Air fryer kale chips cook up crispy and perfect in only 5 minutes. Serve them plain or spice them up with one of these 5 seasoning mixes!
Y'all, I made kale chips in my air fryer. No big deal.
Actually, for me, this is a huge deal. I never make my own kale chips anymore, because for some reason spreading pieces of kale in a single layer on baking sheets feels too inefficient to me.
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But I do love to eat kale chips by the handful, and even two baking sheets of chips just feels like so few, considering how long they need to bake.
I've been crazy about my air fryer ever since it landed on our doorstep. These air fryer kale chips are my latest air frying adventure, but be sure to also try my crispy air fryer tofu, air fryer Brussels sprouts, air fryer French fries, and crunchy air fryer avocado fries. You won't be sorry!
Why make kale chips in the air fryer?
When you're making air fryer kale chips, you don't have to worry about creating a single layer, like you would on a baking sheet. Just make sure you give a thorough shake a few times during cooking, so they are able to cook evenly.
Making these kale chips also won't heat up the house, like baking them in the oven does.
They also only cook for four or five minutes. That means, from start to finish, you're looking at about 10 minutes total standing between you and a big ol' pile of air fryer kale chips. That includes the time to make your seasoning blend from scratch.
I KNOW.
How to air fry kale chips
To make these, start by stemming your kale. This is not something you can skip.
You can save the stems and toss them into soups or stews. Just don't leave them on the leaves when you're prepping your kale for this recipe.
The woody kale stems take a lot longer to cook than the leaves, so if you don't stem, you'll end up with chewy stems in the center of your crispy kale chips. Not ideal.
Or, if you cook longer, so the stems get crispy, you'll end up with burnt leaves. Also not ideal!
Don't do it. I ruined a good batch of kale chips this way. Lesson learned!
Once you stem the kale, just massage it with olive oil, and air fry for four to five minutes, shaking a couple of times.
Massaging the kale, rather than just tossing with the oil, will make the leaves heavy enough that they won't fly around in the air fryer too much. That means you don't have to cover them in the basket.
When they're light and crispy, toss on your seasonings and devour them immediately.
Seasoning ideas
You can season your kale chips however you want. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Plain: pinch of salt
- Ranch: 1 teaspoon dried dill, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Magical: 2 tablespoons of my Magical Fairy Dust seasoning
- Easy Cheesy: 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Italian: 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Za'atar: 1 tablespoon za'atar seasoning
If you want to experiment with your own seasonings, go for it! You want one to two tablespoons of dry herbs and spices total.
Crispy Air Fryer Kale Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups loosely packed kale - stemmed (see note)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons seasoning mix of your choice - See notes for suggestions.
Instructions
- Lightly massage the kale with the oil and salt in a medium-sized bowl. You aren't going for a kale salad here, just a little wilting is fine. Then, dump the coated kale into the basket of your air fryer.
- Cook on 370° F for 4-6 minutes (do not preheat), shaking every 2 minutes, checking for doneness. Check in every minute for the last 2 minutes.
- Toss with your seasoning of choice, and eat immediately. These will get soggy, if you try to store them.
Equipment
Video
Notes
Seasoning ideas
You can season your kale chips however you want, using 1-2 tablespoons of herbs and spices. Here are some ideas to get you started:- Ranch: 1 teaspoon dried dill, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Magical: 2 tablespoons of my Magical Fairy Dust seasoning
- Cheesy: 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Italian: 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast
- Za'atar: 1 tablespoon za'atar seasoning
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
I get this question a LOT. Think of an air fryer as a super fast convection oven that makes food crispy and delicious in less time than it would take you to bake it.
I KNOW.
And it cooks even faster than a regular convection oven. A typical convection oven cuts baking time by 25 percent. My air fryer cuts baking time in half, and the results are crispier than you'd get from a proper oven.
Read all about the joys of air frying in my handy air fryer FAQ.
Eat these kale chips immediately, if possible. The ones you buy at the store come bagged with a desiccant, which keeps them from absorbing moisture.
