When I made these kale chips, I told Eric they would taste just like pizza. When he tasted them, he was like, “Oh yeah, JUST like pizza!” Not sure if he was kidding or not. I think he might have been. In any case, they do have a nice tomatoey Italian flavor profile. Since we’ve been doing the raw food/juicing thing, I’ve been on a serious kale chip kick. Every time I go to the grocery store, I get myself a bag of kale chips and I usually eat them all in the car on the way home. At $5 for a small bag, it’s a pretty expensive habit, so I’ve started making them at home in the dehydrator. The variations on flavors/toppings are endless.
The Recipe
Makes about a 64 ounce jar filled with chips
1 very large bunch of curly leaf kale (or 2 small bunches)
1 large red bell pepper
heaping 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup cashews (or nuts of choice)
1/3 cup hemp seeds (or seeds of choice — sunflower seeds would be good)
juice of one lemon
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
pinch of ground red chili
pinch of salt
Soak sundried tomatoes for 30-45 minutes ahead of time to rehydrate. Remove seeds and stem from red pepper. Add all ingredients (except kale!) to the food processor. Pulse until it’s a nice creamy consistency, scraping down the sides periodically. Wash and dry kale and tear into bite sized pieces. In a large mixing bowl, toss the kale with the sauce. You can use your hands to massage the sauce around and make sure it spreads evenly over the kale leaves.
Spread the kale evenly on shelves of a dehydrator and dehydrate on 115°F – 125° for 8 hours. You don’t have to have a dehydrator to make these; you can also make them in the oven. For the oven: Set oven on lowest possible setting. Spread the kale evenly on a cookie sheet and crack the door while these cook. They’re done when they’re crunchy (if anyone tries this method, it would be great if you could leave a comment below with your cooking time for these chips. Thanks!). Alternatively, you can bake on 350°F for 15 minutes or so. Store in an airtight container or large glass jar with a lid that seals well. Enjoy!
Follow
Does using a dehydrator not “cook” the food? I thought it used heat and air circulation to dry it out? This is still considered raw?
Depending on the temperature, a dehydrator doesn’t actually cook the food. And depending on who you ask, anything dehydrated below temperatures of 104-120°F can be considered “raw.”
I bake kale chips in the oven at 250 for about 20 minutes and they turn out great (I do have a convection oven that helps it heat evenly though)
Thanks, Cindy! This is great information. I’ll definitely have to try these in the oven. Thanks for commenting. 🙂