Cheezy Kale Crackers
If I don’t have a batch of raw crackers or flat bread around, I am at extreme risk of snack attacks. You know what I am talking about. The attacks that an apple or an orange can’t curb. The attacks that find me riffling through the cabinets for something crunchy and satisfying. The attacks that can lead me to less than desirable food. My cracker recipes are an important part of my raw food recipes collection.
Raw crackers are tasty and nutritious. Best of all, just a few quickly satisfy that craving and are so filling I never over-eat them. I also know that I am getting great nutrients, not just empty calories when I eat them.
For this recipe, I wanted to use incorporate kale as I am a huge kale fan. I have also been a little obsessed with making a raw cheese cracker so out came the nutritional yeast (great for a cheesy flavor).
To top it off, I decided to do an experiment. I pulled a bit of dough out and baked it in the oven. Why? Because I am often asked how to make raw recipes (that require dehydration) in the oven and I can’t answer the question. Since this is raw blog, my recipes are developed to be eaten raw. I do not test them for baking times but I decided to experiment with this one just to see what would happen. The rules for dehydration and baking are different (see the FAQ page).
The baked version.
Please know that baking raw recipes destroys a lot of nutrients. Since these recipes are made with healthy, whole, pure ingredients instead of traditional unhealthy ingredients, I realize people want to try them whether they have a dehydrator or not. Plus they are gluten free.
What happened when I baked a tray? They did bake. (Please note, some things that are intended to be dehydrated won’t bake correctly.) I baked them 25 minutes at 200 degrees on the convection setting, flipping once. The result? The taste, when compared to the dehydrated raw crackers was seriously lacking the lovely fresh, intense flavor of the dehydrated crackers.
I had friends try both versions, and the consensus was always the same. The baked crackers lost some flavor (not to mention nutrients). And the kale, instead of tasting like vibrant, fresh kale, tasted, well … baked.
It is interesting to note that I photograph food in many top restaurants. Increasingly I have been seeing dehydrators in quite a few of the kitchens. As chefs search for ways to coax the best flavors out of food, they are increasingly turning to methods like dehydrating.
It makes sense that the dehydrated crackers have more flavor. But, if you don’t have a dehydrator, and it is not important to you that the crackers are raw, you can experiment with the recipe. Just put your oven on the lowest temp (using convection helps) and keep an eye on it until it looks crisp and done. You will probably need to flip it once for proper drying. If you didn’t have the dehydrated crackers to compare them to, they are definitely passable.
For this recipe, I decided to include a little photo tutorial that covers the process of making these crackers. You will see one of my methods rolling and cutting the crackers.
“Cheezy” Kale Crackers (recipe follows pictures)
To prepare the kale, strip the leaves from the stems.
A salad spinner
Chop the almonds until fine in food processor.
Add nutritional yeast, coconut flour and spices. Stir to combine.
Finely chop kale and add to almond mixture and stir well.
Mix in the flax/water mixture. I often do this by hand. SO much easier.
Form 1/3 of the “dough” into a rectangle on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. You can also use parchment paper.
Place another non-stick sheet over the “dough” and roll out 1/4-inch thick.
Peel off the top non-stick sheet.
Cut into strips. This is my favorite cutter. You can find it here: Pastry Cutter
Trim off the excess and set aside to roll out with the next sheet.
Cheezy Almond Kale Crackers
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup ground golden flax
- 2 cups almonds, soaked over night, drained and rinsed
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 cup Raw Coconut Flour
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp chipotle
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- Mix together ground flax and water. Set aside.
- Place almonds in food processor and process until finely chopped. Remove to large bowl.
- Finely chop kale. I do this in the food processor, also.
- Add nutritional yeast, coconut flour, smoked paprika and chipotle to the chopped almonds. Mix well.
- Stir in kale.
- Add flax/water mixture. Blend well. I use my hands at this point.
- Spread 1/4-inch thick on non-stick sheet (see above for my method). Score into cracker sized pieces and dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes. Decrease heat to 118 and continue to dehydrate until done (approximately 8 hours*) turning once or moving to screens halfway through dehydration. You want these very dry.
*Dehydration times can vary widely due to different dehydrators and humidity. Read about why we start dehydration at 145 here: FAQ. Yes, it stays raw.
Joyce wrote on August 20, 2015
Umm 3/4 CUP nutritional yeast? Is that amount correct? Why so much and what is the difference between regular yeast and nutritional?
Susan wrote on August 20, 2015
Hi, Joyce, Yes, 3/4 cup is correct. Nutritional yeast and regular yeast are two COMPLETELY different products. They are not interchangeable and they do not serve the same purpose. Nutritional yeast is used for flavor and also nutrients. It is a deactivated yeast. It is the ingredient that many vegan and raw recipes use to get a cheese flavor. You can read more about it here: http://www.rawmazing.com/raw-food-and-nutritional-yeast/ Regular or active yeast is an ingredient that is use to make bread rise. The two are totally different products.
Rosemary wrote on July 3, 2015
Could I use raw cashews in place of the almonds. I have a lot of cashews and I was looking for a recipe to use them in.
Susan wrote on July 3, 2015
You can try but just know that it will completely affect the flavor and texture. You might have to make some adjustments so taste as you go. Cheers!
Beth wrote on June 27, 2015
I can’t find nutritional yeast. What does it do for this recipe? Can I just omit it?
Janene Steenkamp wrote on June 6, 2015
Thanks for this. Just popped mine into the dehydrator. Made minor modifications as I’m allergic to flax seeds (used chia, quinoa and gluten free oats, powdered). I’m also not convinced I added as much kale, and I threw in some powdered feta cheese from a batch I dehydrated this week. I’ll let you know how it goes…
Gaby wrote on April 7, 2015
Hi! how do they last?
Susan wrote on April 9, 2015
Hi, Gaby!
You can keep them for a week or two in an air-tight container. Make sure they are dried thoroughly. If there is still moisture, they will spoil more quickly. Cheers!
Geneva wrote on March 31, 2015
Plus, I will not be in the position to buy one anytime soon! I am praying that there is another way to be able to prepare foods such as these without having to own a dehydrating machine. I own a tiny studio apartment and cannot lose anymore Space and I’m living on a fixed income.
Geneva wrote on March 31, 2015
I don’t have a dehydrator. Is there another way that I can prepare these without one. Like possibly using my oven on a very low temperature?
Susan wrote on March 31, 2015
Hi, Geneva, If you notice, I did include instructions for baking these in the post. Cheers!