When I was a waitress in high school and college, I worked at a pizza buffet that used kale as decoration.
If you would have asked me 20 years ago if I would have eaten the “kale chips” I put in between the cookies and cream pudding and macaroni salad containers, I would have said, “No way!”
Fast forward 20 years, and now I’m putting kale into my smoothies, into my salads, and making Kale Chips. This leafy green has gone from “goofy garnish” to “super food” over the last few years, and I couldn’t be happier. Plus I love that I get it delivered to my door every week as part of my Door To Door Organics delivery. (You can check out my Door To Door Organics review.)
I will admit to being hesitant (aka…why would I want to eat these?) the first time Hubs and I made Kale Chips, but now they are a staple in our veggie side dish rotation because it is like eating potato chips but so much healthier.
This recipe is very forgiving. But three pointers…
1. The bigger the leafs, the better the chips.
2. Make sure to cut out all the hard stems. Hard stems are “icky” when roasted.
3. This recipe tends to be on the salty side. If it is your first time, I’d decrease the amount of salt by half and adjust as needed.
Kale Chips
Ingredients
2 bunches of kale (about 2.5 lbs)
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay each kale leaf on cutting board and cut out hard stem with a sharp small knife.
3. Place leaves in large bowl of water (or sink) and wash well. Drain kale and dry it in a salad spinner. (I use this one – it works awesome and is easy to store.)
4. Place dry kale leaves in large bowl and coat with olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
5. Massage leaves with hands to carefully coat all leaves with oil, salt and pepper mixture.
6. Place kale on ungreased cookie sheets. (You’ll need to roast in batches.) Be careful to not place too much kale on a cookie sheet or it was steam instead of roast into chips. My gauge is that there is a 1/4 inch between all pieces of kale.
7. Roast for 15 minutes or until crisp. Add more time if needed, but be careful to not burn.
8. Sprinkle with extra salt if needed and serve hot.
Disclosure: Door To Door Organics is a sponsor of Kansas City Mamas. However, the written remarks and opinions are entirely my own. Want more information – check out my full disclosure statement.
