Dehydrated Kale Chips

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Dry Time: 4 hrs
Total: 4 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Crunchy dehydrated kale chips are addictive, yet great for you. They are a much healthier option than deep-fried potato chips, but they can be expensive to buy at the store. You can make them at home easily and cheaply with your food dehydrator. Raw food enthusiasts can use a low-temperature method that yields a raw food product.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use the oven method to make kale chips faster or use a warm oven to dehydrate them. Be aware that the kale will shrink quite a bit during drying, so you can keep the pieces larger and make more than you think you will need.

Dehydrated kale chips in a wooden bowl

The Spruce Eats

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch kale (any variety)

  • 2 to 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • Dash cayenne pepper, optional

  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional

Steps to Make It

There are a couple of steps in making kale chips. The first is to prepare the kale. Then, you have a couple of choices in how you dehydrate them.

Making the Kale Chips

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for making kale chips gathered

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  2. To prepare the kale, strip the leaves away from the leafstalks and tough midribs. You don't want to dry the whole leaves, as the midribs will end up with the consistency of twigs, and they are not tasty. Compost the leafstalks or save for soup stock.

    Stripped kale leaves on a wooden cutting board

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Wash the kale leaves and dry them well in a salad spinner or by gently rolling the leaves in a clean dish towel.

  4. Tear the washed and dried leaves into just slightly larger than chip-sized pieces; they will shrink slightly as they dry.

    Washed and torn kale leaves on a wooden cutting board

    The Spruce Eats

  5. Toss the kale in a large bowl with the extra-virgin olive oil and the salt. Massage the leaves well with your clean hands. All of the leaves should be more or less evenly coated with the oil.

    Kale leaves tossed in oil

    The Spruce Eats

  6. If you like spicy flavors, add a dash of cayenne pepper.

    Cayenne pepper on kale leaves in a glass bowl

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  7. You could also add nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.

    Nutritional yeast on kale leaves in a glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats

  8. Spread the leaves on the dehydrator trays in single layers. Do not crowd the leaves, or they will not dry evenly. It is alright if the leaves touch, but they shouldn't overlap too much.

    Now dehydrate the chips.

    Kale leaves in a dehydrator

    The Spruce Eats

Dehydrating the Kale Chips

This method doesn't result in chips that qualify as raw food, but the result is still very good and ready in half the time of the low-temperature method below.

  1. Dry the kale at 145 F / 63 C for 1 hour.

  2. Reduce the heat to 115 F / 46 C and dry for an additional 3 to 4 hours until crispy dry.

    Kale chips laid out in layers in a food dehydrator

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Transfer to airtight containers, or vacuum seal for longer storage. Enjoy.

    Dehydrated kale chips in a tin and in a zip-close plastic bag

    The Spruce Eats

Low-Temperature Raw Food Method

Use this dehydrating step for your kale chips to be considered raw food.

  1. Dry the kale at 110 F / 43 C for about 8 hours (overnight or while you're at work).

    Kale chips drying at a very low temperature

    The Spruce Eats

  2. Transfer to airtight containers, or vacuum seal for longer storage.

    Kale chips dehydrated

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Enjoy.

Tips

  • Lacinato kale, also called dinosaur kale, is a bit harder to coat evenly with the oil, but seems to keep its crunch longer once dehydrated.
  • After washing your kale, make sure it is nice and dry before coating with oil. Any water left can make your kale chips soggy.  
  • If your kale chips lose their crunch in storage, you can re-crisp them in a low (200 F/93 C) oven for 10 minutes; or in the dehydrator at 110 F/43 C for an hour.
  • Some people prefer to dry the kale simply sprinkled with salt, without tossing it in olive oil or massaging the kale before drying. If you do so, you can sprinkle the kale with oil and season the chips after drying.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
44 Calories
4g Fat
3g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 44
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 409mg 18%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 21mg 107%
Calcium 38mg 3%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 119mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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