Today, I’m delighted to share with you a recipe from my own cookbook, Practically Raw!
As many of you know, I dedicated an entire chapter in Practically Raw to one of my favorite snacks: kale chips! This particular recipe is my top pick of the whole bunch, and it quickly became a fan favorite as well. Everyone who has ever tried these has ADORED them!
If you’re at all unsure about the gustatory merits of kale chips, try this recipe first. You’ll be shocked at how outrageously fantastic these protein-rich, pizza-flavored crunchers are.
From Practically Raw: Flexible Raw Recipes Anyone Can Make by Amber Shea Crawley, (c) 2012. Used by permission.
Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Soy-Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, Raw Per serving: 188 calories, 10g fat (1g sat), 17.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 11.3g proteinIngredients
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 to 4 hours and drained
- 1/4 cup hempseeds
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, roughly chopped (6 to 8 cups)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except kale in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth, adding a splash of water if needed to blend.
- In a large bowl, combine the kale and the pizza sauce. Use your hands to massage the sauce all over the kale, making sure it’s coated completely.
- Make it Raw: Arrange the kale in a single layer on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for 8 hours or overnight, until crisp.
- Make it Baked: Preheat the oven to 300°F and grease a baking sheet with coconut oil. Arrange the kale in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and use a fork or spatula to carefully flip the kale chips over (it’s ok if you miss a few). Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, watching carefully to make sure the kale doesn’t burn, then remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Notes
Substitution options
Hempseeds: additional sunflower seeds or cashews
Red bell pepper: 1 medium ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped
Oregano: dried basil
SO, SO, SO GOOD! If I may say 
Let’s take a closer look at the process, shall we?
You’ll want to get your kale all torn up and set aside first, then blend together the coating. Eat a spoonful or two of it on its own, because it’s just THAT good!
Pour that gorgeous cheesy pizza sauce all over your kale.
Now it’s time to get your hands dirty.
Massage the bejeezus out of that kale, until it’s evenly and completely coated with the pizza sauce.
Spread the saucy kale on a mesh- or Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate for 8 to 10 hours, or overnight. (Alternatively, follow the oven-baking directions given above, knowing that you may need to adjust the heat or extend the baking time depending on your oven’s temperament.)
Let me take a moment here to mention my new favorite toy: Tribest’s state-of-the-art Sedona Dehydrator, which just debuted last year. I used my Excalibur for many years with great success, but the Sedona is like the Lamborghini of dehydrators: it’s BPA-free and has digital time and temperature controls, a clear glass door, and a dozen other fantastic features. On top of that, it is WHISPER-quiet…when I first got it, I kept walking over to it to make sure it was actually on, because I couldn’t hear it across the room! I can hardly believe it took so long for someone to come out with a dehydrator like this, but now that Tribest has done it, I am IN LOVE.
Anyway, back to the chippies! After a day or night in the dehydrator, they’ll be crisped up and ready for your snacking pleasure.
Actually, I highly recommend you make a double batch of these, because they will be gone before you know it. Matt and I can eat an entire batch in one sitting!
Here are some fan photos of these magnificent Pizza Kale Chips, from Christine (above)…
Rebecca (above), and Heather (below)!
Enjoy! And remember, you’ll find recipes for nine other addictive kale chip flavors in Chapter 6 of my book Practically Raw, including Sour Cream and Onion, Hummus, Curry, Chocolate, Maple-Pecan, and more!
See ya later this week for another juice cleanse review. 
Recipe looks amazing! Do you have suggestions on storing baked kale chips or do you just eat them all right away? I’ve made them once before and they got soggy inside a tupperware…
I don’t store them in airtight containers – if there are leftovers, I just leave them in a bowl, maybe loosely covered with plastic wrap. You can also just put them back in the dehydrator for an hour or two to re-crisp them!
Hi Sweet Amber,
Hope you’re well!
I’ve seen A LOT of kale chip recipes (and tried a few) but these are by far the best I’ve seen. What a great recipe. So easy too!
And that dehydrator. WOW! That is on my wish list. It looks like a full size oven in the picture, so when I went to the link and saw the price I squealed in delight. That’s not bad at ALL! Up there with the high speed blender prices. What a great resource.
Thanks darlin’
Hugs,
–Amber
I hope you’ll try these! They’re seriously amazing! As is the Sedona dehydrator. It’s worth the price!
These look sooo good. I just finished a massive bag of kale eating raw kale salads which were delicious but I wish I’d saved some for these chips! I do have lacinato kale growing in my garden, would that work instead of curly?
I’ve never tried it myself, but I think I’ve heard other people say they’ve done it and it works ok!
These look great! Ever since I tried kale chips, I always wanted to make my own… It’s too bad that you can’t buy kale in any grocery story where I live…
That sucks you can’t get kale! Although, I’ve always been curious how it’d turn out if you tried to make something like Swiss chard chips…
That might be worth a try… it’s easier to get (in fall and winter, after all. Veggies are seasonal here
)
Let me know if you ever try it!
oh wow – I want to bury myself in that bowl of dip/sauce/coating and not come up for air!
I’ll join you! ;P
mmm kale chips! it has been a long time since we made any
I try to only make one batch a week…but it’s hard
wow those look perfect! i love the sauce! the flavor sounds magnificent!
