Crispy Sea Salt and Garlic Kale Chips (Oven or Air Fryer)

These Crispy Sea Salt and Garlic Kale Chips are the easiest healthy snack you’ll ever make. Just 4 ingredients, two simple methods (oven or air fryer), and a crunch that holds up like a real chip. Ready in under 30 minutes.

 

Kale chips are one of those snacks that sounds good on paper and then falls apart in real life when you actually try to make it. Too soft, too soggy, too bitter, or even burnt around the edges. After making this recipe for years (and lately, after one reader convinced me to try them in the air fryer), I can tell you making homemade kale chips is actually super simple, the ingredients are basic, and the results are reliably crispy and delicious!

You’ll need 4 ingredients: a bunch of kale, a little olive oil, sea salt, and garlic powder. The whole recipe takes about 25 minutes start to finish in the oven, or under 10 minutes in the air fryer. It’s the kind of snack I make over and over again because it’s healthy, it’s cheap, and it actually satisfies the craving for something salty and crunchy when you want to avoid calorie-heavy snacks.

This is also one of the most kid-friendly veggie snacks I know. My kids will eat a bowl of these in a single afternoon, and I’d much rather hand them kale chips than reach for the bag of potato chips! If you’ve had bad kale chips in the past and written them off because of a bad experience, I dare you to give this recipe a real chance. You won’t be disappointed!!

Most kale chip recipes fail in one of two ways: they go soggy, or they go bitter and burnt. This recipe avoids both because it’s built around the actual chemistry of getting kale crispy.

The first rule is that the kale has to be bone dry before any oil touches it. Water and oil don’t mix, and any moisture left on the leaves turns into steam in the oven and leaves you with limp kale. The second rule is a tiny amount of oil, massaged into every fold of every leaf. Too much oil and the chips go greasy and soft. The third rule is low and slow heat. 300°F in the oven (or 300°F in the air fryer) gives the leaves time to dry out and crisp up without burning the thinner edges.

The flavour is simple on purpose. Sea salt and garlic powder are enough. Once the kale crisps up, the natural sweetness of the leaves comes through and you don’t need much else. If you want to play around with seasonings, the variations section below has some ideas, but I’d recommend starting with this simple version first.

This is the single most important step. Wash the kale, spin it in a salad spinner, then lay the leaves out on clean tea towels and pat them dry. If there’s any moisture left, you’ll get soggy chips. If you have time, you can let the washed kale air-dry on towels for an hour first.

Rip the leaves away from the tough centre stems by hand, into chip-sized pieces (a bit bigger than you think, since they shrink in the oven). The torn edges will crisp up nicely.

2 teaspoons is enough for a whole bunch of kale. Drizzle it on, then massage it gently into every fold and crevice with your hands. If it looks like there’s not enough, that’s right, just keep massaging until each leaf has the thinnest film. Too much oil makes for soft chips.

The kale needs space and air around each piece. If you pile leaves on top of each other, they steam instead of crisping. Use two pans if you have to, or bake in batches

300°F is the temperature sweet spot. Higher and the thin edges burn before the centres crisp.

At about the 10-minute mark, rotate your pan and flip any pieces that look like they’re crisping faster. The back of an oven is almost always hotter.

Kale chips finish crisping during the last few minutes of cooling. Pull them out, let them sit on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes, and then taste one. They should snap, not bend.

A light pinch goes a long way once the chips have shrunk down. You can always add more.

Oven or Air Fryer? It’s your choice! Here are the directions for both methods.

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Pull out two large baking sheets so you don’t have to crowd the kale.
2. Wash and dry the kale. Rinse the leaves and dry them thoroughly. The drier the better.
3. Tear the kale. Pull the leaves off the tough centre stems and tear them into chip-sized pieces.
4. Arrange on baking sheets. Spread the pieces in a single layer with space around each one.
5. Add the oil. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the kale and gently massage it into every fold and crevice with your hands. Add the oil a little at a time if you need to.
6. Season. Sprinkle the sea salt and garlic powder over the kale.
7. Bake. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and flip any pieces that are crisping faster. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, watching closely in the last 5 to prevent burning.

Cool. Let the chips sit on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes to finish crisping, then serve.

The air fryer method is faster and gives you really crispy results, and a few readers have told me they prefer it to the oven method. Here’s how to do it:

1. Preheat the air fryer to 300°F (some air fryers don’t need preheating, check your manual).
2. Prep the kale the same way as the oven version: wash, dry thoroughly, tear, drizzle with oil, massage, and season.
3. Air fry in batches. Add a single, loose layer of kale to the basket. Don’t crowd it.
4. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the basket once at the halfway mark, until the kale is crisp.
5. Repeat with remaining kale.
6. Let the chips cool briefly on a plate or rack to finish crisping, then serve.

Note: every air fryer runs a little differently. Start with 4 minutes and add more time in 1-minute increments if needed. The kale should be dry and crisp, not browned.

Take these kale chips to the next level with one of these delicious variations!

1. Parmesan kale chips. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan over the kale along with the salt and garlic. The cheese crisps up into salty little flecks.
2. Nutritional yeast (cheesy vegan). Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast over the kale before baking for a cheesy, savoury flavour that’s still vegan.
3. Spicy kale chips. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne or smoked paprika to the seasoning for a kick.
4. Lemon-pepper kale chips. Skip the garlic and use lemon-pepper seasoning instead for a brighter, peppery version.
5. Everything bagel kale chips. Swap the garlic powder for 1 to 2 teaspoons of everything bagel seasoning. This one is SO good!
6. Ranch kale chips. Use 1 teaspoon of dry ranch seasoning in place of the garlic powder.
7. Try different kale. Curly kale gives you the most classic chip shape. Dinosaur kale crisps differently – flatter and a little more delicate – but it’s just as tasty!

Kale chips are great on their own as a snack, but they also work as a side or a topping. Pile them next to a sandwich, scatter them over a bowl of soup or a creamy hummus, or set them out as part of a snack board with cheese and dips. They also disappear fast at parties!

For a kid-friendly snack spread, I like to set them out alongside fresh fruit, cheese cubes, pretzels or crackers and a smoothie.

Kale chips are best the day you make them. They lose their crisp pretty quickly because they pull moisture from the air. If you want to store them, the trick is to use a breathable container, not an airtight one.

Store them in a paper bag (lunch bag style) or a loosely covered bowl on the counter for up to 2 days. If they soften, you can re-crisp them in a 300°F oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or in the air fryer at 300°F for 1 to 2 minutes.

• Homemade Apple Chips
• Sweet & Salty Kettle Popcorn
• Oven Roasted Pizza Popcorn
• Garlic Parmesan White Bean Hummus
• Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites
• Berry Banana Oat Smoothie
• Healthy Toddler-Friendly Mini Muffins
• 6 Healthy Travel Snacks for Kids
• Healthy Homemade Frappuccino

Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this salty snack. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel