Kale is one of those leafy year-round staples that I have always passed up in the produce aisle. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the dark earthy greens in a heady soup or shredded raw in a salad. But I have always thought of kale as a vegetarian’s vegetable, and I’ve never found a way to make it palatable to my kids or husband, until now. When I was flipping through one of my favorite cooking magazines, a recipe for baked kale caught my eye because there were only three ingredients. I loved how the kale came out of the oven crisp and salty, like delicate chips. But in order to entice my finicky family, it needed a little extra appeal. This version with a light sprinkling of cheese gets raves every time I make it. Try it with collard greens, too (increase the cooking time to 16-18 minutes).
Serves 4 as a side dish
1 head flat-leaf (Tuscan or Lacinato) kale or collard greens, leaves separated, rinsed and dried well
Olive oil spray
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Using a knife, remove the thick inner stems from the leaves, leaving long strips; cut the strips in half. Arrange the leaves dark side up in a single layer on two baking sheets.
3. Lightly mist each piece with olive oil spray. Sprinkle generously and evenly with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake about 14-16 minutes, until the leaves are crisp and the cheese is lightly golden. Sometimes the leaves bake unevenly, so watch them carefully, removing the crisp ones as they are done and returning the others to continue baking until done. Serve warm.
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Try Dana’s Pappardelle with Wild Mushrooms, Rosemary and Light Tomato Sauce.
D.,
I just made your Crispy Parmesan Kale chips and I was stunned at how quick, easy and delicious these are! All of the satisfaction of a chip with none of the fat or calories! These are my new Favorite thing!
XO
GG,
I love all your comments! Thank you so much for arranging such a fun and enlightening afternoon of Persian cooking. I had a blast and learned a lot. Hope you like my next blog post.
Have an awesome summer. We’ll sure miss you in Aspen.
Love,
D
Hey Dana-
Ever since we tried your chips in Aspen- my kids have been begging for them! Anytime I come across Kale ( and good kale is hard to find in Miami!)I bake it up for my family. They all love it!! I like the flat kale better- the curlier kale is hard to get crispy! xo
Hi, Lisa,
Thanks for your comment. You’re right, the curly kale does not work as well – you have to cook it longer and then it just crumbles all over your lap. I never thought I could get kids to eat kale – this recipe is a victory for all moms who wish to feed their brood real food! Keep up the good cookin’!
xo D
Hi Dana. I joined an organic produce club and last week got kale and had no idea what to do with it. My 12 year old told me about this recipe so I looked it up. I now love this recipe. My 7 year old can eat the whole head of Kale and then asks for more! I make this recipe at least once a week. Thanks for this great recipe. I have passed it on to at least 10 people.
xoxo
Linda
Howdy Dana,
Was excited to read your kale chip recipe! I recently tried a similar thing made by TerraTree, (www.terratree.com), a Canadian co. Unfortunately they don’t seem to have any info on their kale chips on the site for some reason. Anyway, I was so amazed and thrilled to see that my 2 year old eats the Terra Tree chips! I can’t get enough of them either. They’re dee-lish. They have a garlic version and another made with nutritional yeast. We live in the boonies where the growing season is brutally short but kale is one thing that grows great here. Now thanks to your recipe and inspiration from TT, I won’t be the only one in the family chewing on organic home-grown kale. Yahoo!
Hi Daisy,
Glad to help out with the kale chips…Come back anytime! I try to develop a lot of kid-friendly recipes.
Great idea! I bet the kids would love cheese on their kale chips
These look delicious! Although I didn’t even know kale could do this, I am thoroughly impressed with the outcome. I bet some salt and pepper and they would get gobbled up.
We bought some Kale at the Troy Farmer’s Market this morning and I cam across your recipe through the Grill-A-Chef blog. Wow they are amazing. Easy and absolutely delicious.