Cheesy Kale Chips
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raw / vegan / gluten-free / grain-free
Oh my, these Cheesy Kale Chips are just amazing. The nutritional yeast plays a very important role in creating a very cheesy flavor. I highly recommend the Bed Star brand. I have tried many others and don’t get the same result in flavor.
In the recipe it states to put in red pepper flakes, this is optional if you don’t like much heat, go ahead and skip it. You can also use any type of kale for this recipe but I find the curly kale holds onto the sauce the best… which leads to a hardy, crunchy texture. Trust me; these won’t last long in your kitchen!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2+ hours
- 1 large red bell pepper
- Juice of one large lemon
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp of red chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1 head (8oz) curly leaf kale
- Selecting Kale:
- Don’t use wilted / old kale; it can have a bitter undertone.
- I prefer Curly Kale because all of the folds really hold onto the sauce.
- Wash and de-stem your kale.
- Start by washing the kale and blotting it dry. You can also use a salad spinner if you own one.
- Make sure you get as much excess water off of the kale as possible. If you don’t, it will make your sauce “soupy.” Set aside.
- Starting at the bottom strip away the leaf leaving behind only the stem.
- Tear the remaining leaves into pieces that are a tad larger than bite-size since they tend to shrink.
Sauce Prep:
- After soaking the cashews, drain and discard the water.
- In a high-powered blender combine the; cashews, bell pepper, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and spices. Blend until the sauce is creamy smooth.
- Due to the volume and the creamy texture that we are going after, it is important to use a high-powered blender. It could be too taxing on a lower-end model.
- Create a vortex in the blender; this will help ensure that the sauce is getting fully blended into a creamy texture.
- What is a vortex? Look into the container from the top and slowly increase the speed from low to high, the batter will form a small vortex (or hole) in the center. High-powered machines have containers that are designed to create a controlled vortex, systematically folding ingredients back to the blades for smoother blends and faster processing… instead of just spinning ingredients around, hoping they find their way to the blades.
- If your machine isn’t powerful enough or built to do this, you may need to stop the unit often to scrape down the sides.
- This process can take 1-3 minutes, depending on the strength of the blender. Keep your hand cupped around the base of the blender carafe to feel for warmth. If the batter is getting too warm., stop the machine and let it cool, then proceed once cooled.
Assembly:
- Place the torn kale into a very large bowl.
- Pour in the sauce and with your hands gently and evenly coat each piece of kale.
- This is a “hands-on” job. Stirring with a spoon just doesn’t do the trick.
- I would suggest removing any jewelry from your fingers. I have temporarily lost a ring here and there.
Dehydrator Method:
- Have the dehydrator trays ready by lining them with non-stick teflex or parchment paper.
- Don’t use wax paper because food tends to stick to it.
- Spread all the trays out in advance because soon your hands will be covered in sauce and you don’t want to get it all over.
- I used three Excalibur dehydrator trays.
- Place the kale on the non-stick sheets. You can do this 1 of 2 ways:
- Lay each piece out semi-flat if you want to create individual pieces. More time-consuming and chips tend to a be a little bit more fragile.
- Or, drop clumps of coated kale on the sheets. This will create hardy clusters that are loaded with sauce and flavor. This is my preference.
- Dehydrate at 115 degrees (F) for about 6-8 hrs or until dry.
- I tend to pull mine out before it gets 100% dry because I like it a little chewy.
- The dry time is just an estimate. The climate, humidity, dehydrator, and how full the machine is can all affect how long it will take to dry.
- Store in an airtight glass container and be ready to nibble non-stop till the last crumb is gone!
- If the kale chips start taking on some humidity from the house, you can place them back into the dehydrator for a few hours at 115 degrees (F).
Oven Method:
- Please use it as a guide and closely monitor the kale chips as they cook.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (F), anything higher, and risk burning the chips.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place the kale chips on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes.
- The bake times will vary based on your oven, but it’s a good starting off point!
- Once you pull the tray from the oven, allow the chips to cool on the baking sheet.
- Store in an airtight glass container and be ready to nibble non-stop till the last crumb is gone!
Here is my dream kale for making chips with… can’t you just see
all that sauce getting caught up in all those folds and crannies?!
There is something wrong with the photo below. Can you tell what?
It doesn’t have enough sauce on it! I can see green blank spots. Shame!
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan
These are sooooo good!! Two days after making them, they were gone!! Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Hello Amie-Sue, Thank you for the awesome website. My kale bunches must have been too big for one batch so I made a second batch but I was out of lemons. I substituted 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, I think it is an improvement on this delicious recipe.
