Prior to this year I don’t ever recall eating kale before. I even discussed it with a few of my friends, and they also weren’t sure if they had eaten it before either (have you?). I don’t know what it is about the name “kale”, but the sound of it just isn’t appealing for some reason. However, things have changed and since I am trying my best to buy and eat local foods, I decided to go out on a limb and try it!
I first discovered that kale can be substituted for (and even added to) spinach in some recipes like creamed spinach. I of course couldn’t get my daughters to even think about wanting to eat that. But (drum roll, please) when I received this super easy recipe below, courtesy of my husband’s step-mom, not only did my children like it, but they loved it and kept asking for more! I will add that when my daughter first saw this greenish looking dish, just like any 2-yr-old would, she said “I don’t like that” without even trying it. She did follow the rule of trying at least one bite though, and with surprise in her voice she said “I like the kale” and then kept eating it. And I have to agree that I was also surprised how good something with the name “kale” could turn out to be!
Kale Chips
• 4 cups firmly packed kale leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale by ripping out the stems and ribs from the center of the leaves. Lay them out onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle the leaves with a tablespoon of olive oil. Using your hands toss the leaves around to evenly distribute the oil then lay them out into a single layer on the sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn kale pieces over and bake for 5 – 7 minutes more until kale turns brown, paper-thin, and brittle. (They can quickly go from perfect to overdone so keep a close watch at the end!) Remove from oven and toss with sea salt. Serve immediately.
WOW! I am definitely trying this! You’re right…the word “kale” doesn’t sound appealing, but it really is pretty yummy. I just tried it last night and it was tossed in just a little soy sauce and they added sesame seeds. Served it w/ asian noodles. SSSSOOOOO good!!!
You have to let me know how it turns out and if your kids eat it too!
[…] Kale Chips (a surprisingly easy and delicious veggie!) […]
Lisa…I tried the kale recipe and just loved it….it had such an interesting texture and held the flavor in a great way and talkl about easy!!! thanks for sharing…Maggie
We just tried the kale chips tonight and I really liked them! Jeff even liked them and you know how his is about veggies! The kids, however, did not like them at all. Bummer. Oh well…I’ll try the next thing I find to try to get them to eat vegetables!
Well at least Jeff liked them…that is one step in the right direction! Thanks for leaving a review.
I must have done something wrong. Mine were not very good. They had a bad aftertaste and caused us a lot of bad smelling burps all night. Is that too much information? I am tempted to try again because everyone seems to like them so much.
Just retried it using your recipe to the T — instead of the one I found on allrecipes. Much better, but still left a bit of an aftertaste and my daughter spit it out. My one year old loved it!
Sorry I had not responded yet to your first comment…my first thought about the bitter taste was that you cooked them too long. I am so glad your 1-year-old love it this time though…that is great!
These were yummy! I haven’t tried to get my 6 year old to eat them yet so we’ll see what happens there.
Do you know if this will work with other leafy vegetables?
Glad it turned out for you! I have only tried it with Kale, but would say the most similar veggie is probably Collard Greens. Not sure if it would work though?