Smoky BBQ Kale Chips

Two words. Burger Rings. But in a kale chip! The smoky BBQ tomato coating on these is everything you loved about those orange little rings, without the nasties. Healthy, vegan, dairy, gluten and sugar free.

Makes 1 big bowl to share. Takes 15 minutes (+ 15 mins to bake / overnight to dehydrate).

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 252kcal

Author Buffy Ellen Gill

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!

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.

Nutrition