Good afternoon Will,
That can happen. I have seen tiny to large bunches of kale at the stores…so sometimes a person has to just eyeball it. ACV is great substitution, thank you for sharing that just in case others find themselves short on lemons. I have used AVC in kale chips and do enjoy it as well…it’s all in preference. Have a blessed weekend! amie sue
I just made these chips and trying to handle myself around them so I don´t eat them all in one go ;-) I guess they really deserve an OMG rate. Congratulations Amie!
The OMG stamp?! Yay! haha
Hello again, Amie-Sue!
I am hosting my first official uncooking class this Saturday, and would love to use your Cheesy Kale Chip recipe in class. If you give permission, I will be glad to pass the credit along to you, plus provide a link to your site. (It’s THE site for great raw recipes, anyway!)
Greetings Suzie!
By all means….share share share… it’s what it is all about. :) Have a wonderful time, breathe and know that you will do amazing. Let me know how it goes, I am so excited for you! You will be in my thoughts that day. :) amie sue
Your recipes look amazing!!
I just wanted to ask, can you recommend something other than kale for chips? I love kale chips, but I live in Greece and there is no such thing :(
This recipe is amazing. Thank you so much for posting!
WOOOOHHAAAA! Awsome snack! And awsome website!!!
Kale are in season here in Denmark at the moment :-)
Many many thanks for all the inspiring recipes
PEACE – Positive energy activates constant elevation
Derjurgen
Forget snack derjurgen, more like addiction! lol Your welcome and enjoy! Have a blessed day and thank you for the comment. amie sue
Wow, these were amazingly wonderful and so easy to make! It was hard to stop eating them :). Took some to work and passed them around – most everyone loved them, so I referred them to your your site. Thanks so much for your beautiful photos and fabulous recipes!
Thank you Sandi… together we will convert this world over to kale chips… one chip at a time. hehe Have a wonderful weekend! amie sue
I think I’m making these this coming weekend. Noticed the batter’s essentially the same as your cheese nip cracker flavoring–and that cracker’s the most popular in my house. So I figure everyone at home will go for these kale chips, too. Thanks, Amie-Sue.
Yes indeed Ben… if they liked the cheese nips, they will surely love these. :) Have a great day, amie sue
I am curious about nutitional yeast as I am trying to cut sugar and yeasts as it is supposed ot help the thyroid. Your thoughts? Is this a different type of yeast? I love cheesy Kale chips! But will they love me?
Hi Carole,
I am not sure about the connection between nutritional yeast and the thyroid. I can only suggest that you do further research on this, I don’t know the answer to it. Sorry.. Have a great day, amie sue
As I type our Cheese Nip crackers n Kale chips are dehydrating right now my kids had the nerve to want some after sneering there noses up whenIi was prepping the first batch ! Surprise surprise theyre bout trned out to eating everything raw cause of your delicious recipes on here Thaaaaaaanks for sharing I sho wish youd make some vidoes so we could learn by watching even tho you break it down puurfectly ~ again thany U mucho grande
Haha I love it Queene. I love hearing stories like that. :) I would love to do some videos because some things are hard to put into writing. I just need to get over being camera shy. :P Have a blessed and wonderful weekend. amie sue
Hi, just found your site for the first time, and I’m totally excited to make some of these recipes. Have you figured out any sort of substitute for the red pepper in the cheesy kale chips? I’m sort of allergic to red bell pepper. Thanks, Judy
Hi Judy… just omit the red pepper if you are allergic to them. I hope you enjoy them and my site! Blessings, amie sue
Tomatoes work as a substitute. It does not have the same flavor but you get the same color.
Thank for sharing that Elizabeth… I am sure it tasted great too!
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve been making it often because of the abundance of kale in my garden. Unfortunately if I don’t double or triple the recipe, the chips are gone in a day…my husband LOVES THESE!!!!
lol I can so relate. I wish I was there to dig in your garden though. :) Fresh kale…divine!
Hi,
I wanted to let you know that I have these cheesy kale chips in my dehydrator right now. My house smells divine. I already know they are good because I tasted the sauce and it was so yummy.
I appreciate that this recipe is so easy and quick.
I just love the smells that come from the dehydrator… well except that one time I tried dehydrating sauerkraut… oh boy, that was… interesting. lol Enjoy and have a blessed nights sleep, amie sue
What if i don’t have a dehydrator? Can I bake them, somehow?
Good morning Ana,
I don’t bake any of my raw recipes so I don’t have an experienced answer to give you. I know many people in the cooked world do bake them though. My best suggestion is to set the oven on the lowest temp and leave the door cracked. I don’t know how long it will take so you will have to keep an eye on them. They won’t be raw anymore, so just be aware of that. Have a great weekend, amie sue
This looks good! I like to usebag kale however there arent recipes for kale chips using cup memeasurements! :/ would you know how many cups I could use for this recipe of kale?
