Spicy kale chips are oil-free and loaded with cheezy chipotle flavor. These easy, addictive snacks will help you get your healthy crunch on. It’s our new favorite way to prepare kale! We just love these oil-free kale chips. So, we’re ditching those store-bought kale chips and making our own from scratch.
How To Make This Recipe
We like to start with a large bunch of kale that’s washed, dried, and ready to go. For this recipe, we’re pulling together a cheezy seasoning blend with a little heat. So, we also grab our chipotle powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder. In addition, our apple cider vinegar adds brightness while serving as a binding agent.
Because we want our kale to get crispy without browning or burning, we bake our kale chips at a low temperature for a longer period of time. As such, we preheat the oven to just 275°F. Meanwhile, we line our baking sheet with parchment paper (or a silicone mat) and set it aside.
Freshly torn kale and seasonings.
Prepare Kale Chips
Now, let’s grab our kale, remove the stems, and tear the leaves into larger bite sized pieces. Our kale will shrink in the oven as it bakes, so we don’t want to go too small. Then, in a large bowl, we toss kale chips in apple cider vinegar. Once the pieces are doused in vinegar, we sprinkle on our remaining spices and massage them onto the kale to ensure even coverage.
Massage that kale with spice.
Next, we spread our our seasoned kale on our prepared baking sheets. We take time to ensure that each piece has a little room to breathe. That way, our chips get nice and crispy!
Give that kale room to breathe.
Then, we put them into the warm oven. After about 15 minutes, we gently stir and bake a little longer. We’re looking for them to be crispy and very slightly golden brown. This may take another 10 minutes or so.
Crispy, slightly golden brown kale.
Be aware that the final timing varies based on the freshness and variety of the kale. So, be sure to watch carefully to prevent those kale leaves from burning.
Ready To Serve
Once they’re ready, pull them from the oven and allow them cool on the pan. Our oil-free kale chips will continue to crisp up as they rest on the baking sheets.
These oil-free kale chips are ready to serve.
For maximim crunch, these spicy kale chips are best served immediately upon cooling. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. The leftover chips may soften slightly as they will absorb any moisture inside the container.
Enjoy those spicy kale chips!
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Recipe Card for Spicy Kale Chips
Here’s the recipe card for Spicy Kale Chips. Print, share or save!
Spicy Kale Chips
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper, or silicone mat
Ingredients
- 6 cups kale or 1 bunch
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Tear kale into larger bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. They will shrink in the oven, so don’t go too small.
- Toss kale chips in apple cider vinegar. Then, massage in the rest of the spices onto the kale to ensure pieces are evenly coated.
- Spread out into a single layer onto the mat. Bake for 25 minutes or until dark green and crispy. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Turn pan once during baking.
