If you’ve been wondering how to make kale chips in air fryer, it is easier than you think. They are a healthy alternative to potato chips, which are usually mass-produced and contain high quantities of sodium and oil, but they are a great snack I tell you. If you are trying to maintain a balanced diet, opt for kale chips as a delicious snack!
Why cook Kale Chips in an air fryer
You can make kale chips at home in an air fryer. Commercially available chips are full of preservatives, salt, and fat. If you make them at home, you can eliminate harmful additives, choose seasonings according to your taste, and cut down on oil by making them in an air fryer.
Kale is a superfood from the cabbage family. It contains high amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K, as well as potassium, zinc, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, kale is a good substitute for fish (like a tasty a red snapper), which is also packed full of omega-3 fatty acids. One cup of kale contains only 33 calories, making snacking on kale chips a guilt-free prospect. Kale preserves its nutritional value after cooking, meaning that kale chips have the same benefits as the leafy vegetable in its raw form. Air frying kale will make it perfectly crispy, and use minimum oil.
Ingredients needed for Kale Chips in an air fryer
You can tailor the recipe with homemade kale chips according to your flavor preferences. A simple recipe that’s good for people making kale chips for the first time would be a touch of sea salt and olive oil. You can also add a pinch of garlic powder or a sprinkle of parmesan to your kale to amp up the flavor profile. If you prefer the taste and health benefits of coconut oil, you can swap olive oil out and massage your kale with coconut oil instead. Other spices that taste delicious on kale chips are black pepper, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, and nutritional yeast. You can serve ranch dip, honey mustard sauce, or some maple syrup as condiments with your crispy kale chips. Here’s a breakdown of ingredients you would need depending on what kind of kale chips you want to make:
Recipe #1- Simple:
- One head of kale
- One teaspoon of salt
- A few drops of olive oil or coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (optional)
Recipe #2- Cheesy:
- One head of kale
- One teaspoon of nutritional yeast (a game changer for me)
- A few drops of an oil of your choice
Recipe #3- Spicy:
- One head of kale
- One teaspoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or spicy curry powder
- A few drops of olive oil
You can also check out some air fryer tortilla chip recipes for ideas on seasonings and tips on how to get your kale chips as crispy as possible.
How to make Kale Chips in an air fryer
In many ways, making kale chips is very similar to dehydrating fruit in the air fryer, except that it’s much quicker.
- Always wash kale leaves thoroughly to get rid of bugs and debris, then dry them off completely in a salad spinner, on a wire rack, or between sheets of kitchen towels. If you don’t remove all the water from the leaves, your kale chips will turn out soggy and limp rather than crispy.
- To avoid a bitter taste and chewy texture, cut the spine off the leaves.
- Massage a few drops of air fryer friendly oil into the kale leaves.
- Sprinkle your seasonings of choice on top. Try not to use any liquid seasonings or too much oil as this will take away the crispiness.
- Spread the kale into a single layer with no overlapping. If you have a lot of kale, cooking it in batches is the way to go. You may also want to cover the kale with another wire rack to prevent the leaves from flying around inside the air fryer.
- Set your air fryer’s temperature to 350 degrees F and cook the kale for 5-6 minutes. Be sure to take a look after this time has elapsed as you don’t want to burn the leaves.
- When they are done, remove them immediately to prevent overcooking in the hot air fryer chamber.
Tips to make Kale Chips
One of the top things to consider when you make kale chips is what type of kale you’re using. There are many different varieties of this leafy green vegetable, each with its own benefits. The different types of kale include Russian kale, Curly kale, Redbor kale and Dinosaur kale. You can try making chips with different kale varieties to see which texture and taste you enjoy best, but our recommendation would be to use curly kale. They are easily available and give the crispiest result of all kale types. Russian kale has flatter leaves which can get burnt quickly.
You can make big batches of kale chips in your air fryer and store them in air-tight containers to keep them fresh and crispy for up to a few days. This way, you will have a nutritious snack handy and it may prevent you from snacking on potato chips or other junk food.
Conclusion
So there you have it. As you can it is quite straightforward how to make kale chips in air fryer. Kale chips are a healthy and delicious snack that you can make in your air fryer in under 10 minutes. They can be flavored in a variety of ways and can be eaten alone or with various dips and sauces. You can also add kale chips to salads and other dishes for a bit of crunch and texture.
