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Crispy Baked Kale Chips

Light, crunchy kale chips (kale crisps) baked low and slow with olive oil, smoked paprika and nutritional yeast for a savoury, cheesy flavour. About 60 calories a bowl, vegan, and the cure for a crisps craving.

Snack

35

Serves 4

A bowl of crispy baked curly kale chips seasoned with smoked paprika

Ingredients

  • 200g/7oz curly kale leaves, tough stems removed (from about a 300g/10½oz bag or bunch)
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • Half a tsp smoked paprika and a quarter tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp (10g) nutritional yeast flakes (check the label if you need it gluten-free)
  • A quarter tsp fine salt

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 150C (130C fan, 300F) and line two large baking trays with baking paper (parchment paper).
  2. Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces, about 5cm/2in. Wash and then dry it completely with a salad spinner or clean tea towel (dish towel); any water left on the leaves makes them steam instead of crisp.
  3. Put the kale in a large bowl, drizzle with the oil and massage it into the leaves with your hands for 1 minute, until every piece is lightly coated. Sprinkle over the paprika, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and salt and toss again.
  4. Spread over the two trays in a single layer, with no pieces overlapping.
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, swapping the trays halfway, until crisp and only just starting to brown at the edges. Check from 15 minutes: kale goes from crisp to burnt very quickly, and burnt kale tastes bitter. Take out any pieces that are done early.
  6. Leave on the trays for 5 minutes; they crisp up further as they cool. They are best eaten the same day. Store any left over in an airtight container for up to 2 days, and re-crisp in a low oven for 3 to 5 minutes if needed.

Why it works

A bowl has about 60 calories, 3g of protein and 3g of fibre. A typical 30g bag of crisps (chips) has around 150 to 160 calories, so these satisfy the same craving for something salty and crunchy for far fewer.

Why low and slow. At a high temperature, the thin edges of the leaves burn before the thicker middles have dried out. 150C (300F) dries the whole leaf evenly, so it shatters when you bite it. Drying the leaves completely before oiling matters just as much.

What kale brings. Kale is a leafy green from the cabbage family and a rich source of vitamin K. If you take a blood thinner such as warfarin, you do not have to avoid it, but keep the amount of vitamin K-rich greens you eat steady from week to week and speak to your doctor or pharmacist before making big changes.

Nutritional yeast. The yellow flakes give a savoury, cheesy flavour without any cheese, so the chips stay vegan. Many brands are fortified with vitamin B12, which is useful on a vegan diet; check the label.

For another crunchy savoury snack, try the smoky roasted chickpeas or the seed crackers.