Crispy Cheezy Kale Chips

Kale is good for you. You can tell just by looking at it. It's a deep, dark green. It's hardy and hearty. And surely, it's difficult to get any kid or veg-hater to try it, much less eat it on a regular basis.

That's all true until you start making kale chips in your dehydrator. After that, you'll have all the picky eaters in your house downing the greens like they were candy. Really.

Today, I'm turning two bunches of organic local kale into a seriously tasty snack.


Kale Chips
Yield: About 4 cups of chips

2 bunches kale, washed and patted dry
Olive oil (or olive oil spray)
Sea salt
Nutritional yeast flakes
Optional: garlic or onion powder

Remove the thickest parts of the stem from each kale leaf. These just don't dehydrate well. You can chop them up and add to soups or salads, or feed them to any veggie-vore critters you might have in or around your house.

Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces, keeping in mind that the "chips" will shrink a bit during the dehydrating process. You don't want to make them too small.

Lay the kale pieces on your dehydrator trays in a single layer. For me, two bunches translated into 4 trays. Spray with olive oil, salt liberally, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes. (If you're not using a spray, you'll want to toss the kale pieces in a large bowl and use your hands to make sure they get coated before spreading them on your dehydrator tray and adding the nutritional yeast.) If using, sprinkle with garlic or onion powder as well. (The amount of nutritional yeast and garlic/onion powder depends solely on your taste. Use as much or as little as you like!)


Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4-5 hours minimum, and as much as overnight. The length of time will depend on how much water is already in your kale, and how crispy you like your chips.

After dehydrating, let the chips cool to room temperature and store in a brown paper bag. That is, if you can manage not to eat them all by the time they reach room temp!