Kale Flakes…or, How to Get Your Kids to Eat More Vegetables using “Green Sprinkles”

Kale Flakes w Words

I’m 75% more likely to eat something if it has sprinkles on it.

I always grow several long rows of kale in the garden. It’s one of my favorite veggies- it is reliable and hardy and economical to grow. I leave some in the garden through the winter and dig it out of the snow when I need a bunch.

Kale is great for beginner gardeners or those with only a small flower bed or pot on the porch. Where we live, in Western Wisconsin, I almost never see kale seeds (affiliate link) at the local garden shops or greenhouses in spring. It is something I always have to order online, either from an online seed vendor, or from Amazon.

And if you can’t grow your own or it’s not in season, just pick out a bunch from the store.

Any variety of edible kale will make good green sprinkles- I have used Red Russian, Blue Curly Leaf and Lacinato.

What might you put your green sprinkles on?
-a topper for salads
-sprinkled on cooked carrots
-great on fried or scrambled eggs!!!
-on chicken, steak, shrimp, lamb
-sprinkled on thick, salted tomato slices
-use for dips and dressings
-on deviled eggs
-yeah, pretty much on anything

I think kale is near-impossible to measure! Just use as much kale as you have. I used a plastic grocery bag full. I bet you didn’t know that “grocery bag full” is an official measurement. I think its metric.

kale chips

 

kale chips jar

 

kale flakes in jar

1. Acquire kale
2. Remove center vein/large stems from kale
3. Use dehydrator or oven to dry kale
4. Smash kale

If you need more specifics keep reading…

I rip the stems out of the kale, starting from the bottom and going almost to the tip of the leaf. The middle vein at the very top of the leaf is so small that it doesn’t usually need to be removed.

Next I rip the kale into smaller pieces, oh, I’d say about the size of a half dollar coin, or saltine cracker, or a deck of cards cut in half. Those are the only examples I can think of.

Dehydrator Directions: I like to keep the kale in a “raw” state when using the dehydrator, so I set it at 115 degrees F. If your dehydrator doesn’t have temperature settings, that’s just fine too. It only took several hours to dehydrate. And here’s a tip for you (if using an Excalibur Dehydrator (affiliate link)…) turn the dehydrator OFF and wait for the fan to stop BEFORE you take the front cover off, lest you have kale chips blown all over your floor. They will go airborn!

Oven Directions: Toasting it in the oven works just great and gives it even more of a nutty, umami flavor, rather than just a green flavor. In the oven you can roast it at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Watch it like a hawk! When I make kale in the oven I take it out after 10 minutes and remove any of the smaller pieces that are done (started to brown), then return the pan to the oven. I take it out every couple minutes thereafter to remove the done pieces. Burnt kale chips don’t really taste good, so don’t ruin your green sprinkles with them.

Once nice and crispy I put the kale into a large jar and smashed it. It crushed and crumbled down to flake size with very little effort. Use a muddler (affiliate link) or the end of a wooden spoon, or anything else with a blunt end.

Wondering about yield?
I used a “plastic grocery bag” full of kale with the stems on. Once the stems were removed and the kale torn into pieces, I was able to fill nine Excalibur dehydrator trays with a single layer on each one. I used a 2-quart mason jar to put the dried leaves in. I could only put two trays worth in the jar at a time before I had to smash it down…which is what I did. Add two trays, smash it down, add two more trays, smash again… At the end I had about a pint (2 cups) of dried kale flakes.

Sprinkles aren’t just for cupcakes anymore!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through them and end up purchasing an item (any item, not necessarily the one I recommended even!)  I may receive monetary or other compensation. The price you pay is unaffected by using this link, and buying stuff you were going to get anyways through an affiliate link is a great way to support your favorite blogger and fellow homesteader! Thanks!

2 thoughts on “Kale Flakes…or, How to Get Your Kids to Eat More Vegetables using “Green Sprinkles”

  1. Thanks for all the great info here.

    Just wanted to know how long the chips or sprinkles will keep in the sealed mason jar?

    Thanks

    1. Hi Josh!
      Well, it depends…
      If you dehydrate them “raw,” meaning under 105-115 degrees F, they will last a few months and still taste good. If you use any oil on them (which I wouldn’t recommend for this), they will last as long as the oil doesn’t go rancid- so weeks or maybe a month or so.

      If you dehydrate them using a little heat, like on a “vegetable” dehydrator setting or in the oven, they will last a long time. I am still using mine from last year and they taste as fresh as the day I made them! I would plan on them lasting a year if stored well.

      -Crystal

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