Our kale chips in the oven are made with whole leaves of cavolo nero, also known as black kale. For seasoning, we use lemon, garlic, and chili flakes.
We like to keep the kale leaves whole, for a beautiful, crisp, and light snack or starter.
What are kale chips?
Kale chips are oven-baked pieces of kale that turn out crips, like potato chips, thanks to the low baking temperature.
Usually, kale chips are made with small pieces of kale. In this recipe, we tried making kale chips with whole kale leaves.
We used black kale for this recipe, and as you can see from the pictures, the oven-baked kale chips turned out beautiful and also very very crunchy (you can see that in the video).
Kale is a tremendous superfood with plenty of nutritional benefits. Kale chips in the oven are a fun and easy way to add some of this nutritional powerhouse to your diet. If you like crispy vegetable chips, take a look at our sweet potato chips.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Kale: we used the whole leaves of black kale (cavolo nero) for our kale chips. If you can't find whole leaves you can do this recipe with pre-chopped kale.
- Olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, salt and chili flakes: we use these ingredients to flavour the kale. Alternatively, this recipe is delicious also just with salt and olive oil.
How to make kale chips in the oven
Wash and dry the kale leaves, preheat the oven to 280F or 140C.
Note: It's important that the leaves are dried well or else the water will prevent them from being crisp when we cook them in the oven.
Note: It's important that the kale cooks slowly at a low temperature so that it gets crisp without burning.
On two baking trays, place the leaves next to each other, without too much overlapping.
You can cut off the bottom part of each leaf if it's too hard and woody.
Grate the zest of half a lemon on top of the kale leaves.
To a small bowl, add some grated garlic (or minced garlic) and olive oil. With a brush, brush each kale leave with the olive oil and garlic mixture.
Bake in the oven at 280F or 140C for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Check the kale at the 20-minute mark, if it's crisp take it out, if not cook for a few more minutes, checking often, till it's crisp.
Take the kale out of the oven, season with salt, some chili flakes, and some grated lemon zest. Arrange on a plate to be served.
Common mistakes
Not drying the kale leaves before baking them will prevent them from turning crisp, as the water will turn into steam that will make the kale soft. Dry the leaves well before baking them.
A too high temperature will burn the kale fast, so my advice is to keep the baking temperature at around 280F or 140C.
Storage
Store the kale chips in a dry corner of your kitchen for up to 24 hours. After that, the kale will start losing its crispiness.
If you want to preserve it for longer, store it in an air-tight container.
Variations
If you can't find whole kale leaves, you can make kale chips in the oven in smaller pieces. The cooking method is exactly the same as I described.
Do not crowd the baking tray or else the kale won't be crisp.
If you're a fan of easy, baked veggies, try our roasted artichokes and baked asparagus - they're crunchy and quick to prepare.
Dinner ideas
Did you know that we develop our recipes to go together for a complete dinner meal plan? Serve Kale chips as a starter with:
Pasta with chestnut pesto and mushrooms
Easy homemade chocolate and chestnuts truffles as an extra dessert.
Castagnaccio - Italian chestnut flour cake
Recipe
Crispy Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 12 leaves black kale or other type of kale*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 pinch chili flakes
- 1 pinch salt
- 0.5 zested lemon
Instructions
- Wash and dry the kale leaves, preheat the oven to 280F or 140C.Note: It's important that the leaves are dried well or else the water will prevent them from being crisp when we cook them in the oven.Note: It's important that the kale cooks slowly at a low temperature so that it gets crisp without burning.
- On two baking trays, place the leaves next to each other, without too much overlapping.You can cut off the bottom part of each leaf if it's too hard and woody.
- Grate the zest of half a lemon on top of the kale leaves.
- To a small bowl, add some grated garlic (or minced garlic) and olive oil. With a brush, brush each kale leave with the olive oil and garlic mixture.
- Bake in the oven at 280F or 140C for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check the kale at the 20-minute mark, if it's crisp take it out, if not cook for a few more minutes, checking often, till it's crisp.
- Take the kale out of the oven, season with salt, some chili flakes, and some grated lemon zest. Arrange on a plate to be served.
Video Recipe
Notes
Nutritional Values
If you liked this recipe, you might also like:
- Vegan creamy pasta - Boscaiola style
- Pan-fried tofu with mushrooms
- Shaved Brussels sprout salad with maple syrup dressing
Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below, we love to hear from you!
Buon appetito!
Nico
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