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.
Sean wrote on January 15, 2012
Hi Susan,
Thanks for what looks like a great recipe. I just got a dehydrator and I’m going to try this and others from your site. I’ve got a question for you. In the description above the actual recipes you state that you used brewer’s yeast, but in the last recipe itself the ingredient listed is ‘nutritional yeast’. Which of the two did you actually use?
Many thanks.
Susan wrote on January 15, 2012
Nutritional yeast…. Sorry, that was a typo that got corrected. Cheers!
Susan wrote on January 6, 2012
Three different types of Kale, three ways to do each = 9 ways. Cheers!
Terri Dale wrote on January 6, 2012
Hello! I have 2 of your books and recommend them to many people, I just may have missed them, but the top of the page said 9 ways to make kale chips, and I only noticed three….Did I miss something? I appreciate your help and all the ways in the wilderness you have helped us novices in doing it raw! Deliciously!!!
Tereza wrote on December 19, 2011
Thank you very much for the inspiration 🙂
ToeKnee wrote on December 2, 2011
Delicious!
Caroline wrote on November 27, 2011
Do you gain weight generally speaking eating raw due to the high caloric content in the oils, dates, raisins, etc. Most recipes in books seem high in fat/sugar. . Any feedback re: this issue?
Susan wrote on November 27, 2011
I can’t speak for other people’s books or recipes. When I eat raw, I don’t gain weight, I lose weight. I balance my healthy salads and meals with some of the more calorie intense treats. No matter how you eat, you need to eat a balanced diet.
Shana wrote on October 23, 2011
I love Kale Chips!!! 🙂 Your site is absolutely amazing, Susan. I love checking in to see your latest pix and recipes! You’re an inspiration.
Mischa wrote on September 26, 2011
I have a batch of both version 2 and 3 in the dehydrator right now. They both smell so good! Thank you for sharing several options.
Ashley wrote on September 5, 2011
I just made my first batch of kale chips using the recipe you provided and they were delicious! I had to hide them from myself so I wouldn’t eat them all at once. I tried substituting other things for the chipolte and paprika flavorings. I used some of those powder packages for a ranch dressing and a honey bbq mix instead of the nutritional yeast and spices. Tasted REALLY good, the ranch ones were my favorite, and it was a breeze to do 🙂