said “I like the kale” and then kept eating it. And I have to agree that I was also surprised how good something with the name “kale” could turn out to be!
Kale Chips
- 4 cups firmly packed kale leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale by ripping out the stems and ribs from the center of the leaves. Lay them out onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle the leaves with a tablespoon of olive oil. Using your hands toss the leaves around to evenly distribute the oil then lay them out into a single layer on the sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn kale pieces over and bake for 5 – 7 minutes more until kale turns brown, paper-thin, and brittle. (They can quickly go from perfect to overdone so keep a close watch at the end!) Remove from oven and toss with sea salt. Serve immediately.
WOW! I am definitely trying this! You’re right…the word “kale” doesn’t sound appealing, but it really is pretty yummy. I just tried it last night and it was tossed in just a little soy sauce and they added sesame seeds. Served it w/ asian noodles. SSSSOOOOO good!!!
You have to let me know how it turns out and if your kids eat it too!
[...] Kale Chips (a surprisingly easy and delicious veggie!) [...]
Lisa…I tried the kale recipe and just loved it….it had such an interesting texture and held the flavor in a great way and talkl about easy!!! thanks for sharing…Maggie
We just tried the kale chips tonight and I really liked them! Jeff even liked them and you know how his is about veggies! The kids, however, did not like them at all. Bummer. Oh well…I’ll try the next thing I find to try to get them to eat vegetables!
Well at least Jeff liked them…that is one step in the right direction! Thanks for leaving a review.
I must have done something wrong. Mine were not very good. They had a bad aftertaste and caused us a lot of bad smelling burps all night. Is that too much information? I am tempted to try again because everyone seems to like them so much.
Just retried it using your recipe to the T — instead of the one I found on allrecipes. Much better, but still left a bit of an aftertaste and my daughter spit it out. My one year old loved it!
Sorry I had not responded yet to your first comment…my first thought about the bitter taste was that you cooked them too long. I am so glad your 1-year-old love it this time though…that is great!
These were yummy! I haven’t tried to get my 6 year old to eat them yet so we’ll see what happens there.
Do you know if this will work with other leafy vegetables?
Glad it turned out for you! I have only tried it with Kale, but would say the most similar veggie is probably Collard Greens. Not sure if it would work though?
Yum! These are tasty! I was a little nervous, but they turned out wonderfully! Thanks!
My 22 month old loves these Kale chips. She loves the crunch and piles them in her mouth. Makes me so happy because Kale is so nutritious. You have to really watch them though because they can burn quickly if you leave them in too long. I actually take them out when they are still a dark green color with just a little brown starting to form. I actually don’t like the taste once they are brown.
Lisa, it was great to see this post.
My daughters introduced Kale to my husband and I about 4 years ago. We use to grow alot of Mustard Greens in our garden, but we loved Kale so much, we instead grow it now. We have a 50 ft row in the garden that we have been feasting on all through the summer and will continue through the winter. In the winter we just lay the snow over and snap away, thawed in the sink, its crisp and ready to use.
We love Garlicky Kale Chips.. I bake mine in a preheated 300 degrees oven, I put extra virgin olive oil in a little sprayer, I lightly spray some on my baking sheets, then after laying the trimmed leaves on the baking sheets, I spray the leaves with the olive oil, sprinkle them with garlic powder and Kosher salt or Sea salt. I bake approximately 10 to 14 min. or until they are crispy and “slightly” brown around the edges, flipping them once.
We enjoy them by themselves or I crumble them on our salads.
Two of our favorite ways to eat Kale, are: sauteeing Kale with one or two chopped garlic in Extra Virgin Olive oil, sprinkling them towards the end with Garlic salt or Sea salt … and Creamy Kale Soup…a handfull in veggie soups or chicken noodle, omelets is great as well.. any way you eat Kale, its so packed with beneficial anitoxidants and inflamatory fighters…wards several cancers..its a win win veggie..
Well, we tried them this evening. With lots of salt, they are alright for a healthy treat. My kids tried them and did not like them and my husband was unhappy with the “broccoli” smell in the house. It was worth a try, but they were not a hit at my house of picky eaters.
I tired these tonight, Our first time ever eating Kale!! They had a bit of a bitter after taste but read the comments so maybe I cooked them to long. My toddlers didn’t like them (I think it was the texture) but I crumbled them and mixed them into their mashed sweet potatoes and they were just fine with that. I want to find other ways to add it to foods.
My family eats kale (mostly steamed with a little olive oil) at least twice a week. A friend of mine has a little boy with an inoperable brain tumor and the physicians have advised her to feed him as much kale as possible and to also feed it to her healthy child. It is one of the most potent foods as far as antioxidants are concerned!!!! This is a huge preventative of cancer and helps aid in treatment of existing cancer. Of course that is also a benefiit of eating unprocessed food, but who can be too safeguarded when it comes to cancer?!
I am so sorry to hear about your friend’s son…I know I would be willing to try anything at that point!
There is a Dutch recipe called Bourenkoel that is basically kale and potatoes cooked together then mashed. (You end up with green potatoes). We eat it with butter on top and sausages on the side. As with with many dishes from other cultures, it’s one worth trying and you either love it or hate it. We love it
I am so glad to see more people eating kale!! I have been eating it my whole life and I LOVE it!!
