My love for my air fryer comes in waves. I guess it’s like anything. You use it a ton and then you forget about it for a while and then one day you brush the dust off and use it again and you’re like “Why did I ever stop?!” I’m definitely in a period of love for the air fryer (affiliate link) and I’ve been using it for things like brussel sprouts , buffalo strips, buffalo cauliflower and chicken wings! I’ve made air fried kale chips in the past but I thought it was time I get the recipe up on the blog for ya!
For Whole30 purposes, store bought chips are out for the program but making your own chips is acceptable. I most often used air fried kale chips as an addition to meals for something crunchy. Sometimes I used it as a snack but since Whole30 recommends minimizing snacking, I tried to keep that to a minimum. But in my book, air fried kale chips is preferable to shoving some potato chips in my mouth so I made small allowances when I needed to.
The first thing I do is make sure all the hard middle pieces are removed. Those spiny bits never get as crispy and it just works better texture wise to leave them out. Once I do that, then I prep everything for the air fryer (affiliate link). It’s such an easy thing to throw together and you can season with something basic like salt & pepper or you can add some chili powder for spice as I did here. I’ve also added nutritional yeast and it gives it a nice cheesy flavor. Pro Tip: go easy on the salt and pepper! The first time I made these I put the usual amount of salt I would for any other meal and as the kale shriveled up and got crispy, all that salt really took hold. So when I took them out of the air fryer (affiliate link) to taste, it was like eating a tablespoon of salt and I had to trash it. Put way less than you think you need and then you can always add more if you want.
One thing to note about air frying kale chips is you have to keep an eye on them once you start. The kale is pretty weightless once it starts to get crispy so with the hot air swirling around the kale gets thrown around near the vent and can get stuck. I just avoid this by pulling out the basket every couple minutes and shaking. When I first made these I didn’t realize that’s what was happening so my smoke alarm was going off like crazy and I was sitting there like “What is going on?!” So word to the wise, just keep an eye on it.
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Air Fried Kale Chips: Whole30 & Low Carb
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 7 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale (I grabbed a couple large handfuls from a pre-chopped bag)
- Avocado oil spray (affiliate link) (or oil spray of your choice)
- Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rip kale into small pieces and remove hard spines
- Add kale to air fryer (affiliate link), spray with oil and shake basket to coat
- Add chili powder, salt and pepper. I like to do this while the kale is “wet” from the oil so it sticks.
- “Fry” kale at 375 degrees for about 6-7 minutes or until desired texture is reached. *Remember to shake basket every couple minutes to avoid kale getting stuck in the vent)
- Add to a plate and season with more chili powder if desired.
BJ says
Curious about buying the large bag of chopped Kale….When I used one of these for making my favorite soup, I found that they were FULL of really tough stalks and the hard lines of some leaves. I was so dismayed that I continue to chop myself by discarding all the sharp or tough stuff. Would this affect the air fryer the same way?
Jen says
Hey there! I notice the same. In the post I mention the first step is to remove all the harder, spiny pieces for the best results. 🙂
Jackie says
Hey,, is the air fryer a tad more conversations than the oven, since you have to open it to check for kale stuck in the vent all the time? I know with kale, there’s like a one/two minute window where it’s perfect and after that it burns. It’s really the most frustrating thing about kale. Adding the fact that it doesn’t cook evenly on the tray either. Just thinking that the ones getting stuck in the centre are way more prone to burn. And how’s the washing up time of the air fryer and it’s components compare to just thinking the aluminium from the oven trays?
Thinking of buying an air fryer, but won’t if it’s not difficult and time consuming.
Jackie says
Cumbersome*,not conversation lol
Mary says
Please could you tell me what is nutritional yeast. Is it the same as the marmite we use in UK