Raw Food: Kale Chips 9 Ways!
Until yesterday, I had never created a raw food recipe for kale chips. I couldn’t bring myself to take a veggie that I consider a bit bitter and try to turn it into something yummy. My friend, Joanna kept insisting that they were fab so I decided to give it a whirl. They turned out better than I could have hoped for. Which is great because Kale is incredibly healthy.
Kale, which is actually a form of cabbage, is loaded with fiber. One cup of kale provides you with twice your daily requirement of vitamin A, tons of vitamin C and has over a thousand times the RDA for vitamin K! Kale helps keep your body strong and also helps prevent damage from other forces that are constantly attacking our bodies.
Kale is full of fiber and phytonutrients. It produces sulforaphane which is a natural cancer-fighter that signals the liver to produce cancer fighting enzymes. Kale has high amounts of carotenoids that protect your eyes from ultraviolet light and other major issues. It even helps prevent cataracts.
There are many different kinds of kale out there. I wanted to know how each one tasted, and how it adapted to different recipes. I bought dinosaur kale, purple kale and green kale. Then I came up with three different recipes. So, we have 9 different outcomes.
For the first batch I simply used olive oil and salt. For the second batch, I added garlic and thyme. The third batch, one of my favorites, is a spicy combination of chipotle and smoked paprika combined with some nutritional yeast, cashews and garlic. I think this hot version is my favorite.
The difference between the kale, after all was said and done was negligible. The dinosaur kale has a flatter shape and kept that through dehydration but the curly kale was fine and actually held a little more of the flavor mixture.The taste was pretty much the same for all. You can go very easy on the olive oil. They dehydrate very quickly (4-5 hours) so, start them early in the day and you will have a great snack for later. My biggest challenge with these was to not eat them all before I got the picture taken! Make a lot as they dehydrate down quite a bit.
Kale Chips
For all versions: wash and spin dry 2 bunches kale. Remove the tough spine and tear into bite size pieces, keeping in mind that they will shrink in size as they dehydrate.
Dinosaur Kale
Green Kale
Purple Kale
Kale Chips Three Ways
Version One
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
Combine olive oil and sea salt in large bowl. Stir in kale and coat. Place on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 115 for 4-6 hours or until crisp.
Version Two
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
With food processor running, drop garlic in. It will mince. Add oil and thyme. Place mixture in bowl and follow directions above.
Version Three
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup Cashews, soaked at least 8 hours, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast*
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle (spice)
- Pinch Sea Salt
With processor running, drop in garlic and mince. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Pour over kale chips in a bowl and massage until kale is coated. Dehydrate on screens at 115 for 4-6 hours or until crisp. *Nutritional yeast is not raw but used frequently in raw food recipes.
Christine (The Raw Project) wrote on May 18, 2010
This looks like a great way to use the kale ready for picking in our garden, thanks!
nati wrote on May 18, 2010
hi… im sorry to ask it on this articule… but, when is your book coming up and what is the name of your book?
thanks…
Susan wrote on May 18, 2010
Hopefully in a week or two. It is Rawmazing Raw Desserts.
April wrote on May 18, 2010
I just found your website and look forward to reading future posts. Kale is one of our favorite greens, it grows well in our southern climate, but we have never made Kale chips. Have you had much success getting children to eat Kale chips?
Susan wrote on May 19, 2010
April, I don’t have children living at home anymore. But my friends who have made these say their kids love the.
El wrote on May 18, 2010
I’ve never tried them but they look great!
Diane wrote on May 18, 2010
Glad to see the kale chips recipe. I’d like to try these with tahini. 🙂
Kelly Parr wrote on May 18, 2010
Great post! I absolutely LOVE KALE…. in smoothies, salads, and especially dehydrated. My mouth is watering now!
Adrienne wrote on May 18, 2010
the pictures are amazing as usual!
i wanna just reach out and grab one (or 10)!
thanks for posting this. i’m making some next week!
Blanka wrote on May 18, 2010
They sound and look beautiful! I am not likely to get a dehydrator till winter now but I might just give these a try in my oven as they do not take that long. Thank you for inspiration, as always! YUM!
Paula Helgren wrote on May 18, 2010
How much Kale, Sue? I have never heard of Kale chips, but I can’t wait to try them. I use kale in my green drink all the time. I am so excited. Chips keep me on my raw food path and these look so yummy! I put some of your sesame oat crackers in my dehydrator this AM and have wheat berries sprouting in my kitchen for some or your pumpkin seed bread. Thank you, thank you!