Homemade air fryer kale chips do not come with a dessicant, and they will get soft over time.
The good news is that the recipe below makes an amount that one to two people can easily eat in one sitting.
If you do have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge and know that they will be soft when you eat them. They'll still taste good, but they won't be remotely chip-like in texture.
You can! To bake, spread the kale onto a lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 375° F for 10-15 minutes, or until they're crisp.
Commercial kale chips retain their crunch because they are packaged with a little desiccant pack. You know, that little pack that you throw away after you eat them? It's there to absorb excess moisture, so the kale chips stay crunchy.
You can serve kale chips plain or season them. See the notes in the recipe card for 5 seasoning ideas!
Mary G
Can you fry kale in a fish fryer
Becky Striepe
I'm not sure! That sounds like a deep fryer, and I haven't tried deep frying kale.
Gwen
This worked perfectly for me. I love the shortened time it takes me now with this method. I did however, do a couple of things a lil different. I did it somewhat the same way I do them in the conventional oven for the crispiness I love. My temp and time in the conventional oven was 15 min at 350, season, flip over. Then 15 more min at 350. It takes less than 12 min opposed to 30 for making a batch with your method, and I dont have to worry about burning and ruining a batch. I wash kale leaves, then lay out on paper towels, patting dry, letting batch completely air dry for about 15.
for about 15 min. You can spin dry as well. However, I end up still laying them out on paper towels to dry so I skip all the extra appliances and just lay them out for less work. With your method, I do the first 6 min w/o any ingredients, just leaves, then I take out and toss with oil and seasonings putting back in air fryer for 2-4 min more.. It makes it more crispy to me. Voila kale chips galore in less than 12 min thx!
Reggie Gore
I used beet greens and they were all sucked up into the top in the air blower thingy. Any idea why or how I can prevent that from happening again. The 2 that survived were delicious.
Becky Striepe
Beet greens are lighter weight than kale, which is probably why. I'm sorry that happened to you!
clare
I was hoping there was a tip in this recipe cause I have previously tried making Kale crisps, in AF but like the above person with her beet greens, mine too got sucked up and burnt and got into the workings.
Becky Striepe
Oh dear! I always have a few leaves that fly away like that, but mostly they stay put. Are you tossing them with a bit of oil before air frying? Oil helps add a bit of weight to the leaves, so they don't fly away as easily.
mms
I saw a person recommend placing an extra air fryer rack on top of the kale to prevent this.
Becky Striepe
I've seen that recommended, too. My only worry with that is that it would compress the kale, so the air wouldn't circulate well. That would cause uneven cooking.
Lenore Lounsbury
Cover them with another air fryer rack. This will keep them in place while allowing air to flow around them.
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, this is GENIUS!
Gwen
What is nooch seasoning? Lol
Becky Striepe
It's nutritional yeast, a cheesy sprinkle.
Corinna
This was the fourth thing I made in my Air Fryer and possibly the most successful recipe to date! I absolutely love it, they turned out perfect. Thanks for this!
Becky Striepe
You are so welcome, Corinna! Thank you for coming back to rate and comment -- that means a lot to me!
Janet
Shhh I have to admit hubby wanted an air fryer and I did not because of counter space. Friend gave me one and I LOVE it (except for the space it takes on the counter)
Jonathan
Nice chips
Becky Striepe
Thank you!
Norma Jean
I don't have kale but I have lots of collards. Has anyone tried collards?
Becky Striepe
I haven't, but there is a recipe for collard chips in Kathy Hester's air fryer cookbook! You may just need to adjust the cooking time, so check in often, and add a minute or two at the end, if needed.
Cadry
I'm glad I never shelled out the cash for a dehydrator! These air fryer kale chips were perfect and without waiting hours like with a dehydrator.
Mommommom
So salty :/
Becky Striepe
You can adjust the salt, if you prefer less! ;)
Michelle
Are the yeast flakes mandatory?
Becky Striepe
You can leave them out, but it will be more like a dilly chip than a ranch one.
