These Raw Vegan No-Bake Habanero Kale Chips are an easy and healthy dehydrator recipe made with only 6 clean, real food ingredients. They're a spicy plant-based snack that's a perfect replacement for store-bought chips and they can be prepared in under 10 minutes!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- 100% Raw With A Dehydrator - No Baking Or Oven Needed
- Can Be Prepared In Under 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, oil-free, no-bake, paleo-friendly, and Medical Medium compliant.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Kale: You will need to "de-stem" the kale, or pull the leaves off the thick stem in the middle. The stem doesn't dehydrate well and it distracts from the texture of the chips.
My favorite variety of kale to use for this recipe is "curly" kale, but "smooth" kale or Lacinato would also work well.
Cashews: I used "raw" cashews to make the sauce. It' an optional step, but you could soak the cashews before using them which will make them soft and the mixture extra creamy and smooth.
Also, soaking them would be required if you were using a food processor to make the sauce instead of a Vitamix.
- Soak the cashews in a bowl filled with filtered/purified water for about 30 minutes
- Drain and rinse them before adding to your Vitamix or food processor
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the best flavor and nutrients since it hasn't been pasteurized but you could also use store-bought organic lemon juice.
Habanero Peppers: These are extremely hot, so handle them with caution, using gloves or immediately washing your hands thoroughly. Start with (1) habanero pepper and add an extra one if you want your chips extra spicy.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Shrinkage: You will start off with (12) cups of kale pieces which should fill 1-2 trays on your dehydrator. After the kale has dehydrated, it will shrink significantly, leaving you with approximately (3) cups of chips.
Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (3) cups of dehydrated kale chips. Nutritional information is for 1/2 cup which is (1) serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need to Soak My Cashews in Advance?
You can, but it's an optional step that will affect the texture and not the flavor.
Soaking the cashews in advance will make them soft and the habanero mixture extra smooth and creamy.
It's also a good option to use if you don't have a Vitamix and want to use a good food processor to make the sauce.
- Soak the cashews in a bowl filled with filtered/purified water for about 30 minutes
- Drain and rinse them before adding them to your Vitamix or food processor
Can I Make These in the Oven?
Yes, but....
I like to make kale chips in my dehydrator because I like to eat my food as raw/unprocessed as possible and keep the live enzymes intact at the same time. However, I know not everyone has a dehydrator and kale chips can easily be made in a regular oven as I did in with my Oven-Baked Cheesy Kale Chips recipe.
So, I tried a small batch in the oven, and they were "ok".
Because of the thick, creamy habanero dressing, they will not cook the same in the oven or be as crispy as plain kale chips.
Here's what to do:
- Bake them at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or so
- Toss them around halfway through, at the 10-minute mark
- Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn
They also didn't bake evenly. For example, the chips that has a light coating of habanero sauce were nice and crispy, but the chips that had a heavier coating were partially crispy and had to stay in a little longer.
It can be done, but you'll need to keep an eye on them and possibly adjust the baking time some.
What Kind 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.
Raw Vegan No-Bake Habanero Kale Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 cups organic kale
For the habanero sauce:
- 1 1/4 cup organic raw cashews
- 1 1/4 cup water (filtered/purified) (filtered/purified)
- 1/4 cup organic lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1-2 habanero peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
Prepare the kale:
- De-stem the kale, break into small bite-size pieces, then set aside.
Prepare the habanero sauce:
- De-stem the habanero peppers, add all ingredients for the habanero mixture into a Vitamix and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Assembly:
- Add the kale to a large mixing bowl, pour in the habanero mixture, then stir/toss until all pieces of kale are covered and coated.
- Spread the kale pieces out on a mesh tray of your dehydrator.
- Dehydrate at 110 degrees for approximately 10-12 hours, or until the kale pieces are dry and crispy.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container until ready to serve because the kale will get soft and lose its crispiness if left out at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- Soak the cashews in a bowl filled with filtered/purified water for about 30 minutes
- Drain and rinse them before adding to your Vitamix or food processor
Nutrition Information
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Snack Recipes?
Check out these:
- Lemon Dill Zucchini Chips
- Superfood Fruit Nut and Seed Snack Mix
- Roasted Cauliflower with Chipotle and Lime
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating snack recipes 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! 🙂
Hi, I'm Karielyn! I'm the published cookbook author of CLEAN DESSERTS and content creator of The Healthy Family and Home™ website since 2012. I specialize in creating easy, healthy plant-based and Medical Medium® compliant recipes that are gluten-free + vegan and made with clean, real food ingredients that you can feel good about eating.
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