I highly recommend planting it in your garden if you enjoy it. It is so versatile, my two favourite ways to eat it ate in Risotto and simply lightly blanched and tossed in olive oil and garlic, a very quick and easy side dish.
I have heard of making Kale chips before, but am going to wait until the spring when I can get fresh leaved from the garden.
Here is a delicious soup recipe that utilizes kale. My family loves it! http://kgrains.com/recipe/kale-soup
We absolutely LOVE kale made this way. Our 1 year old twins and 3 year old son also love it, and it’s really funny to see them crunch it in their mouths and develop the kale goatee on their face. Thank you so much for sharing! I have been pinning recipes up a storm. You are inspiring me to make one last push to eat better. We do about 80% of what you recommend, just need to ditch the chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, and sausage addiction we have.
@Natasha, I agree with you about raising your own kale. It couldn’t be easier! I am very lucky to live in the Bay Area to be able to have lettuce, kale, spinach, parsley, strawberries, chives, and sugar snap peas in our winter garden right now. Nothing tastes better than fresh from the garden produce! Looking forward to the summer garden with tomatoes, okra, peppers, and squash.
I haven’t tries this yet but seems interesting. Whole foods just posted a receipe for it : roasted kale chips with Parmigiano & Reggiano.
[...] 100daysofrealfood: Kale Chips – A quick and easy kale chips recipe from a fellow Charlotte blogger. Hint: They also taste extremely delicious crumbled and sprinkled over popcorn! [...]
I just tried the kale chips today. My 4 yr old did try them but because they look funny to him he’s not too interested to have more even though he said they were good. LOL My kale doesn’t look like your picture though, mine is real curly on the edges. I guess it’s a different type. I like them though, very different. I made the whole bunch!
Can you use the deydrator to make the kale chips?
I’ve heard you can, but have not tried it yet myself.
Can you use the deydrator to make the kale chips?
I tried kale rather recently for the first time in a soup and just loved it, so I’m excited to give the kale chips a try. This is sort of the next step for us, since we became swiss chard fanatics last year – I even tried to grow some in our garden this past year! Thanks for some great new ideas.
I love kale too. I’ve heard that it is less bitter after a frost. So some of the bitter chips may have been overcooked, but it’s also possible they were picked in the spring or summer and never had a chance to go through a frost.
I think I missed the part where you chop them?? Do you put them in the oven whole so they turn easier?
it says “Wash and trim the kale by ripping out the stems and ribs from the center of the leaves.” basically, once you cut the leafy part of the thick stalky part, and any large ribs (the side “stems”), you’ll probably be left with the right size pieces for chips!
[...] bag of kale, a bag of lettuce, 20 Brussels sprouts (they were 10/$1.00), and 4 potatoes. I made kale chips the next day-if you haven’t had them, you [...]
I love these with sesame seeds sprinkled on during baking. It gives it a nice flavor.
Love these chips – decided to add some nutrional yeast and it gave them a great “cheese” flavor.
WOW! I tried the Kale Chips tonight for the 1st time. They are amazing! They are like air, like cotton candy that just disappears in your mouth with a quick crunch. Fun! Hubby ate maybe 2, and my 7-yr old tried 1… neither one wanted any more. Oh well… more for me, I guess? I will using the rest of my first-ever kale purchase in the kale soup recipe Kathy @ KGrains posted above. Thanks for the chips recipe!
Wow Lisa – these are amazing! I never had kale before today. The texture was so great! Reminded me of a baked chip. I can’t wait to see what my hubby & kids think. Thanks for sharing another winning recipe!
[...] Kale chips- My Dad almost ate the entire plate himself…that’s a good [...]
I’ve never eaten kale before and I must say, it will now be a staple in the house. I just realized I had bought some from our local farmer’s market last week and tried this recipe. The kale chips came out awesome. I also made a creamed kale (supposed to be spinach) over whole wheat pasta for dinner and all 3 kids asked for seconds! What a versatile veggie, I’ll have to try them in smoothies.
One question… do they keep well or do you need to eat them all right away?
I am interested to try the recipe. I am surprised to see so many comments from people who have never tried kale. I love all greens–spinach, swiss chard, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, and beet greens. If I go a week without eating them, I develop a craving that sends me immediately to the store to pick some up and cook them–not a bad addiction to have!
Have never tried kale before this recipe and both my husband and I loved it! It is surprisingly delicious and definitely worth trying – I am excited to try more kale recipes!
I ate a whole bunch myself! I put the chips in a bag and took to the movies and ate it like popcorn. It was sooooo good!
You can crush up the results or leftovers into tiny pieces and use it as a seasoning. Pour it over rice or potatoes or cauliflower or any other dish. It adds wonderful color, flavor, texture and nutrition.
The Japanese make similar mixtures with dried seaweed, dried tangerine peels, salt, pepper flakes, garlic bits, garlic bits, etc. to pour on rice. It’s called Furikake. You can buy all sorts of it in Asian Markets. If you reduce the salt, and make your own, you make some incredibly nutritious and low salt seasonings for the table instead of regular salt and pepper.
Have the family learn to add seasoning instead of salt. Try little containers of lemon juice, pepper flakes, your own seasonings such as Kale Flakes, etc.