These Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips are seasoned with nutritional yeast making them a healthier alternative to potato chips and other cheesy snacks!
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Inching closer to 40 is a real trip. My body has become sensitive about what goes in it and on it. A couple weeks ago, I was working on sponsored content for a smoothie brand. I had been drinking the smoothies for about a week (it was a really good smoothie mix). Towards the end of the week, I started feeling under the weather and developed a rash all over my body.
After playing the elimination game, I narrowed it down to a whey protein allergy that caused an eczema flare up. It's an allergy I never knew I had, but the smoothies were the only thing I ate/drank differently during the week. Crazy! Needless to say, I removed myself from that campaign and decided to give my body a break from dairy while my skin heals.
I've been pretty mindful about what I eat anyway ever since the holidays ended. Now that my body reset includes less dairy in my diet, I'm satisfying my cravings for something cheesy with vegan cheeses and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast isn't like the active yeast you use to make bread. It's flakey, vegan, gluten-free and used as a cheesy seasoning. It definitely served its purpose for these kale chips!
Every time I make kale chips, I can't help myself. I end up eating them right out of the oven! Just like regular chips, you can't eat just one! Kale chips are delicious on their own with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, and some garlic powder. But nutritional yeast took homemade kale chips to a whole 'nother level by giving them a deliciously cheesy flavor!
Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips
I love kale chips, but let's be real - they'll never be a salty potato chip. But they definitely do the trick when you're looking for a healthy snack with lots of crunch! All you need is one bunch of kale, olive oil, lemon juice, and some seasonings to make a healthy snack that's big on flavor and that classic potato chip crunch!
Grab a bunch of kale from the store. Now, remove the stems and big ol' rib down the center. Tear up the leaves and use a salad spinner to clean the kale. When the kale is nice and dry, add it to a big bowl.
I know it sounds weird to massage the kale, but you want to massage the kale. Add a drizzle of olive oil and some lemon juice to the kale leaves. Then rub them until they almost become wilted. This allows the kale to grab all of that oily, lemony goodness and get a nice coating of seasoning, too.
Speaking of the seasoning, that gets whipped up next! Add some nutritional yeast, cashews, sunflower seeds, and garlic powder to a blender or food processor. Process it until it almost looks like bread crumbs. Then, add it to the bowl of kale and use your hands to mix and coat the leaves.
Prepare a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and spread the kale leaves evenly between both baking sheets. If there's any of the cheese mixture left in the bottom of the mixing bowl, sprinkle that on top of the kale.
Bake the kale chips at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, give the chips a flip and bake them for another 10 minutes, or until the leaves feel nice and crispy. Then, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Once they're cooled you can start snacking!
Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of kale ribs and stems removed and rinsed and dried
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 6 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 tbsp. sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the kale leaves in a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil and lemon juice. Massage into the kale leaves, making sure that they're evenly coated.
- In a food processor, add nutritional yeast, cashews, sunflower seeds, and garlic powder. Pulse until mixture is a texture similar to bread crumbs.
- Add the nutritional yeast mixture to the kale leaves and toss to coat.
- Spread the kale leaves evenly among the baking sheets.
- If any of the yeast mixture is remaining at the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle over the top of the kale.
- Bake the kale for 15 minutes, then flip the leaves and place back into the oven.
- Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the leaves are crispy, but not burned.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
- Store in an airtight container or storage bag.
Make sure the kale chips are completely cooled before you store them. They'll stay nice and crunchy that way so it's worth the wait! Then, you can store them in an airtight container for about four days. Once they start getting soggy, it's time to toss them. But they're so good that they probably won't last that long anyway!
Did you make this Cheesy Vegan Kale Chips recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
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