Crispy Dehydrated Homemade Kale Chips Recipe
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In this world of “fake fruit snacks” and sugar-laden treats, I am always looking for healthy snack recipes to feed my family (and myself). These no-bake cookies, Homemade Protein Bars, and Homemade Gummy Snacks are favorites around here, but sometimes I want something that isn't a sweet treat.
These kale chips fit the bill plus it's they're a great way to use up extra leafy greens from your garden.
We have even taken to eating these as a side dish when I need a veggie dish on the fly :-)!)
Why Make Your Own Kale Chips
- They taste great. Really. Just ask my kids and everyone else whom I've shared them with
- They are really healthy.
- Save tons of money! They cost $69/lb on one site and $43/lb on another. Ugh!
- Kale is super easy to grow. You can even still grow it now in a lot of areas of the country
One Other Additional Reason–You belong to a CSA and they keep sending you–KALE!
An over-abundance of greens (especially kale) was one of the hardest things about participating in a CSA.
This year, though we are quite happy with our CSA experience, we still have a bit too much kale and chard, especially considering that our kale is one of the crops that really decided to do well in our garden (we still need to figure out why our zucchini seems to be the only zucchini resistant to growing :-).
In past years, we have made Oven-Baked Kale, which was quite a hit, and I will be sure to share the recipe with you soon.
However, the kale is really coming in fast and furious and I needed another solution (though it's great, there are only so many nights that my family will eat baked kale :-).)
Well, here it is. Tasty, crisp, salty and delicious and good for you – and a great way to get veggies into your family's diet!
Recipe Notes
- You can make chips from kale, swiss chard — really any kind of green. But our favorite so far is the kale!
- I dehydrate my kale at about 135 degrees (the temperature of the food is lower than the temperature setting on the dehydrator). I know this doesn't leave the kale raw, but I have been doing quite a bit of reading on the dangers of eating raw cruciferous vegetables and how they can really wreak havoc on your thyroid. The Healthy Home Economist has a great post on the problems with raw veggies – after reading that I no longer felt guilty about all the times that I passed over the raw broccoli and cauliflower at potlucks :-)!
- You can, of course, make this kale chips recipe in your oven, but a dehydrator, especially the Excalibur Dehydrator, is a much better choice. One of the main reasons why the Excalibur is great for making kale chips is that the trays are removable. Kale chips are a lot taller than most foods you can dry, so you have to take out every other tray. But even in my 9-tray machine I can only dry 4 trays worth of kale at one time.
For more posts on why I love my dehydrator, see:
- Benefits of Dehydrating Food
- Easiest Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Which Saves the Most: Dehydrating, Canning, or Freezing?
Crunchy Dehydrated Kale Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 cups kale
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste. Coarse salt can also be used.)
Instructions
- Wash kale thoroughly.
- Remove thick stems from kale (I chop the stems and saute them well to avoid waste).
- Chop or tear kale leaves into large pieces.
- Place kale pieces into a large bowl.
- Add olive oil and mix to coat.
- Add salt and mix to coat
- Spread kale in a not-too-thick layer on dehydrator trays (or cookie sheets if using an oven).
- Place trays in dehydrator and dehydrate until crispy dry. (I dry these at about 125°F and they take about 2½ hours.)
- Store in airtight containers (I use both plastic containers and bags, though be careful with the bags as these will crush easily).
- Hide from kids because these can really be quite tasty :-)!
Notes
- You can make chips from kale, swiss chard — really any kind of green. But our favorite so far is the kale!
- I dehydrate my kale at about 135 degrees (the temperature of the food is lower than the temperature setting on the dehydrator). I know this doesn't leave the kale raw, but I have been doing quite a bit of reading on the dangers of eating raw cruciferous vegetables and how they can really wreak havoc on your thyroid. The Healthy Home Economist has a great post on the problems with raw veggies – after reading that I no longer felt guilty about all the times that I passed over the raw broccoli and cauliflower at potlucks :-)!
- You can, of course, make this kale chips recipe in your oven, but a dehydrator, especially the Excalibur Dehydrator, is a much better choice. One of the main reasons why the Excalibur is great for making kale chips is that the trays are removable. Kale chips are a lot taller than most foods you can dry, so you have to take out every other tray. But even in my 9-tray machine I can only dry 4 trays worth of kale at one time.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Are kale chips the next healthy snack for your family?
Double Your Batch! It’s a little tricky but if you stack your Excalibur trays as you fill them with the kale and then slide them all into the dehydrator at the same time (instead of one by one) you can fit all 9 trays in at the same time.
Great tip – thanks!!! Going to work on another dehydrating project this afternoon–stay tuned!
I’ve bought store-made kale chips in the past, but am not a fan, either. (You never know how much nutrition is left, and they are usually very salty.)
Huge respect to you that you grow your own veggies!
Thank you! I so hope you like these!
love that excalibur!
Me too!
Greens and salt… they sound good but I have had a kidney stone before and the said avoid foods w/ high oxalate (sp?) aand salt… :-/ Wonder if I could maybe hack them without the salt?
Hmmm…I haven’t done enough research into oxalates. I have friends who are really concerned abt them and other places say they aren’t a big deal. Are you sure natural salt is a problem?
I am not sure if it changes between commercial salt and Real Salt. I know the calcium oxalate kidney stones that I might possibly tend to form are made from calcium, salt and oxalates. A lot of advice I have read suggest to cut the oxalates and the salt. And to increase your magnesium and calcium together. I have also read that kale has less oxalates than spinach. I think I will make some both ways and maybe nibble on one or two with salt and mostly without. 😉
I just got this info from others who are really “into” the oxalate issue and kidney stones. I hope this is helpful:
Elizabeth Eckert Calcium out of ratio with magnesium is a major contributor to kidney stones, along with heavy metal accumulation and other kidney stress factors (one of which is low sodium).
So interesting! Yes! It helps a lot! Tysm for remembering and sharing this w/ me! 🙂 <3
You are so welcome!!!!
I was a little hesitant about trying these. I’ve seen the recipe for them often and wanted to try it. I think that they are wonderful! I feel as though I’ve dove into a bag of Lay’s! It took a little longer to bake them (maybe about 5 mins.) because I like crispy and crunchy foods a lot! I’ve read before to NOT store in plastic containers, but I don’t know what to keep them in if I can’t use Baggies or Tupperware.
Any suggestions?
Why are you not to store them in plastic? You could use glass containers like this perhaps; I have something like this at home and I love it (affiliate link): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB1AIFG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EB1AIFG&linkCode=as2&tag=whnemo-20&linkId=HOMMMYHWBZ3KEQ7R