I tried cheesy kale chips for the first time at the Organic Garden Cafe in Beverly, Massachusetts and was instantly smitten with their faux-cheese taste and crispy-chewy texture. The method and ingredients used to create the coating on these chips are simple: a raw cashew base is blended with roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, a bit of raw tahini and salt, then applied to the kale. A dehydrator then transforms that viscous coating dramatically, giving it a smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture, which perfectly compliments the developed crispiness of the kale.
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CHEESY KALE CHIPS
- Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- large bunch of curly kale, washed and dried very well
- 1 cup soaked raw cashews, soaked in water overnight, then rinsed and drained
- 7 oz. prepared roasted sweet red peppers
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2–3 TB raw tahini
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Remove the kale leaves from the ribs, and rip into pieces. Set aside.
- Place the soaked cashews into a small food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients, then blend well again.
- Coat the kale pieces with the cheese mixture as desired. (I was very heavy-handed with the coating on these, which just covered the entire bunch of kale. If you would like a lighter coating, you can cut the coating ingredients in half, or double up on the kale.)
- Place the smothered kale into a food dehydrator at 130 degrees for 9-10 hours, or until a desired crispiness is reached.
Caitlin says
can you believe i still have never tried a kale chip?? these look absolutely delicious and the cheese looks amazing. i reeeeally need to make these!
Maria Rose says
So simple and I just got a dehydrator!
erinwyso says
Thanks Caitlin! Warning — these are so addictive. I consumed over half of them while Jeff was doing photos — and then consumed the other half the next day. Glad they are really just kale, cashew and red pepper — no guilt! : )
erinwyso says
Maria, I love my dehydrator! This is my first time using it, and I wish I had gotten one sooner — such a nice little appliance to have around! I hope you enjoy yours.
Elisabeth says
OOOOOOOOh, I love kale in any form and shape and this looks beautiful !
Mary Banducci says
These look so delicious! My mother makes kale chips all the time and I recently just got a dehydrator. We've never tried a cheesy version! Yum!
Gil zukcocatering says
I have a catering business in Israel. I am so inspierd from this wonderful dish.
Thank you from Israel