Dairy Free Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips

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There is a first time for everything. Well, for most things. I would never try Foie Gras or Shark Fin Soup. And I’m not sure if I’ll be trying Durian fruit any time soon either.

But Kale Chips? Oh my! Why did I wait so long to try this? And dairy-free sour cream with cashew nuts?

I read a recipe for Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips from Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health (affiliate link) by Brendan Brazier the other day and I wanted to try making them since I heard from so many people how great they are. Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete who is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition.

Now, I’ve seen recipes for Kale Chips many times before but I was never interested in them because; 1.) the pictures always looked brown and not-so-appetizing, and 2.) who would want to eat dried-up salty green leaves?

But then, when I read Brazier’s recipe for “Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips“, I was intrigued because I love sour cream and onion potato chips. I know. I know. It’s not the same thing but “Why not try something new, for a change?“, I told myself.

In his recipe, Brazier makes sour cream with cashew nuts and apple cider vinegar. And since I’ve been meaning to make creamy soups using cashews, I decided to try making this first. If the recipe didn’t work out, I figured, a tray of not-so-good Kale Chips is easier to swallow than a pot of bad soup, right? Right.

I substituted the onion and garlic powder in his recipe for fresh onions.

The result?

D.I.V.I.N.E.

Oh my gosh. We LOVED them!

Besides the fact that Kale is in season – in fact, it’s sweeter in October than in July – it’s loaded with Vitamin K, A & C, and even some protein.

Sour cream and onion really tasted like sour cream and onion. It is the best vegan/vegetarian substitute I’ve discovered.

It is smooth.

It really tastes like sour cream and onion.

It can be used for any salads or dips.

I was literally spooning it and eating it. In fact, I think I had more than 1/3 of the raw kale with the cream on it before I put them in the oven. I’m going to use this sour cream and onion mixture on thinly sliced potatoes to make my…..you guessed it! And I have to buy more Kale this weekend at the farmers market to make trays of this stuff and store them. And hide them from my family, it’s THAT good.

Here is my adapted recipe.

Dairy Free “Sour Cream” and Onion Kale Chips Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Organic Kale
1/2 C of Raw Cashews
3 Tbsp of water
1/2 C of onions, cut up
3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

Instruction

Soak Cashews in cold water for about 30 minutes.
While cashews are soaking, cut the leafy green parts of kale from the stem and wash thoroughly and drain. (Try to keep the big pieces intact. )
Turn the oven on to 200 °F
Dry the leaves as much as you can with a towel and put them in a large bowl.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Add the rest of the ingredients in a blender and puree.
Add the creamy mixture to the bowl and gently coat the kale leaves by hand.

Spread the leaves on lined cookie sheet in one layer.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the leaves are dry and crispy.

IMPORTANT: Check to make sure that they don’t burn. The recipe in the book said to bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and when I check my oven in 1 hour, they were browned, almost burnt as you can see in the photo. Every oven is different so check your oven in 30 minutes and you can bake them longer if needed

Left in the oven for one hour. Bleh…