Air fryer kale chips (or oven baked)

Crispy air fried kale chips in white bowl.

5 from 6 votes

Air fryer kale chips (or oven baked)

Crispy kale chips make a delicious light snack. They also make a terrific side dish with a sandwich, or served on top of a brown rice bowl.

I give directions for the air fryer as well as the oven.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time15

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: gluten free, wfpb

Servings: people

Calories: 34kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

1 bunch curly kale
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Rinse kale. Use your hands to remove the leaves from the hard center ribs.
Tear the kale leaves into mostly equal-sized medium pieces. Keep in mind that the kale will shrink while it cooks, so aim for pieces that are about two inches big if possible.
Dry the kale by blotting it with a clean kitchen towel or running it in a salad spinner. The leaves should be as dry as possible, so that they will get crisp in the air fryer or oven.
Put the kale chips in a large mixing bowl with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Using your hands, rub the oil, lemon juice, and salt into the kale, taking care to evenly coat them.*
TO AIR FRY: Put kale into air fryer basket. Air fry at 375 degrees for 4 to 6 minutes, stopping once or twice to shake the basket for even cooking.
To keep the kale leaves from flying into the heating element, you can top them with a metal air fryer rack to hold them down.
TO BAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lay the kale chips evenly across the sheets, taking care that they don’t overlap. (You don’t want them to steam instead of bake.)
Bake the chips for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Check for doneness. You want them to be crisp, not burnt.
If they are not quite done, flip the chips, and return them to the oven, putting the baking sheets on opposite racks for even roasting. Bake for another five minutes or less, keeping a careful eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
When the chips are crisp, remove them from the oven and serve.

Notes

*If you have an especially large bunch of kale, you can add more oil and/or lemon juice. Be careful not to go overboard, though. Overly damp kale doesn't crisp well.

Once the kale chips have cooled, leftovers can be stored in a paper bag on the counter for 2 or 3 days.

Don't put them in the refrigerator and/or a plastic bag. That will cause them to lose their crispiness because of moisture.

If your leftover chips lose their crunch, reheat in the air fryer at 300 degrees for a couple of minutes.

Nutrition