Vegan cheese sauce coats kale leaves, which are then quickly cooked in an air fryer to make these crispy air fryer kale chips. They are a tasty, healthy snack that is gluten-free, low-carb, and vegan.
These kale chips are so gooood! The “cheese” sauce gets stuck in the nooks and crannies of curly kale which gives them extra punch of flavor. Here is what you will need to make Crispy Air Fryer Kale Chips: kale, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, tamari sauce, water and an air fryer.
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If you are looking for a healthy snack, grab an air-fryer and make these kale chips. They are crispy, cheesy, slightly salty and will satisfy your craving for a crunchy snack. Some kale chips are made with just kale and oil, kind of boring right? I drench my kale in a flavorful cashew cheese to make these chips. I used to bake kale chips slowly in the oven. It would take forever, and they didn’t cook evenly. Now that I air fry them, they cook quickly, evenly and they are nice and crispy.
Kale is a super food that’s full of vitamins and minerals. The cashew cheese sauce on the chips adds protein and healthy fat for a totally guilt-free snack. Kale chips can be stored in a glass container with a loose-fitting lid to retain crispness for up for up to 3 days.
Here is How to Make Kale Chips in an Air Fryer
- Place the kale leaves into a large bowl and set aside
- Process the soaked cashews until mixture forms a thick paste
- Add the remaining ingredients except for water, and process until all ingredients are well blended
- Pour the mixture over the kale and massage into the kale leaves with your hands
- Place the kale onto air fryer trays
- Bake in the air fryer until chips begin to turn golden and crispy.
Tips & Variations For Making Air Fryer Kale Chips
Tips
- The best kind of kale to use to make kale chips is a sturdy kale such as curly kale with large leaves or lacinato kale. Tear the leaves into uniform sized pieces that are not larger than 1 1/2 to 2 inches in size.
- An easy way to remove the stems from kale is to hold on to the bottom of the stem with one hand and run your other hand up the stem which will pull the leaves off of the stem.
- When mixing the cashew cheese into the leaves be sure that the leaves are fully coated with the mixture
- Kale chips taste best when they are fresh, but you can store them in a glass container after they have completely cooled off for up to three days.
Variations
- Spice it up! Add a teaspoon or two of red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce.
- Garlic Kale Chips – Add two extra cloves of garlic or to your taste for a garlicky version.
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PrintCrispy Air Fryer Kale Chips
Kale is coated with a vegan cheese sauce and quickly cooked in an air fryer to make these air fryer kale chips.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Category: snack
- Method: air fry
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and torn into uniform sized pieces – curly kale or lacinato kale works best
1 cup cashews soaked in filtered water for at least 2 hours or overnight
2 to 3 cloves of garlic (to taste)
1 tablespoon tamari sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
up to 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Place kale leaves into a large bowl and set aside
Drain water from cashews and place them in a food processor or blender
Process until mixture forms a thick paste
Add the remaining ingredients except for water, and process until all ingredients are well blended
At this point the cashew mixture will be thick and pasty – gradually add water and process until it becomes a thick creamy texture
Pour the mixture over the kale and massage into the kale leaves with your hands
Place the kale onto air fryer trays
Set temperature on air fryer to 350 and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until chips begin to turn golden and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition information is provided by Nutrifox, an online calculator and is meant to be used for informational purposes only. Even though I try to provide accurate information, these figures should still be considered as estimates.
Keywords: kale chip, kale, air fryer
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I love making kale chips. I usually just make them in the oven. Perfect for a healthy snack…and they never last long!!
they barely last at day in my house Gloria!
I’ve been seeing more and more air fryer recipes and this is a good simple snack so I’m gonna need to get one I think!
Lorie I wasn’t sure if I wanted one, but now that I have it I’m glad I do!
I have never used an air fryer before but they certainly look wonderful, I could snack on those all day (:
This is a healthy snack – love to munch on this any-day! I need to try air fryer next.
We’ve been looking at air fryers but Hubby said he wanted to actually try something made in it first. The kale chips look fantastic and with the cashew flavor I bet they are amazing.
Thanks Marisa
My first kale chips was a few months back that I tried out of packet. It was good. I need to try making at home especially since I can air fry and keep it healthy. Wish we can get kale easily in my part of the world
Air fryers always seem like such fun! My son totally wants us to buy one – and these kale chips are definitely incentive to do it! They really do look uniformly crispy – sounds like you get much better results with an air fryer than with the regular oven! And oh, my – that cheesy topping! Yes, please!
Yes they are definitely uniformly crispy!
Kale chips are a wonderful, healthy snack option! This makes me think maybe I need an air fryer! Lol!
Okay, this air fryer sounds amazing – and so does this recipe!
Thank you Leslie!
This sounds so delicious, I could snack on kale chips all day long and the nutritional yeast is amazing!
Thank you Michelle!
I’ve never cared much for kale chips (and I like the cooked vegetable just fine, thank you, so…) but the combination of the vegan cheese and cooking them in an air fryer sounds much more interesting than any I’ve had! These sound worth trying!
Thank you Anne I hope you like them!
Wouldn’t you know I’ve been looking for a reason to dust off the ol’ air fryer! Can’t wait to try these!
Enjoy!