Fresh kale is coated in a savory dressing and oven baked to create these healthy and seriously addicting garlic and tahini kale chips.
The idea of kale chips never appealed to me, until recently. I love kale, and I’m sorry to admit this, but I thought the whole idea of making chips out of it was to like, you know, trick yourself into eating vegetables, assuming you don’t particularly like vegetables. So, the fact that I’m a big fan of kale worked against me, as I’m a completely willing participant when it comes to eating the stuff.
I’m even more sorry to admit that I told my mom not to make kale chips for just this reason when she expressed interest a while back. “Don’t bother with those, just cook it up and eat it. It’s delicious.” So wrong. Not about kale being delicious, oh no. I’ll take a big old plate of garlicky sauteed kale any evening for dinner. But when it comes to snack time…okay, I’d eat a big plate of cooked kale for snack too, but I’d also eat kale chips. Gladly. I’ve seen the error of my ways.
This comes back to my mom. A couple of weeks ago she picked up a bag of kale chips for me. I don’t know why she did that, in view of my prior statements, but I’m glad she did. The chips she got me were Brad’s Raw Vampire Killer flavor. (That is an affiliate link, but I’m not being paid by Brad’s or anything – I just think they’re good.) I ate half of the box immediately. That was my first clue that kale chips were actually good.
The following week I decided I needed more kale chips in my life. (The box of Brad’s was long gone.) So I came up with these. I love some garlic and tahini on my cooked kale, so I figured it would go well on the chips too.
My garlic tahini kale chips aren’t raw, though you could probably use a dehydrator instead of the oven here. If you’ve made a more basic version of kale chips before, you’ll notice that the cook time these is a bit longer. That’s because it takes a while for the tahini to dry out completely. Make sure your chips are nice and evenly coated, so that the drying that happens during cooking is nice and even. By the time these come out of your oven you will be ready – the garlicky aromas wafting from the oven will ensure that. Wait a couple minutes more for them to cool and crisp up. I think you’ll agree that it’s worth it in the end.
Garlic and Tahini Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh kale
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 250. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Tare kale into chip-sized pieces and remove stems. Place in a large mixing bowl.
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Whisk remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over kale. Toss gently until your kale is evenly coated.
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Arrange kale pieces in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake for 30-60 minutes.
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Start checking on your batch after 30 minutes and remove from oven when chips are dry.
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Allow to cool for a few minutes before digging in.
Been really wanting to try the much-talked-about kale chips for a while now – love tahini, so definitely bookmarking this recipe for when I decide to give it a go:D
I’m so glad I finally tried kale chips. The tahini really gives these some nice flavor – I hope you enjoy them!!!
I just made this recipe – it’s delicious! I highly recommend making this recipe. It’s EASY and doesn’t take long to cook up. I love the aroma while it’s baking. I already ate half of this up while the other half bakes 😋 I might add a little salt to the next batch I make.
Yay! I’m glad you like them!
I just made these for the first time and it was life changing! Thanks for making such an awesome recipe!
This recipe looks great, looking forward to trying it today. Would you say it works also with baby kale if you reduce the cooking time, or would that be too dry/crumbly?
Thank you! I’d be a little nervous about using baby kale, since it tends to be pretty delicate. You might be able to get away with thinning out the dressing a bit and using a dehydrator instead of the oven. Otherwise, I’d stick with mature kale. Hope you enjoy it!
Baking right now. Smells delicious. Subbed 1T vinegar since I didn’t have any lemons. I ate some right out of the mixing bowl…that made a great dressing, you could eat this raw!!! Thank you so much for the recipe. 1st time trying kale chips that I made myself. It smells sooooo good.
I actually use something similar as a salad dressing these days. :) I hope you enjoy them!
I enjoyed them very much. It’s summer now, and I’m making it again, this time I’m not baking it but leaving it as a salad. That dressing has so much flavor, it’s unbelievable. Thank you, this is already becoming a go-to. I will probably serve it alongside some macaroni and cheese for a super easy dinner with at least ONE healthy thing. lol