Kale Chips

Kale chips are all the rage in the food world right now. While we were living in Arizona, Ryan and I used to find any excuse to go to Whole Foods and get samples… “oh, we need one apple, right?”. Crunchy, flavorful, delicious- we’ve tried every kind from ranch dressing to garlic Parmesan to chocolate infused. We never buy them though because they are pretty expensive! Something like $13.00 for a 16 oz bag- no thank you. For a much cheaper price, I decided to make my own! 

I was thinking about what kinds of fun flavors I could make. Something new and totally different to set them apart. But as I got more and more creative, I realized I was taking away from the whole point of snacking on something like a kale chip. It’s supposed to be a healthy snack that you can substitute for potato chips without the fat from fried potatoes. So no cheese, fancy dressings, or Italian seasonings here. Just a lightly salted, addictlingly crunchy chip that will switch up your normal snacking routine. Maybe more flavors in the future, but for now I wanted to keep things simple and easy.    

Makes: 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes      Baking Time: 20 minutes          Total Time: 25 minutes

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and drained
2 tbs olive oil
1 heaping tsp sea salt

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
• Remove the stems from the kale with a knife or by ripping away with your hands. Discard the stems
• Rip the leaves into bite sized pieces; err on a little too big versus a little too small.
• Toss the leaves in the oil by drizzling the oil over top and mixing together with your hands. If you have spray olive oil, I think this actually works better. You don’t want to over-saturate the leaves or they won’t crisp up. Make sure the oil is spread evenly over the leaves and place onto a cookie sheet in one even layer.
• Season with the sea salt and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute before eating.