Simple Vegetarian Snack: Baked Kale Chips

For a simple, vegetarian, and pretty healthy snack, why not try kale chips? The thought of just eating green leaves as a snack may make many recoil, but properly made kale chips can actually be bold and zesty. Not only do they taste delicious, but they are loaded with plenty of vitamins and minerals including essentials like vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K. They are also great sources of calcium, copper, potassium iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

We wanted to flavor our kale chips so we’d look forward to eating them without loading on too many calories. We mixed in just two tablespoons of nut butter with some olive oil, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to achieve this. From there, it was just a matter of thoroughly coating the kale then baking in the oven until crisp. Keep reading below for the recipe…

Baked Kale Chips

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of kale
• 2 heaping tablespoons almond butter (or other nut butter)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1.2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Wash the kale and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Pull the leaves off the center ribs. Discard the ribs.
2. In a small bowl, mix the nut butter, oil, spices, and salt. Pour over the kale and toss until each leaf is evenly coated with the mixture.
3. Lay the leaves out on 3-4 baking sheets (working in batches if necessary). Don’t let the leaves overlap. Bake for 10-11 minutes until crisp. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before moving. If some chips are still flimsy or damp, remove the crisp ones and place the damp ones back in the oven.
4. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted fromMen’s Health