Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips are a deliciously healthy way to eat your greens; make them in a toaster oven when it’s too hot to use the oven.
PIN Roasted Kale Chips to try them later!
Countless other food bloggers have asked “Why did it take me so long to make kale chips?” so I’ll spare you that and just say that now that I’ve finally made roasted kale chips myself, I see what the fuss is about. Not only are they full of nutritious goodness, but these Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips are delicious. If you don’t believe roasted crispy kale leaves can be that special, I challenge you to try them and see what you think.
When I finally decided to try making kale chips, I found there were endless variations on the recipe, so I tested 6 slightly different versions before I came up with the recipe I liked best, where the kale chips are roasted for a longer time at a fairly low temperature. I wanted to make salt and vinegar chips, and I found I liked the kale best when the salt was added after roasting. I don’t know if adding the vinegar made the kale chips turn more brown, but I didn’t care how photogenic they were because I loved the taste.
What are Kale Chips?
Kale chips are pieces of fresh kale that have been roasted until they are dried and crispy. They’re really quite delicious for everyone who enjoys the flavor of kale.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- kale leaves
- extra-virgin olive oil
- vinegar (see notes)
- sea salt to taste
How to make Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Start with a lovely bunch of curly kale. This was about six ounces, and since I was roasting it in my toaster oven (before the new stove arrived) that was just the right amount to fit on a small cookie sheet.
- Cut away the inner ribs and discard, and then tear the kale leaves into same-size pieces. (I made my pieces about the size of a small potato chip.)
- Here’s how many pieces I got from the 6 oz. bunch of kale in the top photo.
- I washed my kale in a salad spinner, and then spun it dry over and over, until the leaves were dry. If you don’t have a salad spinner, I’d use paper towels to dry the leaves.
- I used olive oil, Spanish sherry vinegar, and sea salt to flavor the chips, but I think any type of salt and vinegar that you like the flavor of would be fine.
- I wanted to “massage” the kale leaves with olive oil to be sure they were well-coated, so I put the chips into a Ziploc bag, added half the olive oil, squished it around, added the rest of the oil, and then massaged some more.
- Then I sprinkled in the vinegar, closed the bag, and shook it until the drops of vinegar were well-distributed on the kale pieces.
- In all the directions, probably the most important thing is to arrange the kale pieces in a single layer on the pan so they aren’t crowded when they cook. Here are my kale pieces when they started out in the 300F/150C oven.
- Here are the chips after they roasted for 10 minutes.
- This next photo is how they looked after 20 minutes.
- They’re a little more crispy after 30 minutes.
- I let them cook five minutes more for a total of 35 minutes roasting time. Sprinkle with sea salt and eat immediately!
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips
I experimented with six version of Kale Chips, but these Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips were the ones I thought were really a treat!
Ingredients
- one bunch of kale leaves, about 6 oz.
- 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 T vinegar (see notes)
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F/150C.
- Cut away inner ribs from each kale leaf and discard, then tear the kale leaves into same-size pieces. (I made my pieces about the size of a small potato chip.)
- Wash torn kale pieces and spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels until they're very dry.
- Put kale pieces into a large Ziploc bag (or use a bowl if you don't mind getting your hands oily.)
- Add half of the 1 T of olive oil, seal bag, and squeeze the bag so the oil gets distributed evenly on the kale pieces.
- Add the other half tablespoon of oil and squeeze the bag more, until all kale pieces are evenly coated with oil and slightly "massaged."
- Open the Ziploc bag and sprinkle the 1 T sherry vinegar over the kale leaves, then seal bag and shake to spread the vinegar out over all the leaves.
- Arrange kale leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet, then roast until they are mostly crisp, about 35 minutes.
- I checked every 10 minutes or so and turned some pieces over.
- I also found I didn't mind if there were a few softer parts on some of the kale leaves, I liked the combination of crisp and softer parts.
- When chips are done to your liking, sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt and eat immediately.
Notes
I used Spanish sherry vinegar, but any vinegar you like the flavor of will work
This recipe adapted by Kalyn with inspiration from many other bloggers who also made kale chips.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 57Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 207mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Dark leafy greens have more nutrition per calorie than any other food source, and these roasted kale chips are a perfect snack for any phase of the original South Beach Diet or any type of low-glycemic or low-carb eating plan.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe
These Roasted Kale Chips with Sea Salt and Vinegar were first posted in March 2010. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2021.
86 Comments on “Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips”
Kalyn – I recently made kale chips for the first time too, a few weeks ago. I love your version, salt & vinegar are my favorite as well. I made a mustard version, but didn't write about them. Now I will so I can add to your list!
p.s. yours look delicious.
clearly the increasing amounts of time i'm spending offline means i missing out on these new discoveries!
everyone else might have heard of it, but i had no idea. thanks for posting about it and spreading the word.
i'm off to buy kale and starting crunching away.
With all the kale that grows in my garden, which rock have I been hiding under to not know about kale chips? I do now, thanks to you.
WOW, what a surprise! Thanks for the shout out on your post!
We love Kale chips …. reminds me I need to make them again soon!!
When I roast brussel sprouts, there are always a few 'chip' leaves that are sooooooo yummy.
I will have to try this recipe!
M
I always make these in the fall when my CSA keeps bombarding me with kale!
I really have to see what all the fuss is about now! I'll have to go get some kale and try out your recipe. Thanks!
ValerieAnne, that's exactly why I decided I preferred a lower temperature because I didn't especially like the overly crisp leaves that I got when I used high temps. I agree, the olive oil saturated slightly chewy parts are the best!
I discovered this last fall. I think I like the chewy olive oil oversaturated leaves better than the crispy, kind-of-burnt leaves. Each batch I make gives me a little of both. I like it with balsamic vinegar. It feels like guilt free snacking. I wonder how much of the vitamins are preserved? Your recipe is lower heat, so that helps. At least, they are absorbable because of the olive oil.
You have totally inspired me to make a version of green chips. I might try swiss chard (per your suggestion). I could use a new tasty savory snack. Thanks, Kalyn!
Here's my very simple recipe for kale chips.
http://delshadduo.blogspot.com/2010/02/kale-chips.html
Next time I'll have to try your lower heat/slower cooking method!
Janice, I haven't tried keeping them but in the comments here someone said they don't keep well. (Okay, I confess I gobbled mine all up each time I made them, even on the reject batches.)
Funny, kale chips seem to be all the rage so we made some last week. While I was in the office upstairs, Liz turned off the kitchen timer, forgetting that we had kale chips in the oven so they got burned. I'm ready to try again and I love the vinegar idea. My 17-year-old daughter loves salt and vinegar potato chips so maybe she'll like these. Do they keep well enough so you could eat them the next day?
Debbi, I'm definitely not claiming my version is "perfect" because I think it's a matter of taste, but I definitely liked them best when they still had a few softer spots.
I've been hearing about them everywhere myself and am about to jump on the bandwagon because I love chips. I love how you tried so many recipes to "perfect" the recipe. Thanks!
The kale chips taste like kale, but with that quality that roasted vegetables get where they're sweeter and a little milder in flavor, and of course these taste a bit like vinegar and salt. Really they are so flavorful.
I saw a blogger who had used this idea with swiss chard, so I think it would work, but I'm guessing the roasting time is less. I think I'll try that with swiss chard myself!
You've convinced me, Kalyn! Tho I love, love, love kale, the idea of chips was a little odd to me. Thank you !
Kalyn: Could you use Swiss Chard instead of Kale? I'm putting in a bed of Swiss Chard this spring, so…I kinda have a self-ish interest here!
Love the header!!!
OK but one question, what does it taste like??
(besides good)