Hmm, that is a hard one Gaybreal. I don’t know the measurement in cups but one time I weighed a head of kale and it was 10 oz… so you can use that as rough estimate. The bagged kale ought to have a weight measurement on it. I hope this helps. amie sue
Amie, I just received my new Excalibur dehydrator and the first thing I tried was the cheesy kale chips and I must say it was a lot easier than I thought. I’ve been so intimidated about raw food prep until I found your site. I do need to experiment more for the exact taste I’m looking for, but I now have the confidence to try. I love your site and you for making this available to those of us who want to do more raw, but were afraid of those intimidating books and sites. Thank you so much! I am so grateful, God blessed this planet with you.
Good evening Cassandra,
Your message tonight really touched my heart. Thank you so much. I know what it feels like to be intimidated in the kitchen when trying to adapt new eating habits… it is my heart to encourage and inspire you to be all that you can be in the kitchen… and to have great fun in the process. :) You are a blessing. amie sue
Hi Amie Sue: your website is fabulous. Congrats. I wonder if you can clarify some differences in dehydration instructions for your Kale chip recipes. I am confused about using mesh or teflex, and hours of dehydration. For instance, you have different instructions of using mesh vs teflex trays, and dehydrating hours for:
Cheesy Kale: “Place it on dehydrator trays on mesh sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for about 8 hrs”
Mexican Cheese Kale: • “Spread kale out on the teflex sheets… Dehydrate on 105 degrees for about 6 hours.”
Queso Mexican Kale: “Place on the telfex sheets that come with your dehydrator and dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4-6 hours.”
Also, there is no reference in your instructions, when using teflex sheets, to flipping over the kale chips onto mesh trays after a certain time. Thanks for your clarifications.
Good evening Ashley,
First off, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate that and it really encourages me.
I can understand why you are asking the questions that you are. For a little back explanation, you need to understand that I have been building and adding recipes to this site for at least 8 years now and through out that time, I try new and different ways of making things… therefore some instructions shift. I share exactly what I did at the time of creating that recipe. It might be in my best interest one day to go through all of them and make them the same so it doesn’t confuse others. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. My goal here is to help, not confuse. :)
Making kale chips the way I instructed on each of those recipes will work out just fine… but to fast forward to today, I have come to always make my kale chips by placing them on the teflex sheet at 115 degrees, drying them for 4-6 hours until done. I rarely ever find that I need to flip them onto the mesh (unless I really gooped on the sauce). The length of the dry time will always vary. It depends on how thick the sauce is on the leaves, how full the dehydrator is, what machine you have and what your climate is like.
I hope that helps… you should soon see a change in my recipes for the kale chips. :) amie sue
Hello Ashley, I just wanted to let you know that I fixed all of the kale chip recipes to match with how to make them. Again, all those recipes had happened throughout the years and my recipe writing skills keep improving. Thank you for brining this to my attention. Blessings, amie sue
Amie-Sue, your recipes are wonderful!! No more wondering what I’m going to do with all the kale in my garden. Thank you so much for this fabulous collection!
Alice
Thank you Alice… this kale chip category of mine ought to keep you busy and put that kale to good use. hehe Enjoy and thank you for commenting. Blessings, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue – I just made these today for the first time. Rather a lengthy process. Now I know why they cost so much at the grocer. But they are fabulous and worth the effort. I also think the sauce would make a stand-alone splendid dip for vegetable or chips. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing Bonnie. Actually, if you go through all of my kale chip recipes… you can use all the sauces as dips, spreads or thinned for salad dressings. :) And yes, after you make your own kale chips, one can understand why they cost what they do in the stores. Have a blessed weekend. amie sue
Hi Amie Sue – Love seeing your kale chips recipe. Thanks for sharing. Quick question on the recipe for cheesy kale chips, you use red bell pepper on the recipe, I’ve tried to use them but it tasted a bit weird so I decided to take them out and it turned out so much better. Also, if i want to make spicy kale chips using your spicy italian kale chips, can I just omit the italian seasoning?
You are welcome Lisa… glad that you found a way to like the cheesy kale chips. We all differ when it comes to taste buds. :) And regarding the spicy kale chips, sure just omit it and then taste test… you might need to ramp up the other seasoning or not. See what you like. Keep me posted and have a wonderful day. amie sue
Hi Amie Sue, I’ve made the cheesy kale many times and it’s so good! I find sometimes the lemon might be a bit too sour, then I just add a drop or two of agave or maple syrup. Otherwise, the recipe is perfect. Thanks again!
Thanks for the feedback Karmar. Great save if your lemons are toooo puckery! hehe Have a wonderful holiday season. amie sue :)
they work using broccoli as well, as I like a little more bite to mine so I used the broccoli and they are also very good
Yes, broccoli is another great vessel to use. I have a few recipes here using it. Thanks for sharing! Happy Holidays. amie sue