Let’s just say I was not entirely sold on baked kale chips at first. When I reach for a crisp, salty snack it’s usually popcorn that satisfies my craving. Not a vegetable that is chock full o’ skin-healthy vitamin C, bone-strengthening calcium and immunity-enhancing beta carotene. No thanks.
But, being the curious food lover I am, I picked up a bunch of fresh kale for 99 cents and thought, What the heck. I’ll give it a shot.
A matter of minutes after these came out of the oven, let’s just say I was glad I did! This surprisingly crisp and flavorful snack blew me away, as did the fabulous health benefits of this superfood. Kale’s omega-3 provides many benefits for your hair, skin and nails, but it also contains chemicals with powerful anti-carcinogen properties and metabolism-boosting iron.
Hot tip: Look for small-leafed kale – the bigger the leaves the more bitter the taste.
Why buy pricey bags of these flavorful kale chips at Whole Foods when you can make them with an inexpensive bunch of ingredients at home?
If you’re not keen on red pepper flakes, try garlic powder or a dash of cayenne. Sprinkle over some fresh lemon juice or toss in a little feta. Bake it, fry it, steam it. Add it to a soup, omelet or pizza. You’ll never know what your body is missing ‘til you try a dish with tasty kale!
Spicy Baked Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 1 bunch small-leafed kale, rinsed and pat dry
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut kale into 1-inch pieces. Toss the kale in a large bowl with the olive oil and spread evenly on two baking sheets, making sure the pieces are in one layer. (Do not salt. Salt will draw out moisture and cause the kale to not crisp.)
- Bake them for about 8-10 minutes, or until crispy, making sure to flip them around half way though. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Enjoy!
You know, I wasn’t thrilled with quinoa when I first heard about it but when I tried it, I loved it. I think that’s what’s going to happen with kale chips. I’ll have to just give it a try and see if I like it!
What a fabulous snack! These little chips sound lovely.
Spicy baked? Healthy? Certainly would not mind a bowl of these delicious treats :D
Yum!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This is unusual! Twice in one week I have encountered kale chips! I went to Third Thursday Pot Luck at Nancy Vienneau’s (goodfoodmatters.com) this past Thursday and there was a huge bowl of baked kale chips made by one of the guests, Linda. This must be what I must try with my garden full of kale about to go to seed! Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve been seeing Kale chips pop up more and more lately. I have never had them!
I love kale chips. So easy and so healthy. Nice tip about salting, thank you.
i have yet to make kale chips! I have to give them a try. and when i do, i’m going spicy all the way :)
Kale chips are one of my favorite healthy snacks and I love the spices that you used, Georgia. I am definitely craving these now!
I love kale chips! Yours look so bright and beautiful!
I’ve been seeing kale chips around for awhile but have yet to try them. These look wonderful!
i was the same way! i love potato chips, so i didn’t think that kale chips would satisfy my salty snack craving one bit. while they’re definitely not potato chips, i thought they were pretty darn tasty. love the idea of making them spicy, too!
Your photos are very beautiful!! The kale chips look and sound amazing!! Glad that I found your blog too :)
I had never heard of baked kale chips, will have to try, I’m bookmarking it!!!
I have been meaning to try this forever ever. Love the addition of a little kick. Just perfect
This is a wonderful replacement for the bad snacks. Full of nutrition and delicious as well-love the spicy kick as well!
Really? Really really?
I’ve been hesitant to try these, too. I’m trying to trust you that they’re actually crispy and delicious, but I think I must have trust issues when it comes to vegetables.
I thought the same thing, then tried making it. And I liked it more and more. Love the crushed pepper kick to it, your kale chips look delicious. Mine burned a bit, but still good.
These sound great! I’ve cooked with kale before but never made it into chips. Sounds divine!
i love that you made your kale chips all spicy, sounds super delicious!
These look just so perfect, I usually buy the cheesy raw kale chips they sell at whole food…Super expensive right…
This recipe is just so what I need…
I will do this in dehydrator… Fabulous!!
Alright…maybe I should give kale chips a shot…esp. with garlic powder!!
I came across a kale chip recipe years ago and was instantly in love. Sadly I had forgotten about them until I read your post, thank you. I am on a three week plan to eat healthier and control my portions so these morsels will come in handy.
Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com
Kale chips are so good! Bet the hint of heat makes them extra tasty.
I love kale chips but somehow can never, ever get them to crisp right! I will have to try again… love the spicy kick in this one!
Hi Margarita – Before you bake kale chips, make sure the leaves are completely dry and you don’t salt them. By making sure they’re dry and unsalted, they should crisp just fine. Hope that helps!
