Spicy Smoky Kale Chips
Love kale chips? Try our spicy kale chips recipe for an extra kick of heat to our traditional baked kale chips. These are addicting! 
Spicy Kale Chips Recipe
Baked Kale Chips are always one of our forgotten favorites. When we plow through a big bowl of kale chips, we’re always reminding ourselves to make them again soon. But for some reason, this recipe gets buried under our pile of “must make again” list and regrettably, forgotten. That is, until someone makes them for us and our brains get re-freshed with these healthier “green” chips. The aroma of baked kale is certainly unique and rather pungent. Kale greens are a part of the cruciferous family and although they release a rather sulfer-like aroma, the smell is easily forgotten when you bite in to their feathery light chips.
Add chili flakes
To make these this baked kale a little more exciting, we added some chili flakes for a fun and spicy-kick. After they were baked, you can also add a touch of paprika or cayenne pepper on top for the smoky bonus flavor. Either way, these spicy smoky kale chips are fabulously addicting. They’re so light, crunchy and absorb the flavors of a good sea salt perfectly.
If you’re ever got a hankering for potato chips, try making a big batch of our Spicy Kale Chips Recipe. Kale is obviously lighter and less caloric than fried potatoes, and they’re also greener, which means many more vitamins to add to your daily intake. You’ll be feeling less guilty if you ate a bag of kale chips than heavy potato chips.
start with small amount of olive oil to coat, add chili flakes
better than potato chips! (well, almost)
Spicy Smoky Kale Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- about one bunch of kale , rinsed and dried
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil , or more if needed
- Salt , to taste
- about 2 teaspoons of chili flakes (or to taste)
- sprinkling of paprika or cheyenne pepper power (optional for extra spice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove the kale leaves from their tough end and inner stems. Cut longer leaves in half or preferred bite size pieces.
- Place kale pieces in large bowl. Start by tossing in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. The kale leaves only need to be lightly coated with oil. Too much will make the chips too limp and greasy. Only add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil at a time. Then sprinkle in sea salt and chili flakes.Put the kale pieces in a single layer in a baking sheet lined. You can use parchment paper if you like for easier cleaning.
- Bake for 12-20 minutes or until crisp. Gently flip the chips after baking for the first 12-15 minutes. About 5 minutes before they are finished, you can gently turn them again in the sheet pan for more even baking. They will burn easy, be aware of how they are baking and check on them often. For more smoky or spicy flavor, lightly dust the kale chips with paprika or cheyenne pepper power.
Nutrition Information per Serving
This recipe was originally published in 2011 and re-publihsed in 2021 with updated recipe notes.
I love the idea of making them spicy!
Lovely – I found mine first from Lynda of @tastefood…The cayenne will have to be lost, as my husband chokes on black pepper. Honestly, what does a girl have to do to stand in line for your next
food photo seminar 😉
We’ve got Colorado and Boston lined up this year (Boston is for video though) but I’m sure we’ll manage a few other seminars here and there.
This recipe is perfectly timed — I have a bunch of kale sitting in the fridge that I’ve been meaning to eat, but haven’t gotten to. Since my husband are doing “dinner and a movie” at home tomorrow night, this will provide a healthy balance to the homemade popcorn and pizza we’ll be munching on. Looks delicious!
Someone say popcorn?! We love our evening popcorn! Especially with nutritional yeast, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. That is dinner sometimes!
In my world salted popcorn must ALWAYS have pepper too. Always. Popcorn for dinner got me through medical school. And lots of potatoes.
stunning stuff. I LOVE kale chips, and really like the idea of the smokiness. Fantastic photos as usual. Absolutely jealous of your light in the winter!
Your photos are gorgeous (like usual)! I must try these..!
Now I know what to make with all the kale that is in my fridge.
Wowo I would have never thought of makinf this, wish i could grab from my screen to taste.
Yum!! Have not had these but will certainly give them a try. Seeing your lead in photo reminded me of the linen giveaway. Guess I missed who won those beauties. Would you share where you purchased them?
Wow, adding the paprika and the chili flakes is such a great idea! I usually just use olive oil and sea salt, but I think I’ll give this a whirl tonight. I’ve got three bunches of kale in my fridge since it was on sale at Whole Foods Sunday!
I love that you gave these a bit of heat! I absolutely adored Michelle’s trailer, and I was so excited for all three of you that you were able to work together. I can’t wait to have her book in my hands and thumb through it.
I love kale chips. That first shot is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Brandon!
I love kale chips but always make them the same way. I like the idea of making them spicy and smoky for a change!
These look great! We made some for our blog a while back and someone suggested adding Parmesan to them which we later tried and tasted great!
I have a serious kale chip addiction. For someone who hates vegetables, it is odd that I love such a bitter green! I usually douse mine in nutritional yeast but I am definitely going to try these!
This is the first time I’ve come across this…sounds delicious! Now if only I could find some kale here…
i just bought a bunch of kale to make kale chips. i was just gonna make it without any added flavor but spiciness would be so good!