Harvesting health: Cooking with kale chips
What's the story
Kale chips are the new darling of the snack world, especially for health-conscious individuals looking for a nutritious alternative to traditional potato chips.
Packed with vitamins A, C, and K, these crispy treats deliver a healthy dose of nutrients while satisfying your crunch craving.
In this article, we share five creative ways to use kale chips in your cooking, adding both flavor and nutrition to your meals.
Salad topping
Transform your salads
Turns out, crumbled kale chips can add a delicious crunch to your salads.
Swap out croutons for crushed kale chips on your next green salad.
Not only does this increase the nutritional value, it also adds texture and a unique taste.
Kale chips can enhance anything from a basic garden salad to a fancier mixed greens creation.
Soup garnish
Elevate your soups
Soups, especially the creamy ones, can be a little one-note in the texture department. Enter kale chips, your new secret weapon for garnish.
Just before serving, crumble some kale chips over butternut squash or potato leek soup. They add a nice crunch that's unexpected.
This tip is especially great for pureed or smooth soups. The contrast of the crispy kale chips against the velvety soup is chef's kiss!
Casserole crunch
Creative casseroles
Add crushed kale chips to your casseroles for extra crunch and a nutritional boost.
Simply crumble them up a bit and stir them into the topping ingredients before it goes for baking.
They'll fuse with other elements like cheese or breadcrumbs during baking, forming a distinct crust that's both tasty and good for you.
Pasta mix-in
Boost your pasta dishes
If you want a super easy way to sneak some greens into your pasta dishes without changing the taste too much, try adding crushed kale chips just before serving.
They blend nicely with both light sauces like olive oil and garlic and heartier ones like Alfredo sauce.
Just make sure to stir them in at the very last second to keep them crispy.
Healthy snacking option
Snack upgrade
Kale chips are a healthy snack on their own, but when you combine them with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, you get a whole new world of snacking.
For a tasty and healthy snack, make your own trail mix! Just add pieces of kale chips, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and a few chocolate bits.
This combo is the perfect blend of sweet and salty.