Make it Clean Monday: Kale Chips
I was not a huge fan of kale chips until I found this recipe. It has an almost cheesy taste thanks to the mixture of cashews, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and salt. The only thing I do differently from the recipe I have linked here is that I cook mine in the oven at 300 degrees for about 25 min. You want the chips to be crispy but not brown. So pay close attention to them after about 20 min in the oven.
Kale is super good for you! It is packed with antioxidants, vitamin K, A, C, and calcium, and magnesium (just to name a few).
Here is how I made these kale chips:
1. I soaked my cashews in a mason jar with salt for 1 hr. You can soak them 1-8 hours, but I didn’t have time to soak mine very long ahead of time.
2. I mixed all the ingredients in my food processor then added them to my bowls of kale. I got my kale at Trader Joes. This recipe is the perfect amount for the 5 ounce bags of organic kale they sell there. So when I make 2 bags of it I double the recipe. When kale is in season I buy it at the farmers market but since it’s mid winter Trader Joes kale in a bag is perfect. It’s also pre washed and cut.
3. I then placed the kale mixture onto cooking sheets lined with parchment paper. It’s important to space the kale so that it doesn’t overlap. When I get lazy and just throw the kale on the sheets it doesn’t cook evenly.
4. Cook at 300 degrees for about 20-25 minutes (checking frequently after 20 minutes).
Here is my cooked kale right out of the oven. I made several sheets of it (reusing the same parchment paper over and over each time).
UPDATE: Here is my Tupperware of cooked kale. I made this batch using 2 bags but doubling the recipe (the cashew mix) and it was SO much better. (Last time I used 2 bags of kale with the normal recipe and it wasn’t enough cashew coating. The more cashews the better. Yum!)
Note: If you do a double batch, be prepared to be checking on cooking kale half the day. Each batch of trays you fit in the oven takes 25-30 min. 2 bags makes 4-5 oven sessions.
I’ve never made kale chips before with a mixture on them (just sprinkled vinegar and olive oil on them) but I am really excited to try this. I might try adding some nutritional yeast as well. Have you ever used that before? Braggs has a version of it that we use because it is fortified with B vitamins. Adds a ‘cheezy’ flavor to it (I use the verb ‘cheezy’ very loosely here!).
Hey Ashlee! Yeah, in the past I made kale chips with just some salt and coconut oil and while they were “okay” I was never a huge fan of kale till I found this recipe. I have heard of using nutritional yeast but haven’t ventured that way yet. It’s definitely on my “try it” list. Let me know how they turn out if you use it! I also use “cheezy” loosely in this post so don’t get too excited. ha! 😉