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.
Una wrote on February 19, 2013
If you put a dry paper towel in the sealed container you keep them in they stay crispy much longer:)
Pina wrote on February 4, 2013
Yes, I’m leaving it in for 10-12 hours but they are crispy around the edge and soft in the middle. Could it be the oil? I use olive oil. Do yours stay crispy even after a few days ? I leave mind in air tight glass container and I feel the soften after a few day too. Thanks
Susan wrote on February 4, 2013
Mine are very crispy all the way through. Are you spreading them out enough? Maybe you just need to leave them in longer. Every dehydrator is different. Mine never last 2-3 days. They do start to soften but you can just pop them back in the dehydrator. Also, if you use too much olive oil that will affect them. Are you following this recipe? Cheers!
Bathsheba Sativa wrote on January 31, 2013
I have just christened my brand new dehydrator with salt and rac vinegar kale chips, since going raw i have not had one crunchy crackery thing!!! I am sooo going to love this, they smell awesome rawsome!
Pina Nagar wrote on January 26, 2013
Hi
I Have been making your kale chips in the excalibur dehydrator but for some reason the kale chips dont crisp up and a little chewy, are they suppose to be crispy? I keep them in for around 10 hours. i was just wondering what i was doing wrong?
Thanks
Susan wrote on January 27, 2013
Yes, they should be crisp. Are you leaving them in long enough?
Leigh wrote on January 11, 2013
I have previously made kale chips but in the oven. (approx 325 for 20min with flipping at 10min) I’m wondering if it makes any difference in nutrition, taste etc ??
Jeanette wrote on January 9, 2013
This a great recipe. Thanks for sharing. Do you realize your pintrest button won’t pin?
jo wrote on November 25, 2012
I only saw 3 ways???? What happened to the other 6?
D. wrote on December 3, 2014
I kinda feel the headline was misleading, too. I was looking for 9 different recipes. Ah, well.
Susan wrote on November 25, 2012
Three types of Kale, 3 different ways = 9 different types of kale chips. 🙂
Katie wrote on October 17, 2012
How long do these keep?
Katie wrote on October 17, 2012
how long would these keep do you figure?