Baked Kale Chips
Super easy and customizable to taste, these kale chips will satisfy any late night cravings without any guilt.
As a college student, it can get hard managing cooking healthy and quick dishes at relatively cheap prices. When you've gotta balance classes, homework, cooking, cleaning, and attempting to have a social life, you run out of time fast. And as yummy as ramen is, after the third or fourth day of solely existing on noodles, it gets old. One of my guilty pleasures is salt and vinegar chips, and the more stressed I am, the more often I reach for a bag of chips. Nothing beats that satisfying cronch as you dive into a big crinkly bag of Kettle chips.
Luckily for us, I've got an easy and delicious recipe to curb those cravings without the guilt. Don't be scared by the bitterness of kale; the mixture of lemon's acidity, parmesan's creaminess, and a little kick of red pepper flakes perfectly balances out the kale. You can eat a few or the entire pan and still feel good about yourself.
INGREDIENTS
- kale (obviously): make sure you get fully grown kale, none of that baby kale bullshit. I suggest getting it in the fresh vegetable section in the store, not in a bag. It'll usually come in a little bundle of kale still on the stem.
Get as much or as little as you want. I got two bunches but ended up using one.
- lemons (1-2)
- parmesan (I prefer to grate it myself, but pre-grated or shredded works just fine)
- vegetable oil .
- olive oil
- garlic (fresh or powder)
- red pepper flakes (optional)
Let's Get Cooking!
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Wash your kale and take the leaves off the stalks. Tear them into bite sized pieces, but be aware that they will shrink a bit in the oven so plan accordingly. Compost your stalks if you can! Put about a tablespoon of vegetable oil onto a cookie sheet (or two, depending on the amount of kale you use) and thoroughly spread it onto the entire surface. Arrange the kale onto the sheet so that it's all in one relatively thin layer. The thinner the layer, the crunchier the kale chips.
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​Next, you'll want to drizzle some olive oil all over the kale. Make sure to only put a light coat on all of the kale, otherwise it will make the chips soggy. Take about a teaspoon of chopped garlic and sprinkle it as evenly as possible over the kale, adding more or less based on taste preference. Garlic powder also works (that's all we had), although I prefer the flavor profile of fresh chopped garlic. Also sprinkle on some salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, if desired. Cut up the lemon and squeeze the entire lemon all over the kale.
Make 'em cheesy ;)
Grate as much or as little parmesan over the kale as you desire.
Omit to make the chips vegan.
Put 'em in the oven!
Bake in the oven for 15-30 minutes, checking on it after 10 minutes and then in 5 minute increments. The timing really varies based on the oven, but you're looking for the kale to be browned and crispy on the edges. You can feel the kale to see if they're crunchy; we just don't want them soggy. Let cool a bit and enjoy!