Posted at 20:56h
in
Snack
by Jasmine Briones
I finally got around to making pesto kale chips!
After my family and I had a pizza night, we were left with extra
pesto to use up. I have been making this pesto so often that I almost just opted to throwing it out. My mom, being a mom, took it and stuck in the freezer instead (thank you mom, this recipe would not be here without you!).
So one day, when scouring through the freezer for some frozen fruit for an afternoon snack smoothie, I found a jar filled with something green. I had no idea what it was and to my pleasant surprise it was the pesto that was left over from pizza night. This gave me an idea to make a new snack that I had never made before, and these chips were born!
I grabbed some kale from the garden, washed it, removed the stems and tore it into medium sized pieces. I dumped the pesto over it and massaged massaged massaged until the kale was soft and the pesto was well incorporated. I pre-heated the oven, lined my baking sheets, and baked the kale until crispy.
This was actually the first time I have ever made kale chips with oil and salt. I know it may be shocking to most as kale chips traditionally use oil to make them light and crispy, but think again! I have made numerous flavors of kale chips without oil and I usually use my
green salt in place of normal salt. One of my favorites is my
Spicy Cheezy Kale Chips, which was actually the first recipe I ever posted on my blog. Let me tell you that salt or no salt, oil or no oil, all the homemade healthy kale chips you will make will turn out equally as delicious.
YES, this happened.
The thought of chocolate being paired with kale kind of blew my mind. Initially, I just said why? But the pairing sparked my curiosity...I had to have it. If it involves kale, I'M IN!
If you aren't fond of kale, or if your kiddies who refuse to eat their greens, these are a great way to eat your kale! Sweet, crunchy, and rich deep dark chocolate flavor.
Nutritional Content of Kale:
The first time I ever tried beet chips was at the Hollywood Farmer's Market here in LA on Sundays. I sampled a ton of different beet chips, sweet and savory, and I fell in love. The chips were definitely overpriced, but at the time I did not have a dehydrator and assumed that that was the only way I could get my hands on these beautys.
Well, I was wrong! This recipe uses the oven and will get you the same delicious and crispy beet chips that I fell in love with. I know that most of you do not have dehydrators, so I created a recipe that we all can make! If you DO want to use a dehydrator, review the note on the recipe just in case :) 
