VEGAN
OIL-FREE
30 MINUTES OR LESS

While the weather thinks about actually being summer, I'll still be using the oven regularly. Even when it gets warmer, though, I'll likely continue making kale chips. That's because they only require setting the oven to 300 degrees, so it's not heating up the whole kitchen.

I've purchased kale chips at the store and usually find them to be a bit bland. They look like they'd be full of delicious flavors with all that seasoning visibly on them, but my taste buds aren't detecting them. So I prefer making my own. In fact, while taste-testing this recipe I found I needed to cut back on the flavorful spices!

I think my husband's afraid of kale chips. I can kind of understand that. How could dried out kale be a delicious snack? Well, some of that is about perspective. If given a choice between potato chips and kale chips, which sounds tastier? And yet, I find what I crave is something crunchy and something a bit spicy with lots of flavor. And if kale chips can achieve those things and be a lot more nutritious, I actually will reach for them instead.

Kale is a good source of iron, calcium, vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, and protein. I recently learned that raw kale and other cruciferous vegetables can interfere with thyroid function - only for those with already impaired thyroid function. Apparently, baking the kale corrects that problem and retains nutrients, so kale chips are ideal. Cruciferous vegetables like kale also may help prevent and increase survival rates of cancer, prevent DNA damage, improve immune function, lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. has also thought to I've included links to find out more about this at the bottom of the post.

For those watching their salt intake, it may be helpful to note that this recipe calls for a mere ¼ teaspoon tamari per serving. For those watching their oil intake, you'll be pleased to know there is none in this recipe! The tamari crisps up the kale just fine.

Where's the guilt? I can't find any.

We did note that, while these kale chips come out of the oven crispy, they don't tend to be quite as crunchy as the packaged kale chips we've tried. More flavor, less blah. More crispy, less crunchy. A little tender chewiness, especially after sitting awhile.

But these aren't likely to sit for long.