Baked Kale Chips
Updated Dec 09, 2025
Baked kale chips, only 3 ingredients seasoned with olive oil and sea salt, roasted until crisp for an easy, oven-made alternative to packaged chips.
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Baked kale chips are crispy and soo good!
I didn’t make baked kale chips for years because I assumed they’d taste like punishment, but then I bought a bunch of kale I forgot to use and didn’t feel like making another soup. Out of curiosity, I tossed the kale leaves with a little olive oil and salt and baked them, and I was really shocked at how fast the whole tray disappeared. Baked kale chips are crisp, salty, and way more addictive than they have any right to be, and now I end up making them whenever I need something snacky but don’t want to open a bag of chips.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Baked Kale Chips Ingredients
- Kale: I like to use curly kale for my kale chips, but any kale will do.
- Oil: I prefer the taste of olive oil, but feel free to use any high-heat cooking oil you like.
- Salt: Go for sea salt if you can!
How to Make Baked Kale Chips
Baked Kale Chips Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a knife or kitchen shears, carefully remove the ribs from the kale and cut into bite sized pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale with a salad spinner.
- Lay kale on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through. Sprinkle with salt as soon as you remove them from the oven.
Notes
- My Top Tip: Don’t use too much oil! It’s easy to think that extra oil will give you crispier chips, but because we’re dealing with a leafy green, too much oil can actually backfire because it adds too much moisture to the kale. Depending on how large your kale bunch is, you can start with a tablespoon of oil (just use enough to barely coat the leaves).
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the countertop for 1 day, or in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Just know that in the fridge, they will soften, so you can re-crisp them in a 250ºF oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Buy your kale on the day you plan to bake your chips. Using fresh, crisp kale is the best way to make sure your greens won’t wilt after you wash and bake them.
- Make sure your kale leaves are thoroughly dried. In fact, it might even help to wash and dry the kale ahead of time to make sure there’s no moisture left on the leaves. This will keep them from wilting in the oven!
- Don’t use too much oil. It’s easy to think that extra oil will give you crispier chips, but because we’re dealing with a leafy green, too much oil can actually backfire because it adds too much moisture to the kale. Depending on how large your kale bunch is, you can start with a tablespoon of oil (just use enough to barely coat the leaves).
- Add salt after baking. Usually adding salt before baking helps with the best flavor. But in the case of these baked kale chips, the salt dissolves and can also lead to wilting. Instead, salt immediately after your leaves come out of the oven!
- Make your chips in the air fryer. As an easy alternative to the oven, you can air fry your kale at 325°F for 5-7 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Serving Ideas
- Add a dipping sauce. These classic salty kale chips are so good with dipping sauces like my garlic aioli, homemade ranch, or Greek yogurt sauce.
- Pair with a sandwich. In place of potato chips, I love serving these kale chips with sandwiches like a tuna melt, a grilled cheese, or a turkey panini.
FAQs
Why are my kale chips soggy?
Your leaves may not have completely dried before going in the oven. Moisture on the leaves can keep them from getting crispy! You also may have overcrowded your baking sheet, which can cause the chips to steam instead of crisp up.
Comments
I see that you don’t recommend freezing the chips, is there a reason why?
Yes, it’s because they will lose their crisp in the freezer and become soggy when they thaw.
Bake as directed and refrigerate.
Throw in air fryer to crisp back up.
PERFECT!
Great tip, KC! Love that!!
What temperature should the oven be set to? Should it be preheated? Thank you.
Hi Nel, you can bake these at 325ยฐF. Enjoy!!
I poured the olive oil in my palm, picked up the kale leaves and rubbed the oil in.
Cooking time is subordinate to feeling the chips to be sure that they have fully dried. My oven took 14-15 minutes to get them well done.
Thanks for your feedback!
I was wondering if the calorie count is with the dipping sauce or without? Iโm trying to find calorie count for homemade kale chips minus sauce.
Thanks!
The nutrition value is for one serving with the dip, but this is likely more dip than youโll need for the amount of kale.
Iโve been making these before I found this recipe.
Wegmanโs grocery stores sell cut up Kale in bags for easy storage.
I donโt add salt, do baked kale chips contain any sodium?
That’s great! If you add salt, there’ll be a little bit of sodium. Considering you don’t add salt, probably not! Or, if there is, it’s a very minuscule amount.
I love kale chips! I put Nutritional Yeast and Everything Bagel seasoning on mine. ๐
Same here! Those are such great toppings!
We loved them! I had never heard of these before and was so excited to try!
Yay! I’m so glad you decided to give them a try!!
Turned out great. So nice to use an abundance of kale straight out of the garden.
Yay, so glad to hear it! What a great use for kale!
Made these as a side to burgers last night. (Trying not to eat so many carbs!) They were completely delicious and completely scarfed down by the family – including my son who had asked me to make sweet potato oven fries. I would have taken a picture but they disappeared too quickly!
So glad you liked them Maria!! Thank you!