Two words – Burger Rings. These crispy, crunchy kale chips taste just like the real thing. Remember that smoky BBQ-y tomato-y coating that those more-ish red rings were doused in? The topping on these tastes almost identical, just without the artificial flavour enhancers, refined sugar, bleached salt, questionably-GMO ingredients, and heat-treated oils. All you need is a blender, a bowl and your oven (or dehydrator), and these smoky little snacks can be yours.
Yes these super Smoky BBQ Kale Chips are…
- Made with 100% whole food ingredients,
- 15 minutes to make and 15 to bake (or overnight to dehydrate),
- Completely additive free,
- A great alternative to regular crisps (for kids and adults alike), and
- Totally reminiscent of those delish burger rings of old.
They’ll also help you use up that bottle of liquid smoke you might have bought a few months back if you made my Smoky Tempeh BLATs, or else you can use smoked paprika too. These ones are tasty, so let’s get chipping!
After making these on a whim, and instantly remembering my mad love for Burger Rings, I went onto google to check out the actual ingredients in those little bags of flavour. This is what I found…
“Cereals (Corn, Rice), vegetable oil, maltodextrin, rice bran, salt, sugar, hydrolysed vegetable protein (soy), flavour enhancer (621), food acids (sodium diacetate, citric acid), flavour, mineral salt (potassium chloride), yeast extracts, onion powder, tomato powder.”
Now apart from the corn and rice (and they’re likely to be GMO), there’s not much going for these from a nutritional perspective. Flavour, yes but health, no. I then went back to tweak my recipe to get an even closer BR match. The result? A combination of tomato, shallot, nutritional yeast, sea salt, with a dash of miso for cheesiness, and pinch of cayenne for bite. These are so close to the real thing it’s insane. Even if you don’t want to make the full chip recipe, just make the sauce! You’ll want to drizzle it over everything from roast vege to fritters, salads to pasta, or just use it as a cheesy creamy smoky dip for your favourite crackers, chips or vegetable crudités.
All you need to do is blend the sauce in a blender until super smooth, massage into your kale leaves, then bake or dehydrate until crispy. I made mine in a dehydrator (I have the 9 tray Excalibur which I love, and you can order from our online store here). In which case overnight at 41°C (105°F) is perfect. Alternatively you can do a quick and easy bake option, at 150°C (300°F) for 10-15 minutes, or until they’re 100% dry and crunchy but not brown.
Give these super Smoky BBQ Kale Chips a go! If you make them, I’d love to see your versions on Instagram. Share your photos and tag me @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics, and @begoodorganics in the image, so I can come say hi. You can also share your pics over on my Facebook page under my latest post here, or leave me a comment below. If you follow me on social media you’ll know I love to share other people’s BGO recreations on there, so I’d love for that next feature to be you!
Meanwhile, I’m off to enjoy the rest of our long weekend in Raglan. Such a cute little town on the west coast of NZ – lots of beach walks (I’ve shared a few pics/insta stories here), cute cafes, tonnes of healthy plant-based food options, organic stores, and surf for those who are brave enough to bare the cold! I used to run into the sea at any moment possible, regardless of the temperature (and especially if there was a $5 bet involved). But now I’m thinking that even $100 can’t tempt me with the cold we’re experiencing right now! Is that a sign I’m getting old? Must be 😉
Enjoy the rest of your long weekend if you’re one of the ex-British colonies like us. Otherwise back to work for you, but hopefully with a bowl of kale chips to look forward to come Friday night!
Til next week, as always, stay happy and well.
PS If you like this recipe, pin it on Pinterest, share it on Facebook or Twitter, or post your recreation on Instagram. As you know, I publish all my recipes here on the blog for free, so if you could share them with your loved ones, I would be forever grateful! Also, if you’re not already subscribed to my weekly recipe emails, be sure to do that here, and don’t miss my next video by subscribing to my YouTube channel here.
Please note – if you are wanting to meet any of the specific dietary requirements below, please read my recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 300 g kale cavolo nero or curly
- 3/4 c filtered water
- 1/2 c cashews soaked 2 hours
- 1/2 c sunflower seeds soaked overnight
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 to mato
- 1 shallot
- 2 tsp miso optional
- Pinch cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Drain soaked cashews and sunflower seeds, rinse and add to blender along with all other ingredients bar cavolo nero/kale. Blend on high speed for one minute, until you have a well-blended and creamy sauce.
- Pour sauce over your kale and lightly massage into the leaves.
- Place on a lined baking tray and into the oven for 150°C (300°F) for 10-15 minutes, until dried and crispy but not brown. Alternatively, you can keep these ‘raw’ by dehydrating for 6-10 hours (or overnight) at 41°C (105°F) until dry and crunchy.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- I dehydrate these in my Excalibur dehydrator which I absolutely love, we stock the exact same one I use in store here. I have the larger 9 tray in black with the clear door, but the 5 tray would also be great if you’re just starting out and don’t think you’ll be a high-user like me. I absolutely love mine and use it more and more the longer I have it. It’s so great for healthy chip recipes like this one, as well as making cookies, bars, pizza bases, or just plain activated nuts and seeds (much cheaper than pre bought ones). If you’re thinking of getting one but have some questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below, or email our girls in store here.
- To make these nut-free, simply use 100% sunflower seeds. Likewise, if you only have cashews handy you can just use these as well. Watermelon seeds would also be fantastic in this recipe.
- If you don’t have a tomato on hand, half a red capsicum is also delicious. The shallot can also be replaced with half a brown onion.
- I love the addition of cayenne powder in these, but it’s entirely optional. Mila loves these with it in though (and she’s only 2), but you can always omit if you have spice-declining kiddos.
- If you don’t have liquid smoke in your cupboard yet (and if not you really should – it’s amazing), you can replace this with 2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. The flavour won’t be quite as strong, but it’ll still be delicious.
- Soaking is ideal to remove enzyme inhibitors on the seeds, and start the sprouting process. You can, however, also use a quick soak method – soak cashews/sunflower seeds for 5-10 minutes in hot or near boiling water, then continue as above for rinsing and draining.
- I’ve used cavolo nero (Italian kale) in these photos, and do like it for kale chips as it holds together well. Regular curly kale (or even red kale) however will taste just as good, just be sure to keep the pieces as big as possible as they reduce in size quite a bit on heating and can be a little more fragile.
Click below to pin!
