Ahhh, kale. I’m not going to lie and say that kale is amazing in all of its natural glory–it’s not. It can be chewy, a little bitter, and just tastes super healthy. Braising it helps take away the bitterness, but we don’t always have time for that.

I’m not a big fan of the kale chips I find at Trader Joe’s and other supermarkets. They’re usually made with really thick tahini and cashew butter, and it’s just too much for me. So, I’ve resorted to making my own kale chips at home. These come out super light and airy, almost like dried seaweed.

You will need:

• Kale (bunched, not the chopped prepackaged stuff)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes (optional if you don’t like spice. I do though)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Wash your kale and make sure you pat it very dry. Rip the kale into smallish pieces–you don’t want them toooooo small because they’ll shrivel up as they bake in the oven. As you get closer to the bottom of the leaves, you may want to rip around the stems, as they are a bit thicker and will remain tough and chewy even after baking.

Toss the kale with a drizzle of olive oil, and whatever seasoning you like. For the purpose of this recipe, I said the usual salt/pepper/red pepper flakes, but I’ve sprinkled cajun seasoning on there and it turned out delicious. You could also use lemon pepper. The world is yours.

Take a baking sheet lined with either aluminum foil or parchment paper and spread the kale out in a single layer.  Put the sheet into your preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until crisp.  If you let them cool off a bit, they will crisp up more, but if you don’t want to wait… I don’t judge.