How To Make Oven Baked Kale Chips

These baked sea salted kale chips are a tasty, addictive, low calorie, melt-in-your-mouth snack that you’re going to love!

What comes to mind when you think of the words “kale chips”? If you’ve never actually experienced kale chips, then words related to “vegan”, “hippie dippie”, and “too-good-to-be-true” probably ring through your head. But if you have tasted these little wonders, well then you know better.

These things are good. But they’re definitely not potato chips. Don’t go thinking you can do a blindfold test and not be able to tell a difference. There is a difference.

But it’s a difference we love. Kale chips are both crispy yet melt in your mouth, and you’ll be surprised when you hit the bottom of the snack bowl faster than you thought possible!

Oven baked kale chip ingredients

• Kale: You can use any variety of kale for kale chips, such as curly, dinosaur, or red kale.
• Oil: You don’t need much oil, just enough to lightly coat the leaves, bringing out that magical crispiness. To use less oil, simply spray the leaves with cooking spray rather than using the full amount of oil.
• Salt: As with any good chip, these kale chips require a healthy pinch of salt.
• Optional flavorings: To bring even more magic to your kale chips, flavor them with a quick homemade blend of spices using any of these seasonings (Ranch and Dorito are my favorites!)

How to make kale chips in the oven

Start by washing the kale and drying it well with paper towels or a clean cloth. Cut the leaves from the spine; the spine is bitter and you just don’t need that in your life. Then roughly tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl, massage the oil into the leaves, making sure each piece of kale has a thin coat of oil.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, toss to combine, then lay each piece out on a baking sheet, trying to keep them from overlapping (you may need a second tray). Bake at 300 degrees F (150 C) for 8 to 12 minutes, keeping a close eye on them after 8 minutes. They’re done when crispy but not brown.

Have an air fryer? Here’s how to cook kale chips in an air fryer!

Kale chip seasonings

These kale chips are great with some seasonings sprinkled on after baking! You can find a full list of my favorite seasonings here (originally for popcorn, but they all work well on kale chips). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Ranch Seasoning: ½ tsp dried dill, ½ tsp dried chives, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper
• Dorito Seasoning: 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp chili powder, ¼ tsp salt
• Coconut Curry Seasoning: 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut, ½ tsp curry powder, ¼ tsp salt