These low carb kale chips are paleo and vegan. Not to mention just about the tangiest, tastiest, healthiest snack around! This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
Okay, wait, what? This is a low carb food blog and only now, just now, I am posting a recipe for kale chips? How is that even possible? Don’t all low carb, paleo, real food, whole food, clean eating etc. blogs have a recipe (or twenty) for kale chips? I mean, it’s practically a requirement to be a healthy food blogger to have at least one very prominent kale chip recipe. How can I have gone five and half years without one?
Well, truth be told that until recently, I was not particularly jazzed about kale chips. I tried them once, early on in this food blogging dealio and I was underwhelmed, to say the least. They felt like too much effort for too little flavour and I wrote them off then and there. I suppose I was following a not-so-great recipe and that they didn’t crisp up properly or have enough seasoning, or some grave error of that sort. Regardless of the reason, I had better things to do with my kale.
And then my son came home from school last year asking if I could make kale chips. This is the kid I have to fight harder to eat healthier, since he’s very susceptible to what he sees at school and what he conceives to be “cool food”. So kudos to the school for making kale chips at least moderately cool. He loved them and kept pestering me to make them, so I searched out a better recipe and made a big batch. A big batch that my kids devoured in about half a minute, since kale chips are so insubstantial. I personally found them okay but not overly exciting.
Fast forward to this summer when I was hauling all three kids cross-country to a cottage north of Toronto and spied a package of kale chips in the San Francisco airport. They were raw, vegan kale chips from a company called Pachamama Raw and they were surprisingly delicious. Naturally, being a little on the more flavourful side, my kids didn’t like them so I had the whole package to myself. I was intrigued by the use of nutritional yeast as an ingredient and it put me in mind of the package of Bob’s Red Mill nutritional yeast that I’d picked up a while back. You know what happens next…I decided I had to try making them myself, of course.
I am now officially in love with kale chips. Or more to the point, I am now officially in love with kale chips and nutritional yeast together. If you haven’t yet tried nutritional yeast, I’d say it’s definitely something to add to the list. It’s got a pleasant cheesy flavour so it’s a great addition for people who can’t eat dairy. It’s also a deactivated yeast, so it’s suitable for those on the anti-candida diet. For my part, I am neither dairy-free nor in danger of candida…so I just use it because it’s delicious!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Many thanks to Bob’s for supporting All Day I Dream About Food!
Zesty Nacho Kale Chips
These low carb kale chips are paleo and vegan. Not to mention just about the tangiest, tastiest, healthiest snack around!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Nutritional Yeast
- Additional salt if desired
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Trim kale from hard stems and cut or tear into 2 inch pieces. Wash and dry thoroughly (I suggest a salad spinner).
- In a small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, sea salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- In a large bowl, toss kale with avocado oil. Sprinkle with spice mixture and nutritional yeast. Toss well to combine. Don't be afraid to press kale up against sides of bowl to make the spices and yeast adhere.
- Spread in a single layer on one or two baking sheets (you can line them with parchment, but I find the kale gets crispier if I just do it right on the pan). Make sure kale pieces aren't too clumped together so that they crisp up properly. (you may need to work in batches).
- Bake 10 minutes and then turn off oven and let stay inside until crisp, another 2 to 5 minutes. Remove and let cool, and repeat with any remaining kale. Add more salt if desired.
Recipe Notes
Serves 4. Each serving has 7.68 g of carbs and 2.24 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.44 g.
Food energy: 108kcal Total fat: 14.54g Calories from fat: 130 Cholesterol: -- Carbohydrate: 7.68g Total dietary fiber: 2.24g Protein: 3.60g
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
I am adding these to the must-try soon list! Love the bold flavors!
Jan says
I was definitely underwhelmed the first time I made kale chips, too. This version looks like it would have great tastes, though, even if the kale was like air after it bakes 🙂
Melanie says
I’ve always wanted to try making kale chips. These look delicious and worth trying!
Aggie | Aggie's Kitchen says
When your kid (or kids) ask for kale chips, you make kale chips. My kids love them so they keep me making them (I love them too 🙂 ). I am not too familiar with nutritional yeast, this recipe makes me want to try some! Beautiful kale chips 🙂
Karen says
Weirdly, I even like not-so-great kale chips! Love there is no guilt involved eating the whole, entire batch. Will be making these to Netflix-binge by. BTW – Thank you for introducing [some of] us to nutritional yeast. SOO good!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
I love the cheesy flavor of Nutritional yeast! I love kale chips and I am super excited to make this recipe! Great job!
Anita says
Love kale chips and love your take on them! Nutritional yeast is one of my favorite new discoveries from last year!
Lora @cakeduchess says
I know how exciting it is when your kid likes something you wouldn’t imagine they would. Like when my kids all of a sudden liked that seaweed snack, I was shocked (b/c I didn’t like it!). Love that you added nutritional yeast for a pop of flavor!!
Angie says
I’ve got to try these again too. Like you I tried them a few years ago and honestly almost barfed, and I’ll eat just about anything. These sound great, can’t wait to give them another try!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
Ahhh this is such a great idea for nutritional yeast!! I love this!
Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says
I love the spicy flavors of these kale chips! Definitely not boring or bland!
Isabelle @ Crumb says
I have a not-so-secret obsession with kale chips. It’s partially because I’m the only one in the house who will actually eat kale, and there’s no way I can finish off a whole bunch of fresh kale all by myself… so rather than toss perfectly good kale, I just bake up whatever’s left over into chips. It’s a win-win. 🙂
I’ve never tried nutritional yeast, but I’m definitely intrigued. Might have to pick some up the next time I have some kale kicking around in the crisper!
tiffany says
How would you store these?
Carolyn says
I just stored them in a container on the counter. They didn’t last long!
Samantha Hill says
my kids are not keen on zesty or spicy so I tried something different, garlic and parmesan and sprinkle salt. Well well what a surprise. Youngest daughter who hates anything green loved them so much that she asked me to make them again. A total winner here.