If you have a dehydrator, yet have not made kale chips, shame on you! 😉 Because they rock!
I have tried to make kale chips in the past, in the oven, but have failed miserably. The chips were always soggy or thin and overdone, no matter how closely I followed everyone’s directions. When I received a dehydrator for Christmas, I actually didn’t try kale chips first (I know, shame on me 😉 ). I first made juicer pulp-ground flax seed crackers/chips (whatever you want to call them, depending on how thin you roll the “dough” out), which actually turned out fantastic. However, when I started the Gerson Therapy, I stopped eating the ground flax seeds, so I turned to kale– and am I glad I did!
I have this Nesco dehydrator, and so far so good I’ve enjoyed using it.
I used about 3-4 kale leaves, which plenty covers the trays. I pack close, but do not overlap the leaves.
After I wash and dry the kale leaves, I arrange them on the trays. If you would like, you can sprinkle the leaves with spices, garlic powder, or onion powder. I also tried adding apple cider vinegar (hoping to make “salt and vinegar chips”) before dehydrating, but I found that the vinegar flavor goes away once dehydrated. I will try spraying a bit of vinegar on after dehydrating. I have been sprinkling the spices after arranging the kale on the trays, but I’m sure it would work fine putting the kale in a bowl and adding the spices beforehand.
If you are not on the Gerson diet, adding coconut oil and then spices to kale in a bowl before adding them to the trays is probably the way to go.
After arranging the kale, simply dehydrate for about 2 hours at 135 degrees F. I have been following the Nesco instructions for dehydrating vegetables (135 degrees), but will experiment with lower temperatures. I first tried dehydrating for longer times (3 and 4 hours), but have found that the chips are not crispier with the longer time, but disintegrate easier (not desirable to me).
This has been a great snack to come home to!
Don't Eat Poison :) 