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.
heather's whole new life wrote on September 25, 2012
I love your blog! There are so many neat recipes! I am just starting this whole food journey and will absolutely be back for more recipe ideas soon! Thanks!
Autumn wrote on July 27, 2012
I do not have a dehydrator yet(new to the raw foods) but, would love try some of your recipes, as so far they are some of the most visually pleasing looking recipes…..can i do a mock dehydration in the oven.
Ana wrote on July 12, 2012
I have nver used dehydrator sheets. Is it a sheet of “special paper” like parchment or do I have to buy some kind of appliance? I wouldlove to try these chips. I get organic kale from my summer farm share and I am running out of ways to cook it.
Susan wrote on July 12, 2012
A dehydrator is a separate unit. http://www.rawmazing.com/tsm-dehydrators/
Maria Pallitto wrote on July 2, 2012
These are delicious, but how do I store them? I had them in a plastic zip-lock and they lost their “crunch”.
Susan wrote on July 2, 2012
Mostly they get eaten right away! You can always throw them back in the dehydrator to crisp them up. 🙂
D. wrote on December 3, 2014
Wow, I’m not spending $400+ dollars on a dehydrator. That’s ridiculous. There are many brands out there, some better than others, of course, that don’t cost nearly that much. Just make sure when you purchase one that it has a fan, and does not just use heat to dehydrate the food. Those are a rip-off, but the ones with a fan unit work very well. I got mine for less than $30.
You can also use the oven if you have the time to keep close track of whatever you’re dehydrating because towards the end of the drying time, things go pretty fast.
I wish there had been a few more recipes. I like kale but I’m not big on garlic – a little of that goes a long way for me. I used to have a recipe using crushed red pepper flakes but I can’t find it and don’t remember the particulars. Do you know of a recipe like that? I think it had a small amount of granulated garlic powder in the recipe which I don’t mind, but again, a little of that goes a long way. I might even substitute onion powder or chives or something. Any more ideas for recipe?
Thanks for a great article.
Susan wrote on December 3, 2014
D. You have to make sure that your dehydrator also has a thermometer. It is extremely difficult to dehydrate in the oven and keep things raw. The temps just don’t go low enough.
Dustin Kantu wrote on May 12, 2012
I can readily imagine how quickly these would disappear! On other recipes though, I saw recommendations that you eat them soon after. I was rather hoping to have enough for a camping holiday. Perhaps a silly question but I am new to the dehydrating side =)
Hunter wrote on May 4, 2012
How long do you soak the cashews for?
Victoria wrote on April 13, 2012
My husband and I gobbled them up while the dehydrator was still going. Just couldn’t stop. WOW!!
Carol wrote on March 25, 2012
I christened my dehydrator today with this most delicious and simple recipe. Excellent! Thank you 🙂
Jenny Black wrote on March 13, 2012
Hi! I just found your site & am excited! I’m making them now! I was curious as to how much kale you use? Maybe I missed that in the recipe? Didn’t see the amount… Thanks! 😀