These Air Fryer Kale Chips are made in minutes for a crispy, crunchy, and completely addicting snack that you’ll love! These better-for-you chips are gluten-free, kid-friendly, vegan, high in fiber, and so easy to make that you’ll never go back to store bought again!
Better-For-You Chips
Remember the days when you would race home from school and dive into the pantry ravenously looking for snacks? Most of the time, options include packaged potato chips and sugar-filled cookies that lead to a quick energy rush and hard crash leaving you feeling even more drained than before. Not good.
Luckily, healthy recipes like these Lower Sugar Homemade Healthy Fruit Snacks and Veggie Chips, No Bake Oatmeal Energy Balls, and Easy Homemade Snacks & Smoothies are full of nutritious ingredients for quick snacks that leave you feeling full and energized. So, when presented with tons of vibrant kale, it only felt right to turn it into chips perfect for grab-and-go munching to help fight your hunger.
Salt & Vinegar Kale Chip Ingredients
Below is an overview of the ingredients and recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details and nutrition information.
- Lacinato green kale – Lacinato kale works best in this recipe due to its vibrant green color and mild flavor.
- Coconut or olive oil spray – Using spray oil instead of liquid oil helps reduce the calorie content of these air fryer kale chips and prevents them from becoming soggy.
- Cooking white vinegar – If the salt and vinegar flavor isn’t for you, omit this ingredient.
- Salt – Larger salt flakes work best to cling to the kale chips and add great flavor.
- Lemon juice (optional) – The acidity in lemon juice works to break down some of the bitterness of the kale, making it more flavorful.
- Black pepper – Add as little or as much black pepper as you want!
More Flavor Ideas
For this recipe, I chose to use salt & vinegar flavor, because my husband loves anything salt & vinegar, but you can really use any flavoring you want including:
- Nutritional yeast – A fantastic vegan alternative to cheese, nutritional yeast comes in a powder form and is full of vitamins and minerals.
- Salt & pepper – If you prefer to keep things simple, salt and pepper enhance the natural flavors of lemon juice and oil to create a savory and satisfying flavor.
- Garlic – When in doubt, always add garlic! Powdered versions would work best, but you could add minced garlic as well.
- Onion powder – Add onion powder on its own, or combine it with garlic powder to recreate the classic garlic and onion chip flavor.
- Barbeque seasoning – Barbeque seasoning is great to add a smoky flavor without all the added sugar found in barbeque sauce.
- Ranch seasoning – Skip the dip, and opt for Ranch seasoning instead for mess-free snacking!
How to Make Air Fryer Kale Chips
- Preheat. Preheat your air fryer to 375° Fahrenheit.
Note: If you don’t have 375°F setting, use 370°F, air fry 3 minutes. Shake chips, then air fry another 3 minutes, checking half way for doneness.
- Wash and dry. Thoroughly wash and dry all of your kale leaves. Be extra careful when drying. Any wet kale leaves will turn into soggy chips!
- Rip. Being careful to rip the kale leaves off the stem by pulling away from the rib, tear the kale into chip-sized pieces.
- Season. Toss the torn leaves into a bowl, and coat them with oil spray and your seasonings of choice (I recommend garlic powder, sea salt, and a heavy pinch of salt).
- Air fry. Place half of the seasoned kale chips in a preheated air fryer, and air fry for 4 minutes. Be sure to toss half way through! If needed, air fry for another 1-2 minutes depending on how crisp you want your chips. Just be sure to check them after 1 minute as they burn easily.
- Repeat. Add the kale chips back to your bowl, and add the second half to the air fryer.
- Season again. Once cooked, add all the chips back to your bowl, and season again with sea salt and a splash of lemon juice.
- Enjoy! Serve your crispy kale chips with a vegan Ranch, dipping sauce of choice, or eat them plain.
For Oven-Baked Kale Chips
I love this air fryer recipe, because it gives you crispy kale chips easier than the oven baked version. However, if you don’t have an air fryer, the oven works just fine as well!
- Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 300° Fahrenheit.
- Line baking sheet. Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil .
- Massage. Using your hands, massage your kale for 1 minute.
- Chop & Season. Chop the kale into bite-sized pieces, and add your seasonings.
- Bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Flip rotate. Flip the kale pieces over, rotate the pan, and bake another 10-12 minutes. After 8 minutes check the chips for doneness, and keep a close eye on them so as not to burn!
- Enjoy!
More of Our Favorite
Better-For-You Snack Recipes
Salt & Vinegar Air Fryer Kale Chips (Oven Option)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Air fryer kale chips are made in minutes for a crispy, crunchy, and completely addicting kid-friendly, better-for-you snack you’ll love! Gluten-free, vegan, and high in fiber!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (1 medium bunch) Lacinato green kale (leaves torn, ribs removed)
- 2 teaspoons coconut or olive oil spray
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cooking white vinegar
- Sea salt (or sea salt flakes) to taste
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
- Crushed black pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
Air Fryer Directions
- Wash and dry kale bunch, making sure the leaves are completely dry. If there’s any moisture left on the leaves, you’ll end up with soggy kale chips.
- Rip the leaves off the stems and away from the rib of the kale. Tear into desired chip-sized pieces.
- Place dry kale in a bowl and toss with oil spray, garlic powder, vinegar, a heavy pinch of sea salt or flaked sea salt, and optional crushed black pepper.
- Divide the prepared kale in half to cook in batches. Place half of the kale leaves in a preheated air fryer at 375F (see notes if you don’t have this temperature setting). Air fry for 4 minutes, tossing chips half way.
- Check crispiness of chips and air fry an additional 1-2 minutes watching closely to ensure the kale does not burn. Once crisp, remove kale from the air fryer and place back into the mixing bowl.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the second batch of kale chips.
- Once all chips are cooked through and placed in a bowl, add more sea salt to taste and optional splash of lemon juice. Serve with vegan ranch, dipping sauce of choice, or eat on their own.
Oven Directions
- Wash and dry kale bunch, making sure the leaves are completely dry. If there’s any moisture left on the leaves, you’ll end up with soggy kale chips.
- Preheat oven to 300F. While preheating, massage kale for 1 minute to soften the leaves. Tear or chop leaves into chip-size pieces.
- Season with oil spray, garlic powder, vinegar, a heavy pinch of sea salt or flaked sea salt, and optional crushed black pepper before baking.
- Bake 8-10 minutes. Flip and rotate pan, then bake an additional 10-12 minutes, checking crispiness at 8 minutes.
- Once all chips are cooked through, place in a bowl and season with more sea salt and optional splash of lemon juice. Serve with vegan ranch, dipping sauce of choice, or eat on their own.
Notes
Air Fryer Settings: If you don’t have 375F setting, use 370F and air fry for 3 minutes. Shake chips, then air fry another 3 minutes, checking half way for doneness.
Storage: Kale chips keep in a well-sealed bag or container for 5-7 days.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Snack
- Method: air fry
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 30
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 266.4 mg
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This is such a delicious snack! My kids really enjoyed it!
Thanks for the feedback Toni!
Everyone at my house loved this! Such a delicious snack!
Even my picky kids loved these! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
so glad you enjoyed it Karen!
Looks like a great first recipe to try in my air fryer! Thank you!