Air Fryer Ranch Kale Chips
I’ve been wanting an air fryer for awhile now, so when I saw a good one on the Amazon Treasure Truck.. I took it as a sign that the universe clearly wanted me to to have this air fryer stat. 😉
Air Fryers are popular because you can get the crispness of frying without needing to actually deep fry something in oil, and they cook food in less time than it would typically take to use the oven. You can also cook almost anything in them - sweet potato fries, salmon - apparently you can even cook a whole chicken in an air fryer.
Kale chips are SO much better when they are homemade than packaged ones - and they satisfy my salty tooth.
Plus, they’re pretty dang easy to make, especially with an air fryer which cooks kale chips in 5 minutes.
I had a lot of trial & error with kale chips - when I first started making them, I’d get some that were burnt and some that were still soft. No bueno.
The BEST trick to cooking kale chips is to massage the kale well so it’s evenly coated in oil. In an air fryer, be sure to shake the basket well to evenly distribute.
You’ll also want to be sure to de-stem the kale as the stems take much longer to cook than the leaves. If you cook these long enough to get crisp leaves, the stem will be hard and chewy - and if you try to cook them long enough to cook the stems, you’ll end up with burnt leaves.
You can certainly tear away the leaves with your hands - but I bought this little tool on a whim (I questioned how well it would work, but it makes it surprisingly quick & easy) and I use it every time now).
Lastly, don’t throw away those stems - you can freeze them and add to soups later.
5 Minute Kale Chips in the Air Fryer:
You’ll need:
1 bunch kale
1 tbsp avocado oil
An Air Fryer (I use the Cosori 5.8 Quart)
Ranch Seasoning:
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
De-stem kale and tear leaves into bite size pieces.
Add oil, seasonings, & kale to a bowl - massage until well mixed & evenly coated.
Pour kale mix into air fryer basket and cook at 360° for 5 minutes, shaking well after 2 minutes.
Remove & enjoy immediately.
(You can always store these in an air-tight container for later, but know that they’ll be a bit softer and not as crisp as right out of the oven.)