Here's How To Make Delicious Kale Chips In The Air Fryer Every Time
Love it or hate it, kale has been one of the most hotly debated recent food trends. There's no doubt that the green, leafy member of the brassica family is packed with nutrition, but it takes a lot of jaw strength to munch your way through an average serving when it's raw. Like most cabbage cousins, kale can be bitter if not cooked properly, thanks (or no thanks) to some of those nutritious compounds. Fortunately there's a foolproof way to make kale into delicious crunchy chips that might just convince the haters to eat their greens, and it ranks among the best of the best uses for your air fryer.
If you love crispy textured foods, chances are you already have an air fryer. That's great news because the hot convection blast inside the air fryer is perfect for making kale chips with less risk of burning them in the oven. Drying out the kale is an important part of getting the crunch, and all that moving air gets the job done quickly.
The no-recipe recipe for success
You won't need to follow a recipe for this simple process, but there are a couple of key mistakes to avoid with kale in general. When making chips, be sure to strip the leafy part away from the fibrous stem. Also, massage the kale with enough oil to make each leaf shiny and green. The oil is key to a crisp chip and helps keep any sprinkled on seasonings firmly attached to the chips.
To season your kale chips, try a balance of salt and acid. Those flavors will balance out any bitter aftertaste. Good acid choices are lemon juice or a splash of apple cider vinegar. Salty homemade ranch seasoning makes the kale chips even more irresistible, or for a spicy kick, try a Cajun spice mix. Rub your chosen seasonings onto the chips to be sure the spice has worked its way into the folds of the leaves, and then load them into your air fryer in a single layer. Cook at the lowest temperature setting, checking the batch every few minutes and turning them to be sure all sides get dried well. You can use the chips as a snack or crumble them on a salad or pasta dish that needs a bit of crunch.