Since moving to Georgia, we’ve joined a farmer’s market co-op for a weekly basket of fruit and veggies. In our basket this week was a bunch of kale. Two things come to mind when I think of kale: Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden, and kale chips.
Since I heard so many people around the web boasting how great kale chips are, and some of them even go as far to say they’re better than potato chips, I thought I’d give them a shot.
For one thing, they’re way easier than making potato chips. No deep frying here. Just rip up the clean leaves, coat with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle some salt, and bake until crisp. They are a lot healthier than potato chips, and like potato chips have that same satisfying crunch. They also smell great baking in the oven.
I wouldn’t, however, say they’re better than potato chips. But they are an excellent substitute if you’re trying to eat healthy. Just be sure to watch the oven as they’re baking; once they turn brown they get really bitter. I’d recommend baking a small batch first to see how long they take in your oven and go from there.
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch kale
- olive oil
- salt
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pull kale off of stems and tear into small pieces. Wash and dry. Drizzle olive oil (I used about 1 Tbsp for a large bowl full of kale). Place kale on baking sheet; try to prevent them from overlapping each other. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 8 minutes or until kale is crispy. Watch the oven to make sure they don’t turn brown or else they are really bitter.
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Directions with Photos:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Pull kale off of stems and tear into small pieces.
Wash and dry.
Drizzle olive oil (I used about 1 Tbsp for a large bowl full of kale).
Place kale on baking sheet; try to prevent them from overlapping each other. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 8 minutes or until kale is crispy. Watch the oven to make sure they don’t turn brown or else they are really bitter.
I had some of the smaller leaves start to turn brown, and they are, in fact, bitter. Try to tear the kale into uniform sizes so the smaller pieces don’t burn before the larger ones crisp up.
Mine also crisped up by 8 minutes. I’ve seen recipes say to bake them for up to 33 minutes at 275 degrees. Unless my oven is out of whack, just watch yours carefully to see how long it takes you to bake.
