These Raw Vegan No-Bake "Cheesy" Kale Chips are an easy and healthy recipe made with only 5 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based snack that's healthier than store-bought chips, can be prepared in about 10 minutes and made with a dehydrator!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- It's A "Raw" Recipe - No Oven or Baking
- Can Be Prepared In About 10 Minutes
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients
You can feel good about making my healthy, plant-based recipe because it's raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, no-bake, lectin-free, alkaline, and paleo-friendly.
Frequently Asked Questions
I Don't Have A Dehydrator - Can I Still Make These?
Yes! I have a "baked" version called Vegan "Cheesy" Baked Kale Chips which you can make without a dehydrator because they are baked in the oven.
What Type Of Kale Should I Use?
There are several different varieties of kale such as these:
- Smooth Kale - This variety has smooth leaves and includes "Lacinato" kale
- Curly Kale - This variety has curly or crinkly leaves and is the most common type of kale
My favorite type of kale to use for kale chips is the curly variety, but either would work for this recipe.
How Do I Keep My Kale Chips From Getting Soggy?
It's very important to store the kale chips in an air-tight, preferably BPA-free, container until ready to serve.
Dehydrating the chips removes all moisture from the kale and this is what makes this crispy.
When they are not kept in an air-tight container, they will absorb moisture from the air which will make them soggy.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Kale: Helpful tips regarding the kale:
- Use either "curly" kale or "Lacinato" kale for the best results.
- Take the extra time to break the thick, fibrous stems off the kale. The stems don't dehydrate well and they will leave a hard piece attached to the chip.
- Don't throw about the stems - they are great to use for juicing!
Avocado Oil: This can be substituted with organic extra-virgin olive oil.
Nutritional Yeast: The only brand of nutritional yeast I will use is this non-fortified brand. It does not contain fortified ingredients, synthetic vitamins, or MSG.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Dehydrator Tip: After you put the chips on the mesh dehydrator tray, put an empty tray with a ParaFlex sheet underneath the mesh tray to catch any of the seasonings that fall off and to make clean up easier.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Kale Chip Recipes?
Check out these:
- Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips
- Habanero Kale Chips
- Lemon Dill Kale Chips
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with 75+ plant-based recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Raw Vegan No-Bake "Cheesy" Kale Chips
Ingredients
For the kale:
- 8 cups organic kale (de-stemmed)
- 4 tablespoons 100% pure avocado oil
For the seasoning:
- ½ cup organic walnuts
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
Prepare the kale:
- De-stem 8 cups of kale, break/tear into bite-size pieces, then add to a large mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the avocado oil over the top of the kale pieces and toss until the avocado oil is evenly distributed using your hands if necessary, then set aside.
Prepare the seasoning:
- Add all ingredients for the seasoning to a food processor and process until it has a fine, crumbly texture.
- Sprinkle ¼ of the seasoning onto the kale pieces and toss as you would a salad.
- Continue to sprinkle the seasoning, ¼ at a time, tossing each time to make sure each piece of kale is covered.
Assembly:
- Transfer the seasoned kale pieces to a mesh dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for approximately 8-12 hours, or until they are dry and crispy.
- Store in an air-tight container because they will lose their crispiness if exposed to moisture in the air.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
Jana says
I have actually fooled people in thinking it was cheese! hihihi. amazing recipe!!
Karielyn says
Hi Jana! That is one of the reasons I love nutritional yeast so much…because it has such a "cheesy" flavor!
I'm glad you liked them and are sharing a healthy recipe with others too 😉
amy says
Hi. I would love to try your kale cheesy chips, but I cannot find where you show how to make the cheese mixture? Did i miss it? Thanks, Amy Howard
Karielyn says
Hi there Amy! These are raw/vegan kale chips so the "cheezy" mixture is made from the walnuts, nutritional yeast, pink himalayan salt and extra-virgin olive oil.
The olive oil is used for the mixture to stick to the kale but once you mix the other 3 dry ingredients, it makes a vegan "parmesan" type mixture and that's what gives them the "cheezy" taste.
Thanks for the question...I hope that helps and that you enjoy them 😉