Baked Chard Chips, a simple roasted leafy greens recipe that bakes Swiss chard or rainbow chard leaves into crunchy chips. A simple alternative to kale chips!
Move over kale, there’s a new chip in town: chard chips! Yes, baking sturdy chard leaves turns them into a crispy chip that’s similar to kale chips.
👉 Here are three reasons to roast chard into crispy chips:
- They’re tasty. The most important reason is, of course, that chard chips are delicious. Thin, crispy, and healthy, they’re a great snack alternative to potato chips.
- It’s easy. Simply toss in olive oil, add some spices, and bake 10 minutes. Easy peasy.
- It’s a new take on an old vegetable. Chard isn’t just for salads or soups, it can also be turned into a snackable crisp. We love learning how to cook vegetables in new ways!
Ready to learn how to make chips from chard leaves? Let’s do it!
🌿 Ingredients + tools you’ll need
Chard leaves: Chard leaves are a sturdy leafy greens that’s usually used in salads or soups, but crisps up well when roasted in the oven. Chard is also a nutrition powerhouse as it packs a large amount of nutrients per cup serving: it’s high in fiber, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, and has the daily required amount of vitamin K in only one leaf (USDA Food Nutrient Database). You can use either Swiss or rainbow chard leaves in this recipe.
Oil: Oil coats chard leaves and allows them to get a crispy, chip-like texture when baked in the oven. We used olive oil, but you can also use canola, avocado, or other high heat-safe oils.
Spices: Salt and pepper are essential and we give the leaves a light sprinkling before baking, but you can also add other spices like garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and even a drizzle of lemon juice for a punch of extra flavor. Get creative!
Tools you’ll need: You’ll need a baking sheet, a mixing bowl, and a spatula. However, you could get away with adding oil and spices directly onto the greens on the baking pan if you don’t have mixing bowls (or if you’re trying to reduce dish clean up).
🥣 How to make chard chips (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Wash + prep chard leaves
First, give chard leaves a good wash under running water or by soaking them in a bowl of water and jostling them around to remove excess dirt.
Then dry the leaves by either laying them flat to dry (5 minutes) or spinning them in a salad spinner.
👉 Can you bake (and eat) chard stems? You can either trim the chard stems or you can leave them on while roasting, as they are edible and will become crunchy. If you do trim the stems, save them to make food scrap stock.
2️⃣ Step Two: Preheat the oven + prep the chard
When the greens are washed and dried, preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C).
Add the dried chard leaves to a lightly oiled sheet pan and drizzle them with oil. Then use your hands to massage the chard to coat them completely with oil on both side.
Then sprinkle the leaves with salt and pepper, and any other desired spices (see our suggestions below).
3️⃣ Step Three: Bake chard leaves until crispy
Roast the chard in the oven until it’s crispy, but not burnt, about 8-10 minutes total. Flip them once halfway through baking to ensure they are roasted evenly on all sides.
When they’re done, remove them from the oven and enjoy! They’re best eaten right away when they’re warm and crispy, however you can bake them ahead of time and save for snacking later.
❓ Recipe + beet greens questions
If your roasted chard leaves are soggy it’s because they haven’t been cooked long enough to dry out the natural moisture inside the leaves. Simply bake the chard leaves for longer until they dry out, start to become brown, and become crispy.
Chard leaves can be made into salad, cooked into soups, added to smoothies, or baked into crispy chips. You can also sauté chard leaves and then freeze them for later to add to soups and smoothies, or other recipes that require cooked greens.
Chard can be dehydrated in the oven by baking at a very low temperature (about 150 degrees F or 65 degrees C) until the moisture in the leaves is dehydrated. Alternatively, cooking chard leaves at a higher temperature like 400 degrees F will cook the chard leaves into a crispy chip like consistency, similar to kale chips.
🍋 Seasoning variations
This is a foundational chard chip recipe that uses only oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning. However, the seasoning possibilities are endless!
👉 Here are a few suggestions to make this recipe your own:
- Get cheesy with nutritional yeast: Add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, or “nooch”, to your chips for a plant-based cheese chip alternative.
- Garlic and lemon: Add a drizzle of lemon juice and a sprinkle of garlic powder for a lemony-garlic crispy snack.
- Sea salt and vinegar: Drizzle a bit of vinegar and a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper for a salt and vinegar chard chip flavor.
🌱 More baked leafy green chip recipes
Looking for more recipes baking leafy greens? We’ve got you covered:
- Roasted Beet Greens Chips (yup, beet greens are edible)
- Roasted Radish Greens (yes, radish leaves are edible too)
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Baked Chard Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups chard leaves, from about 1 bunch
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
- Optional garlic powder, nutritional yeast, lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash and dry chard leaves: Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water and submerge chard leaves for a few minutes, stirring or moving the leaves around with your hands to make sure as much dirt is removed as possible. Next, remove the leaves from the water and use a salad spinner to remove water and put into a bowl or lay flat to dry (about 15 minutes).
- Preheat oven and prep chard: Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Lightly oil a sheet pan with 2 teaspoons of the oil, then add dry chard leaves and remaining 2 teaspoons olive and, using your hands, massage the greens to coat them completely in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dd any additional desired spices, like a sprinkle of garlic powder, nutritional yeast, or a sprinkle of lemon juice.
- Bake chard leaves: Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping the leaves halfway through baking so they get crispy on all sides. Once they’re completely crispy, remove from the oven and eat immediately for best flavor. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Tools needed: mixing bowl, baking sheet, spatula
- Prep ahead: Wash and dry chard leaves up to three days ahead of time so they are ready to prep for baking when your snack craving hits.
- Leftovers and storage: While the flavor and crispiness is best when eaten right after baking, you can store leftover chard chips in an airtight container on the counter for up to two days.
- Nutrition notes: This recipe made as written is plant-based, gluten-free, nut-free, and is a healthier alternative to traditional chips and crisps.
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