Name: Crispy Kale Chips with Everything Bagel Seasoning
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 5 cups fresh curly kale leaves, washed and chopped into 2'' pieces; Olive oil (about 2 teaspoons); 1/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

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This crispy kale chips recipe is one of my favorite healthy snacks. I love to season them with Everything Bagel Seasoning and serve at a party!

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Ingredients for crispy kale chips

Curly Kale - this is the most common type of kale, and the kind you will find pre-washed and chopped in big bags. It produces the most crispy kale chips and is available year-round. Tuscan (aka Lacinato or Dinosaur) kale is thinner and more tender than curly kale. While it's great for cooking, it tends to make a puny kale chip because its difficult to get it crispy.
Olive Oil - whenever I make kale chips, I like to use an olive oil spray bottle or mister to get them evenly coated. Of course, you can also drizzle the oil on and toss them in it. I just find that spraying helps me to use less oil!
Coarse Kosher Salt - whenever I'm making fries or chips of any kind, I like to use coarse Kosher salt to season them. The granules tend to stay on the chip better, instead of dissolving into the oil like iodized table salt tends to do.
Coarse Seasoning - for this recipe, I used Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning to flavor my kale chips. And I'm not sorry about it - it was absolutely delicious on them and the flavor was incredible! It contains a bit of salt in it already, so I cut back on the Kosher salt. Other coarse seasonings I really enjoy on kale chips include Tajin, nutritional yeast, Old Bay, and Cavendar's Greek seasoning.

How to make kale chips

For ease and convenience, I like to buy a big bag of pre-washed and cut kale chips for making these throughout the week. I just dump them on the pan and remove any large chunks of stems. But below are instructions for making these with a bunch of kale that you might have from growing it yourself, purchasing at a farmer's market, or in bulk at the grocery store.

Wash kale and remove stems - run the leaves under cold water and use your fingers to lightly scrub them. Pat dry with a clean towel. Put your fingers at the base of the stem where the leaf starts. Pull both sides of the leaf away from the stem, and pull until the stem is completely removed from the center.
Break kale into 2- inch pieces - you can chop the leaves into pieces with a knife or use your hands to tear them.
Spritz with olive oil - I like to use a spray bottle or mister because it helps me to use less oil!
Sprinkle with seasoning - salt and Everything But the Bagel in this case!
Bake and watch carefully - everyone's oven cooks differently, so start at the low end of the recommended cooking time, stir the chips halfway, and watch them carefully. You'll know they are done when you touch them and everything is crispy, with the edges of the leaf darkened.

Troubleshooting tips

Don't overcrowd the pan - I have found that 5 cups of chopped kale fits nicely onto a standard home oven rimmed baking sheet. If you overcrowd, it will create steam on the pan that will keep the kale pieces from getting crispy.
Don't overseason - it's really easy to oversalt kale chips. You really don't need more than ¼ teaspoon per pan, trust me!
Watch the cooking time carefully - as I mentioned above, ovens can vary quite a bit. Kale chips shouldn't take any longer than 15 minutes max to get crispy, and I always check mine for doneness at the 10-minute mark.
Beware of humidity/moisture - avoid cooking kale chips in the oven alongside something that releases a lot of moisture, like baked chicken or squash. This can prevent them from getting crispy. Also, avoid cooking them on a pan with other ingredients to ensure they get nice and crunchy.

Serving and storage

Enjoy the day you make them - kale chips do not keep well because any amount of humidity or moisture will cause them to wilt. Since they are so easy to make, I just enjoy them the day they are made and make a fresh batch the next day!
Store open-air for several hours - if you need to make them ahead, they will keep in a bowl for several hours. Once you cover them though, they will likely wilt.
Serve alongside:
- Mushroom Swiss smash burgers and easy Italian beef sandwiches -why do fries and potato chips get all the attention?
- Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes- a fun topping for potatoes!
- Topping for pizza pasta salad, rustic roasted grape and chicken sausage pizza, nachos, soups - use kale chips instead of croutons!
- Popcorn - mix kale chips with popcorn for a nutrient-dense snack.
- Charcuterie boards - the kale chips on a charcuterie board will lend color and crunch factor. It will likely also be a conversation starter!

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