Thanks! You MUST try them!
Must make sooooon! I heart kale chips but these look divine! And hello new dehydrator! Looks snazzy and sounds snazzy. I’ll take one of those too. Love the fact it’s quiet.
The difference in volume between the Sedona and the Excalibur is unreal! And the Sedona even has a “Night Mode” which reduces the volume even further – as though it needs it!
Mmmm. I have yet to try any fancy kale chip recipes, so far I’ve only had them with lemon juice and salt. Must try.
I highly recommend this recipe as your first foray into “fancy” kale chips.
Amber amber amber my love my darling! I have been here almost two weeks and still haven’t had ANY kale. Can I please change my heart’s desire from raw cheezecakes and sweet things to kale chips and kale salad? Can we have kale overload? HEARTYOU! xoxo
Yes, yes we can! It’s probably a bad idea for me to make (let alone eat) a bunch of sweets in that last week before the wedding, anyway. (Although the following week, all bets are off.) Kale it is! At $1 a bunch at our farmers market, that’s no problem
Wow, you weren’t kidding about that dehyrdrator – that is awesome!! I’m going to try these when I get mine, as I’ve not had good luck with kale chips in my oven. They look sooo good.
Thanks Jennifer! Yes, bookmark these for sure
So great you are sharing these! One of my favourite recipes from your book!
Mine too!
I have never tried kale but I keep coming across really yummy sounding recipes like this! Note to self – buy kale at tomorrow’s farmer’s market
Yes, do! Farmers market kale is the best, anyway
I waited until i had sometime to sit down and really read this recipe and now I’m sad because I had to leave my food processor behind when I moved. I think I’m going to have to break down and buy a tiny one to make these because they really do look fabulous.
I actually use a blender rather than a food processor here, but you can use either! A mini FP is a great investment, though – so cheap (in the U.S., at least…) and so useful!
Great recipe! Kale chip are the best.
Agreed!
OMG!!! I just took these out of the dehydrater this morning and wow. I have made kale chips before but I chose to try this one out for my 4 year old Son who is allegic to nuts and he loves pizza and I am so excited to say I love them i could not stop eating them. I am going to try them out on Him as soon as I pick him up. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks so much I can not wait to share these with my friends.
SO happy to hear that, Nikki! I hope your son loves them as much as you do!
By the way – pretty much ALL of the kale chip recipes in my book Practically Raw can be made nut-free by replacing the nuts with sunflower seeds!
Ok, these chips are INSANE!! They taste like pepperoni cheese pizza! I ran out of sunflower seeds so used cashews, but WOW! Sadly, not all my chips made it to the dehydrator (they are also good straight out of the bowl!
) )
Thanks Rebecca! And oh yeah, the coating makes a fab salad dressing too…or even just a hummus-like dip for crackers or raw veggies!
This recipe sounds delish, but I have 2 questions. You list 188 calories per serving, but I do not see info about the quantity you can eat to equal 1 serving. Also the directions say to dehydrate for 8 hours until crisp, but the temperature is not stated….I could make an educated guess but would like to have the benefit of your experience with this recipe for the best possible result. If I mess it up, I might decide I do not like these and miss out on what might be a yummy treat if I had prepared them correctly. Thanks!!
Hi Karen! Great questions. The 188 calories per serving is based on 4 servings (the yield is listed up by the title of the recipe). Since kale bunches can vary in size, and chips can shrink different amounts when dehydrated, I don’t list cup measurements – too unreliable. Instead, just divide the finished batch into 4 roughly equal portions.
Since this recipe is from my book Practically Raw, you don’t get to see here the part in the first chapter where I talk about dehydration times and temps – sorry bout that! Any time a recipe of mine directs you to dehydrate without specifying a temp, you can set the temperature of your machine anywhere between 105°F and 115°F (40 to 46°C). Different people have different preferences, so I let you decide. Also, depending on which machine you have, what season of the year it is, what the temperature and humidity level outside are, at what altitude you live, and what the exact water content of all your ingredients is, you may need to dehydrate a recipe for slightly more or slightly less time than is called for in the instructions…and/or, alternatively/alongside that, at a higher temperature (for less time) or lower temperature (for more time) as desired. Basically, it’s all very customizable! The great thing is that it’s pretty impossibly to mess up. Kale chips can’t be overdried, so you can just set them and forget them – I’ve left mine in the dehydrator for 48 hours before! I actually tend to just keep them in there till they’re gone, as it keeps them crisp.
Hope that helps, and enjoy!
What delicious chips; the sauce smells like a pizzeria! Mmmm Only one problem: every time I check the oven to see that they are not over-cooking, I need to snag a few. The final yield just isn’t as much as I would have expected….
Thank you for sharing.
Rebecca
Bahaha! I too have had that problem with just about every batch. I’ve yet to find a solution…not that I’ve tried very hard…
Thanks Rebecca!
These are the best kale chips I’ve ever made! I knew i would love it when i red the recipe! All ingredients i love. Lol. My two year old likes them too. I’m buying your book. You sold me! #HighRaw Vegan
That is awesome! Thanks Jae!