I make a lot of kale chips because I grow kale throughout the year. It’s easy to grow year round where I live, and you end up with a ton of hefty leaves to make use of! Kale chips made in the dehydrator, or ones baked in the oven, are very different than store bought. You can make them super thin and crispy, and of course you can control the flavors and textures yourself. I am experimenting with my spices and pantry items all the time. So far this is one of my favorite recipes.
I whisk together a “spice paste” to dip the kale pieces into, and then put them in the dehydrator on top of a silicon mat. Dehydrate for a few hours, and you have an easy and inexpensive snack that’s also healthy. Try it out and let us know what you think!
Cheezy Turmeric Vegan Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups kale Chopped or ripped into pieces
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar Or sub other type of vinegar, or more lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp miso Any kind, heaping
- 1 Tbsp tahini heaping
- 1 tsp turmeric optional
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Wash, de-stem and rip the kale into your desired "chip size" pieces.
- Add all remaining ingredients into a bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Toss the kale pieces in the flavorings, or dip each piece. See notes!
Cooking – two options
- Option 1: Dehydrate for about 3 hours until completely crispy. I set my dehydrator to 135F (if you can't set temperatures, set dehydrator to high), for 3 hours and then check. Depending on how much topping you use on each piece you may need a bit more time.
- Option 2: Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes at 300F. Set to convection, or rotate after 15 minutes.
- When the chips are dry and crispy, remove and enjoy!
Notes
What type of kale?
You can use any type of kale. There is obviously a big texture difference between flat and curly kale. I love flat “dinosaur” kale, which is the green kale in the photo below. Its often tender and super crispy out of the dehydrator, and the most “chip” like. Curly kale holds a lot of flavor though, and is a nice hearty snack. It’s also really pretty if you are preparing a bowl for a gathering. Try both and see what you personally prefer.
Changes and alternatives for cheezy turmeric kale chips
The nutritional yeast is not too overpowering in this at all. You can easily omit it if you wish, just reduce the lemon juice amount a bit. You might want to try adding a few tablespoons of chopped onion flakes or 1-2 Tbsp of granulated onion if you omit the nutritional yeast.
If you don’t like turmeric, you can omit it without making any changes. They are still a flavorful chip without that ingredient.
The recipe provides steps for making these baked kale chips in the stove or in a dehydrator. I make mine in an Excalibur dehydrator, but any of these will work fine for the snack.
