Cheezy Spicy BBQ Kale Chips

These yummy cheezy, slightly spicy BBQ kale chips have been a staple in our snack rotation for several years now. They are vegan and can be made GF, though they do have nuts.  (Use gluten free tamari and a GF BBQ sauce)

The fun thing about them, is you can easily change it up to use what you’ve got handy in your pantry.

• AS ALWAYS with my recipes- amounts are *ish*
• Taste what you’re making and adjust based on your preferences and based on how much you would like to make. This recipe is easily eyeballed and does not need to be exact (I don’t think I’ve ever actually used measuring cups making this)

You need:

2 heads of Curly Kale

2 tbs of Oil                (I use Coconut or Olive)

2 tbs Mustard          (I had dejan- but use what you have)

1 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbs Garlic               (Add this to taste)

3 tbs Tamari             (Or Soy Sauce)

1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce

3/4 Cup of Pecans   (You could use soaked Cashews as well 🙂

1/4 Cup of Hemp Hearts

1/4 Cup (ish) of Nutritional Yeast

A shake of Onion Powder

A shake of Chilli flakes  (OR Sriracha/ whatever hot sauce you like)

Water to thin

Instructions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350°F (mine was on convection bake as well- note that it cooked a little faster with the fan on)

*You don’t want a super hot oven with these. You could even go lower in the temp and cook for a slightly longer time. Play around with what works for your oven.

2. Wash kale really well (it notoriously has bugs) and de stem the large center stem. MAKE SURE TO DRY THE KALE WELL. Extra water can “steam” the kale chips and lead to a soggy chip. Also, the sauce won’t stick to the kale if the kale is wet.

3. Rip into chip size pieces and try to keep them in a uniform size so they bake evenly.

4. Divide kale in half and put one half in a large bowl.

5. Add all the other ingredients (except water and kale) to a blender and blend until creamy.

You’re wanting a pancake kind of consistency with it- so add a touch of water if needed. Blend to incorporate.

6. Do a taste check and adjust how you’d like (maybe adding more garlic, spices or nutritional yeast etc)

7. Pour half the mixture over the kale in your bowl and mix until coated well.

8. Prep a baking sheet (I’d recommend using baking paper as well so there’s less chance of it sticking)

9. Place the coated kale pieces individually in a single layer on the sheet- MAKE SURE they are spaced out well and not crowded. They will not get crisp if they are too crowded.

10. Repeat with second half of Kale on another baking sheet.

11. Pop your baking sheets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the pans and rotate so the front sides now face the back of the oven. You don’t have to flip the kale on the pan (unless they look like they really need it- your call). The kale will look shrunken and almost a little goopy, but this is normal at this point.

12. Bake for another 12 to 15 minutes. Ish. KEEP. AN. EYE. ON. YOUR. OVEN. This isn’t one of those pop it in and walk away type things. You want to slowly cook them until they are crispy and remove from the oven before the edges are scorched.

13. Remove pans from oven and let the kale sit for 3-5 minutes to cool. It also allows the chips to crispen up a little more if you allow them to sit for a sec.

14. Pop your chips in a bowl, sprinkle a pinch of nutritional yeast on top and try not to eat them too quickly 😛

This batch made a large bowl of chips that were eaten by two people. Best when eaten immediately. You can save them for the next day if you put them in an airtight container, but it’s not the same as fresh ones. ENJOY!!

Tag me if you try out this recipe!