How to make cheesy kale chips with a vegan nutritional yeast queso. A simple baked snack with bold, cheesy flavor.
I have a major weakness for chips. If I’m near a bowl or bag, I’ll usually go back for more than one serving. I love the crunch and the salt.
Traditional chips are typically deep fried in oil, which gives them that classic texture and flavor.
A solution I’ve found that satisfies my love for chips is kale chips. They’re crispy, easy to make, and full of flavor.
The only problem? They can be pretty expensive!
Why Are Kale Chips So Expensive?
After trying multiple brands and looking at the ingredient labels, I realized that most of these cheesy kale chips I'm eating are actually make with ingredients that I already have on hand. Cashews, veggies, spices. Pretty standard pantry items.
So why are they so darn expensive?
Food costs obviously depend on a lot of factors. There's the cost of the actual ingredients, the labor costs to produce it, the packaging etc. And for kale chips, I think the two main factors are the food costs and labor costs.
The ingredients for most kale chips are a base of raw cashews and nutritional yeast, both of which are pretty pricey. To top it off, kale chips are usually labeled as raw, which means in order to get them crispy they are dehydrated and that takes a looooong time.
So we've got expensive ingredients + a long production process = $7 for a mini bag of kale chips!
The Secret to Homemade Kale Chips
My favorite thing about kale chips is how crunchy and cheesy they taste. The secret to getting that? Vegan queso sauce and time.
We start by whipping up our nacho cheese sauce. The base is raw cashews that get soaked for a few hours so they can get easily blended. Then we blend that up with a little nutritional yeast (that classic cheesy flavor), some red bell pepper for a little sweetness and spices for an extra punch.
Seriously I could eat this stuff all day long! This recipe usually yields a little extra sauce, so store that stuff for dipping with your cheesy kale chips or to drizzle on top of tacos. SO GOOD!
And then we just simply toss that all together with our raw kale, make sure everything is nice and coated and then bake it low and slow.
How to Make Crispy Baked Kale Chips
Since I know most people probably don't own a dehydrator, I wanted to share a method that makes super crispy baked kale chips that aren't burned. The only thing is you want your oven low and you need to let them bake slowly.
This helps to pull out all the moisture without overcooking them. Kale is a very delicate green when it's cooked, so as it gets heated, it can burn really quickly. That's why you want to keep your oven around 200-225ºF.
If you do have a dehydrator, I also included instructions for that as well!
Super Cheesy Kale Chips…That Are Vegan!
That's right, we've smothered our kale chips in vegan queso, baked them up until crispy perfection and let me just say…these make a pretty darn amazing snack!
They have a great crunch and are full of rich, savory flavor. Using cashews and nutritional yeast adds a creamy, cheesy taste, while the kale keeps them light and crispy.
So if you're a savory snacker, you gotta try our version of cheesy kale chips. Now you'll never have to buy a $7 bag of kale again!
More Vegan Snack Recipes:
- Turtle Cookie Energy Bites
- Rosemary & Garlic Quinoa Crackers
- Quick & Easy Sweet Potato Tots
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Power Bars
Nacho Cheesy Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 2 bunches curly kale
- 2 cups cashews soaked for 2 hours
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne more or less to taste depending on your preferences (optional)
- Juice of 1 lemon 2 - 3 tablespoons
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Add the kale to a very large mixing bowl (or separate into two if you don't have one large enough - you need to be able to toss it around).
- Add the remaining ingredients to a blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth. Pour the 'cheese' sauce over the kale and mix with your hands until the leaves are covered.
- If you have a dehydrator, arrange the kale chips in your dehydrator and dehydrate at 120ºF for 12 - 14 hours, until crispy.
- If not, heat your oven to 225ºF. Spread the kale on two baking sheets trying to not overlap as much as possible. Bake for 90 minutes, flipping halfway through (and swapping your pans on the racks).
- Allow chips to completely cool before storing in a sealed container or bag. They must be TOTALLY cooled or they won't stay crispy!
Video
Nutrition
Very simple and easy, athough time consuming for me because I have a small oven and no dehydrator. I had to do several batches, but the result was very tasty and the leftover sauce was really good cooked with veggies for dinner.
Love this recipe!!
I make this recipe all the time! Easy! Like Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part”!
Sometime I add some sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and a dried ancho chili, depending on what’s in the pantry.
Thanks for this! Any recs for how to cook in an air fryer?
is it possible to just get the recipe and not have to read a book about your life first.
Feel free to use the ‘jump to recipe’ button that is at the top of every post 🙂
Reading must be hard for you, but there is a button to skip to the recipe…but you’d have to read before you got there.
Hi! I was wondering if you have anything else you use the cheese sauce on? I only had one bunch of kale but made the full sauce recipe so I have some leftover and would love to try it out on something else too 🙂
Absolutely! You could use it on this refried bean dip and it is great with these Black Bean Quinoa Bites.
Really good recipe. a little heavy on the chili powder in my opinion. threw in more nutrional yeast to make balance out the cheese and chili flavoring.
I love kale chips – I can’t wait to try this recipe. Any recommendations for a dehydrator??
I used to own this one: https://amzn.to/34sxNYY
I made these last night in my dehydrator. I woke up to a delicious chip! The addition of cashews is perfect! I used half of the chili powder and none of the cayenne, but they are still very spicy. I can’t imagine how hot they’d be if I used it all! I’d cut it even further next time. I can’t wait to make these again!
Amazing!! So glad you liked them, Becky 😉
Made these last night, so yummy. Thanks Alyssa
Amazing!! So happy you liked them, Sally! xo
Yay! This turned out perfectly and the taste is awesome! Can’t wait to try another recipe.
I’m so glad!!
Can you substitute macadamia nuts for the cashews. I’m allergic to every nut but macadamia. Thanks this look delicious.
I actually think it could be!