Glorious Dehydrated Kale Chips Recipe

Photo by krupp

I am pretty excited about this recipe - which I adapted from "Kale Crisp" recipe on the delightful blog We Like It Raw. And while I'm one of those "no seriously, bark and dirt is soooo healthy and delicious" kind of people, I honestly think these kale chips are delicious even for the non-adventurous eater. Even my baby ate them and she hates yams which are objectively delicious.

The directions are long - which is annoying, but it's actually really easy to make these. Just read through all directions once if you are unfamiliar with dehydrating foods.

Here's the recipe and some things to think about:

1. See if you are lucky enough for your oven to have a dehydrate setting. If so - skip to step 2. If not, decide if you want to shell out the money for a "real" food dehydrator. Do you have the time to clean it's annoying parts? Have the counterspace to house it's gigantic footprint? Do you really think you are going to become a raw foodist? Will your significant other let you buy yet another kitchen appliance without an ultimatum (or at least one you can live with?) If your answer is "yes" I recommend the Excalibur
dehydrator, for no other reason than I did my research a billion years ago, was highly recommended then and has served me well ever since. I cannot tell you if it's the best on the market now, but whatevs. If the answer is "no" (to the dehydrator), you'll have to look up instructions how to bake kale chips on high heat or in the sun I suppose. I've got no experience with that. (Keep in mind a dehydrator is REALLY useful for drying leftover veggies and fruits as an alternative to freezing/canning them. You can also buy in bulk, dehydrate and save for soups, seasonings, etc. We dry our herbs at the end of the summer and they will last us all year so we don't have to buy them in the store, etc. Tomatoes dehydrate well - you can puree fruits and make leathers, etc.)

2. Get some organic kale. Get 2 or 3 bunches, because honestly, you will eat all the kale chips right away and then be all mad you'll have to repeat these steps again since you must have more. So just make a lot right off the bat. Share with the skeptics in your life.

3. Okay - you'll need these other ingredients:

2 lemons

2 tsps garlic powder (not garlic salt!)

2 tsps dill (fresh or dried)

2 tsps sea salt

3-5 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil 

2-3 Tbsp of Agave nectar to cut the bitter/tart of kale/lemon (optional - and not necessary in my opinion)

4. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale if you don't like dirt. I don't wash it because I buy organic, I'm usually pressed for time, and I have a fairly high tolerance level for bugs and dirt in my food. (FYI - I wash food for guests, just not myself! Really! You can come over for dinner and not be afraid of dirt and bugs.)

5. Cut out the ribs if you don't like chewing on very tough parts later. (I just pull 'em out like fish bones after all is said and done - I think it's easier that way) Then cut into approximately 2 inch strips. That will seem kind of big, but you will be massaging the kale and it will inevitably break into smaller pieces, so trust me.

6. Add the kale and all other ingredients in layers into a very large bowl. What I mean by this is get a bowl that looks way too big for the task. It won't be too big since you'll be using your hands to toss around large amounts of glorious, springy kale. Then add some kale - some of the other ingredients - some more kale, etc. so there is an even coating of everything.

7. Massage your kale for about 3 minutes or so. Don't worry about hurting the kale, it's pretty tough. You want it to get a little wilty and allow it to break down a bit. Taste it! It should taste like delicious salad! Adjust the seasonings if you want more of something, as I purposely made the amounts low for those afraid of seasonings and fat. You will likely need more oil unless you don't mind the kale being kind of flaky and powdery. Otherwise, I recommend more olive oil, lemon and dill.

8. Spread evenly on your dehydrator sheets. Try not to get piles of kale, as they won't dehydrate as well. 

8. Dehydrate for 2 hours at 145 degrees, then lower to 115 for 4 more hours. The link above has different options for dehydrating, but this is the quickest and supposedly still preserves the raw enzymatic power of kale, and we all know the sooner we have kale chips, the better. 

9. Eat 'em up!!!!