Love the idea of the crushed red peppers! Definitely going to give that a try. Thanks!!
you know, I pretty much have ignored the whole baked kale chips craze myself…but I see I really need to give this a try!
I really need to bite the bullet and make this. I know I’d love these chips…and with red pepper flakes sounds marvelous!
I’ve heard that kale chips are amazing…I think I’d like them as I used to snack on nori during college. My roommate was from Japan, and her mom would send us care packages!
I’ve been wanting to try kale chips! They look great.
Those look gorgeous!! I still haven’t been brave enough to try making kale chips… I’m not a huge fan of kale so I keep telling myself it would be a waste ’cause I wouldn’t like them anyway… but they look so pretty!!!!
I love kale chips and make them often. I never thought of using red pepper flakes on them. Great idea! Look forward to trying this on my next batch. :)
I recently discovered kale chips and love it. I like the idea of adding some pepper flakes.
Georgia…I’ve heard so many people rave about baked kale chips…and now I can see why! These look really good…and I LOVE that you added the red pepper flakes! Spicy, salty, crunchy …and good for you! : )
I would love to try baked kale chips. I have really heard so much about it but never really tried it. :)
i think kale rocks! i just bought an $8.99 CDN bad of kale chips from Whole Foods Market. Then I thought, why? It would be cheaper for me to make this at home!! I did just make a Rainbow Kale Salad (on my blog) and totally loved it!!
This would be a whole lot better than inhaling a bag of chips while sitting on the couch watching tv wouldn’t it? I’m so inspired to try this! My sister made a kale salad that I will get on my blog soon that pretty much rocked my world so I know I’m a fan.
I just tried Kale for the first time the other day, in juice form. It tasted mostly of grass if you ask me. I bet the baked chip form would taste loads better! I will have to try that out!
I love kale chips, but I never spice them up. Now I must! Thanks for a fun recipe Georgia.
I’ll be honest…I’m a total skeptic on this too. I don’t know why because I’ve heard so much good, but I’ve yet to try these chips! Your post is so inspirational though…I seriously need to get after it already!
this looks so healthy. i first learned about baked kale chips from Gwen Paltrow on the Ellen show. I’ve been meaning to try it, but there are so many things to cook. :-) I love your photos.
I love kale and I have been dying to try the kale chips! Thank you for sharing your recipe! Thanks for visiting my blog! :)
I definitely need to try making these again. Mine didn’t crisp up for some reason. Love the red pepper flakes, nice kick.
I love kale chips. My favorite has been a sesame roasted in sesame oil with sesame seeds. But I will definitely love this!
Ahh, so this might explain why I can’t love kale. Everything here are big tough leaves that are so bitter I can’t bear it. I tried juicing them and went “bleh!” and couldn’t understand what everyone was talking about when they said, “make kale chips!” I wanted to use it to line the litter box. :)
I will make an effort to try to find young leaves and see if that makes a difference. Thanks!
I will definitely try this!!
I have yet to make kale chips yet, but I need to make these ones. I love the addition of the spice!
AH yes! I love kale chips! I planted about 40 kale plants in my garden last year. I am still in fact harvesting kale from last summer! It survived all winter long (it can survive outside until -20 degrees C!)
The best way to get kale chips crispy is to put in salad spinner before baking,try it!!
Really need to try this!
Surely delicious! I am a sucker for spicy and healthy snacks.
Cheers,
Rosa
We love baked kale chips! We like a mix of green and purple kale and we drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Like the addition of red pepper flakes, but our little girls aren’t too fond of the heat.
I keep seeing kale chips – I really need to try this out! Looks delicious!
Looks delicious.
I love adding red pepper flakes to almost anything, so this is definitely my kind of recipe!! Yummy :)
I felt the same way about them! One bite was all it took to make me see the light. I love how you spiced these up!
Yay for healthy snacks! As a mom, I love healthy snacks – especially when it’s green and delicious… give me hope that kids can eat other green veggies. :-) Great introduction of kale chips, Georgia! You made them beautiful and tasty!
We are huge fans of kale in this house – in soups, in our daily green juice and smoothies, even shredded into sweet treats. I always imagined I needed a dehydrator to make kale chips. I suppose not! Thanks for the inspiration :)
I’ve wanted to try kale chips ever since I first saw the hype a while back. Love the addition of red pepper flakes on yours.
they look so good, I have kale in the backyard but it’s not this curly kale, is it still possible to make from the flat leaf kale?
I’ve never tried them with flat leaf kale, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work!
I just made them, they taste great
Love this recipe! Will be linking back to this in my upcoming post :)