How to: Make Kale Chips

Americans love chips. Salty, greasy, yummy chips. Along with french fries, chips are one of the most popular side items for our favorite meals and events, ranging from picnics and barbeques to sporting event parties to book clubs to even our every day lunches. Traditional potato chips have very little nutritional value yet they have that familiarity and comfort to them. So what's a healthy eater to do? Easy--substitute a healthy vegetable for the potato, use olive oil and bake, not fry.

Kale is one of my favorite sides, along with steamed broccoli and any kind of sweet potato. As I mentioned before, I had no idea what kale was before I did my first Whole 30. Kale is part of the cabbage family but don't let that turn you and your nose away. A rich, dark green, kale is packed with all kinds of healthy vitamins including Vitamins C and K, beta carotene and calcium. Kale can be eaten boiled, steamed or baked as a....you guessed it! ....chip. Here's what a bunch of kale looks like straight from the store.

 
Kale chips are super easy to make and are Whole 30 compliant. Here's what you'll need.

Materials:

• Salad spinner
• Foil
• Cookie sheet(s)--I use the same one over and over again but you can use two pans if in a time crunch
• A large bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Kale (there are multiple varieties. I get whichever organic kind is on sale. If nothing is on sale, I prefer the green leafy kale as it tends to make lighter, crispier chips)
• 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
• Fresh Ground Pepper (10 twists of the pepper grinder)
• Sea Salt (just a sprinkle after kale is baked)

Note: I usually make this twice in a row to make a double batch. I don't automatically double it because only one bunch of kale fits comfortably into the salad spinner and bowl that I have.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Make sure your kale is thoroughly washed, clean and dry. Place it under running water to clean. Tear the kale leaves into large pieces, avoiding the hard vein in the center if you so choose. Make the pieces large as they will shrink when baking. No one likes tiny chips.

 Ideal Kale Chip Size

Spin the kale in the salad spinner to remove excess water. One bunch of washed, torn kale should look like this.

Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl. You don't want to use too much oil because the chips will become soggy. This is how much I use.

Use a pepper grinder to add fresh pepper. I use 10 twists. Grind it up! :)

Now it's time to get your hands dirty. After you've washed them, use your hands to mix up all the kale leaves with the oil and pepper.

Place the chips on the foil covered cookie sheet so they aren't on top of each other.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the leaves are crispy on the edges. They will look like this.

Sprinkle some sea salt on top of them. Be careful not to use too much--you can always add more salt later but you can't take it off.

Keep reloading and baking until you run out of unbaked chip. Store your kale chips in a gallon sized zippy bag. Two bunches of kale should make a full gallon of chips.

Kale chips take a while to make, especially if you are only using one cookie sheet, so I usually make them while I am making something else. Today that was Whole 30 Italian Meatballs, which will be my next post. It's best to multitask with something that requires a little prep and the oven to knock everything out in one cooking session.