This is a recipe that I’ve been thinking about for the last month or so, but my chaotic schedule has kept me from perfecting it. That finally happened this weekend! One of the main reasons I was so drawn to raw recipes nearly two years ago is their ability to take healthy, whole, natural ingredients and turn them into an amazing dish that hardly tastes as boring as a stereotypical salad. The ability to use vegetables and fruits as the base for rich sauces and desserts instead of processed, high calorie, cheap crap. And being able to enjoy chocolate in a whole new light … like coating kale, a super, nutrient dense green veggie, in a rich, decadent chocolate sauce turning it into a treat.
Banana Chocolate Kale Chips
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 cup chopped banana (I used frozen chunks)
- 1/2 cup nut/seed milk (I used homemade hemp milk)
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
Remove stems from kale leaves and chop into bite-sized pieces. Thoroughly wash kale pieces and spin dry. Place the rest of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth, creamy texture. Pour mixture over kale pieces in a large bowl and thoroughly mix with hands until each piece is coated with the chocolate mixture. Place coated chips onto food dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 6-8 hours, until desired crunchiness is met. Enjoy!
Using a flat, plastic spatula worked great for scooping the leftovers from the Vita-Mix container to enjoy. :-)
Massaging the kale leaves with the chocolate sauce was a gooey mess, lots of fun.
I tried half on the Excalibur non-stick sheets and half directly on the dehydrator trays, the chips directly on the trays seemed to crisp up faster even though it made the trays tougher to clean.
While drying, they made the house smell like a chocolate shop – yum!
The flavor of the chips is wonderful! Very rich, chocolaty and kind of s’mores-like interestingly enough. The dehydrated cacao powder tasted like toasted chocolate while the agave seemed to caramelize a bit creating a toasted marshmallow flavor. And it was a treat taking me back to childhood camping trips!
Like kale chips and chocolate? Try this!
How was your weekend and Mother’s Day?
Smores? And Kale? Amazing!
Um, that’s pretty inspired! Delicious, creative and easy …. some of my favorite things! :)
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thanks, they came out great … except you can’t taste the kale at all. :-P
i came up with my chocolate coconut kale chips a few weeks ago and i remember you telling me you were working on something….wow, these look stellar! smores? Yes please!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thanks, your chocolate kale chips look amazing too! My mom tried these couldn’t believe they didn’t taste like kale at all. :-P
ooh what a creative treat! i am with you sometimes it is so hard to try new things in the kitchen when we have to work 5 days a week :(. tonight i hope to try an asparagus gaucomole! have a great monday christine!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Ooh, the asparagus guac sounds awesome!
Oh my god! Three of my favourite foods combined? Damn I wish I had a dehydrator!!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
You could bake these in an oven too!
I’ve tried baked kale chips before and they are awesome – I’d bet I’d like these too!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Yes, but they hardly taste like kale. :-)
I can’t imagine these tasting good – kale + chocolate… such a strange combination. I’m sure they taste amazing though. Do you think this would work in the oven on a low heat? I don’t have a dehydrator.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Sure, they should be fine baked at about 170 degrees to desired crispiness.
Thanks! I’ll be sure to try them tonight.
Just to let you know, I finally tried these last night and they worked well in the oven. The taste was out of this world good too!!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Awesome, so glad you liked them and baking worked well. Thanks for the feedback! :-)