Nicolette
Do you know if it's required to completely dry after washing the kale? In making kale chips in the past this is always the most time-consuming part. Either way I'm looking forward to making these!
Becky Striepe
I definitely would. Otherwise the moisture will steam the leaves, and they’ll be soft instead of crispy.
Jessica
Hi there, is anyone else having trouble with smaller leaves flying up into the mechanism (and burning until they smoke) or flying out of the pan when you take it out mid-way to shake them up? I made great chips today and am thrilled with how fast the kale leaves get crispy, but I don't think I can do it the same way I did today, since I lost ~20% to the aforementioned problems.
Becky Striepe
Oh wow. I definitely have a few leaves go flying in the GoWISE, but not 20%! What brand of air fryer do you have?
Jessica
Thanks Becky. I have the Philips Viva. It made me really nervous because the few leaves that flew up and got stuck in the heating mechanism were smoking.
Becky Striepe
You know, I have heard that stuff flies more in the Philips. When you remove the basket to shake, can you quickly (but carefully) wipe away any leaves from the inside with a sponge? Maybe some extra shakes, if you smell something starting to burn? Just don't burn yourself!
Jessica
I'm just glad to hear that you've heard of this happening with a Philips, I was worried I was missing a piece or had a defective machine. I will try what you suggested. I'll see if there is some sort of cover/mesh I could cover the leaves, and other light items, with. Love your site, thanks!
Becky Striepe
Good luck, Jessica! If you find a good solution, I'd love if you let me know. I'm sure other folks have the same question. And thank you so much!
Chantelle
Massage the kale with the oil and that helps weight it down.
Kerri
Just read a suggestion to put a steamer rack over them
Becky Striepe
What a great idea!
Denise DeSerio
The method says "toss the cashew ranch and kale pieces together" but I see no mention of cashews in the ingredients, nor in the ingredients for the vegan ranch spice...am I missing something?
Becky Striepe
Oops! I'll fix that wording. It's a holdover from recipe testing when I tried a different method. Thank you for pointing it out!
Denise DeSerio
Oh, great, thanks! I'll be making these tonight! :)
Becky Striepe
Oh man, jealous. We are out of kale, so no chips for me until we shop again. Enjoy them!
Denise DeSerio
They were SO delicious!!! I've never had success making them in the regular oven, so very glad I got an air fryer and very glad to stumble across this recipe. Thanks again!
Becky Striepe
You are so welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed them. Congrats on the air fryer. It's definitely my most used kitchen appliance right now.
Becky Striepe
OK, all fixed up. Thank you again for asking about that!
swathi
I make kale chips never tried with ranch need to try it myself, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning and tweeting.
Becky Striepe
Enjoy, Swathi!
Nico @ yumsome
Wow, these look amazing! I don't have an air fryer, so it's the good old oven for me. Even so...
**rubs tummy in anticipation**
Becky Striepe
Enjoy them, Nico!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
O I think it's snacktime! The ranch sounds delish!
Becky Striepe
Enjoy them, Rebecca!
POPPY
Becky these look amazing! And Ranch!!! I've wanted an air fryer forever, this makes me want one even more!
Becky Striepe
Aw thank you, Poppy!
Kate @ Veggie Desserts
I need to get an air fryer! These ranch kale chips sound incredible.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Kate! You'll love it. You could do these in the oven like regular kale chips, if you can't wait, though!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
You're really making it hard to stay away from this air fryer!! Looks so good!!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Sophia!
Dianne
You've convinced me – I'm asking Santa for an air fryer!
Becky Striepe
Woo woo!
Aimee | Wallflower Kitchen
I've always wanted an airfryer but I've been told that if I get one more kitchen gadget, I'm evicted from the kitchen! Kale chips are the best and I love the sound of this flavour. YUM.
Becky Striepe
I mayyybe purchased this without talking to Dave, because he would have asked me where it was going to go, and I had no idea. I am also banned from further kitchen gadgets without a family meeting first!