Sunday, January 29, 2012

Basic Kale Chips (GAPS-legal, grain-free, paleo/primal)


I just harvested our first bunch of kale from the garden, so we made kale chips this week.  The kids and I love kale chips; they are so crispy and delicious.  They are a little bit time-consuming to make, but a wonderful way to eat your greens!  I like to send the kids outside with their portion because the chips are a bit delicate so they can make lots of little crumbs while they are eating.

Basic Kale Chips
  • One bunch kale
  • 1-2 Tb refined coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • finely ground celtic sea salt
  1. Rip or cut the tough stems off the kale.  Discard the stems or save them for another purpose.
  2. Wash the kale and then dry it well.  I like to use either a salad spinner or a couple towels to dry the kale.  If you do not dry it well, it will steam rather than crisping in the oven.
  3. Rip the kale into chip-sized pieces and place it onto a couple baking sheets in a single layer.  Try not to have much overlap of the pieces of kale, or they won't cook properly into chips.
  4. Drizzle the melted coconut oil onto the kale.  Try to use just enough oil to coat the kale, but not too much or the chips will be overly greasy.  Use your hands to thoroughly mix the oil onto the kale leaves. 
  5. Sprinkle the kale with a generous amount of celtic sea salt.
  6. Bake the kale chips in a 250 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes.  They are done when they are nice and crispy.  They are wonderful straight from the oven.  
This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Fat Tuesday and Monday Mania!

6 comments:

Diane said...

Thanks for sharing this! I'm growing kale for the first time this year and am looking forward to trying the chips. Have you ever tried just dehydrating them? I've never even seen kale in person so I'm obviously very inexperienced with it. LOL

Sarah Smith said...

Hi Diane,
I'm sure you could dehydrate the kale, but I'm not sure that it would be quite as nutritious. Since kale is a cruciferours veggie, it contains goitrogens (which are hard on the thyroid since they inhibit iodine absorption). The goitrogens are reduced through cooking. If you do use the dehydrator, use the highest temp possible and it's probably not a good idea to consume tons of it made that way.

Jill@RealFoodForager.com said...

Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This was very interesting! Hope to see you next week!

Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/fat-tuesday-january-31-2012/

Diane said...

Oh, that's a good point and one I'd not thought of. Thanks!

Sheri George said...

Hi,
How long do you think these can be stored? And in the fridge or not? I'm thinking of making a bunch before a long trip and would like to make things weeks before leaving when I can - to save all that cooking time right before we leave. Thanks!

Sarah Smith said...

I've stored these at room temp for several weeks and they were fine. If they are very dry, they should last a good long while at room temp. But I'd probably put them in the fridge to be safe if they were going to be around for much more than a couple weeks...