Being on a diet is no fun. The thing I miss most are salty potato chips. When I saw several blogs about kale chips I wanted to try making it and see if it could be a good replacement snack that was healthy.
This is curly kale a kind of cabbage. We don’t have kale in the Philippines. I wish we did. Kale is very, very nutritious with all kinds of vitamins and anti-oxidants.
I stripped the leaves from the tough center ribs with a sharp knife.
I gave the leaves a good wash.
I dried it using a salad spinner.
To make sure it was really dry I blotted the leaves with a dish towel.
All I needed was sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.
Add about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt and toss to make sure that the leaves are evenly coated. If you have a oil sprayer it would work even better.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until crisp. Some ovens have hot spots so watch out for burnt leaves.
The result was beyond my expectations. The kale lost it’s bitter taste and it was light and crisp and if I closed my eyes it was like eating potato chips again. It’s easy to eat half in one seating. Even my 10 yr. old niece Erin loved it so much she requested to bring some for her lunch the next day.
My only boo boo was storing the baked chips in large ziploc bags. Don’t ever do this because the next day the crispy kale was limp and soggy. A quick run in the toaster oven made it crispy again.
Note: some leaves were saltier than the others. Try to distribute the salt more evenly.
Seasoning variations that would taste great too:
Parmesan cheese and garlic powder
chili powder
wasabi powder
balsamic vinegar and sea salt
lemon pepper and salt
Crispy Baked Kale Chips
1 bunch kale (Curly, Lacinato, Dinosaur or Tuscan Kale)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 300°F. Wash and dry the kale. Cut the leaves from the tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces and place in a bowl. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool. Serve immediately.
Shoot First Eat Later 
Was thinking of doing this last week, so I bought a bunch of kale. Unfortunately, I did not have time to make it. So the kale became chicken kale stew. Ethan ate it. Still thinking of doing it soon. Will try parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
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Leslie, notice from photo Trader Joes have sea salt that big of a container which I shopped there the other day. They do not yet or ever have that big of size sea salt for I now use sea salt instead of regular table salt anymore. It more healthy. Will try your recipe. I now cut up potato like for French Fries and oven roast it instead of oil frying. Add olive oil and sea salt and roast it nice and crispy too.
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I’ve been thinking about healthy snacks I can bring to work. Hopefully this is something I can make.
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Betty, sometimes Trader Joes carries different inventory from state to state. A possible option is to check your regular grocery aisles for fine sea salt by Morton’s. I just bought a container of it last week and did not have time to go to TJ’s.
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