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?
bitt says
May 8, 2011 at 9:30 pmSmores? And Kale? Amazing!
JL goes Vegan says
May 9, 2011 at 2:03 amUm, that’s pretty inspired! Delicious, creative and easy …. some of my favorite things! :)
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:21 pmThanks, they came out great … except you can’t taste the kale at all. :-P
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
May 9, 2011 at 2:59 ami 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!
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:20 pmThanks, your chocolate kale chips look amazing too! My mom tried these couldn’t believe they didn’t taste like kale at all. :-P
kalli says
May 9, 2011 at 5:03 amooh 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!
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:19 pmOoh, the asparagus guac sounds awesome!
Karin says
May 9, 2011 at 8:24 amOh my god! Three of my favourite foods combined? Damn I wish I had a dehydrator!!
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:19 pmYou could bake these in an oven too!
Jenn@slim-shoppin says
May 9, 2011 at 5:25 pmI’ve tried baked kale chips before and they are awesome – I’d bet I’d like these too!
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:18 pmYes, but they hardly taste like kale. :-)
Steph says
May 9, 2011 at 8:35 pmI 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.
christine says
May 9, 2011 at 8:47 pmSure, they should be fine baked at about 170 degrees to desired crispiness.
Steph says
May 9, 2011 at 8:49 pmThanks! I’ll be sure to try them tonight.
Steph says
May 11, 2011 at 8:22 pmJust 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!!
christine says
May 12, 2011 at 9:03 pmAwesome, so glad you liked them and baking worked well. Thanks for the feedback! :-)