April 8, 2021

How to make kale waffles and kale waffle chips

What does one do when a friend brings over a pound of kale that has overwintered in her garden? Kale waffles!

These kale waffles are my second blog offering for a Week of Waffles, both sweet and savory. First up were the loaded ham and cheese waffles that are going on regular repeat now that I have to pack a school lunch again. Following that were banana oat waffles that kiddo loved, but those need a bit more tweaking.

And now, kale. It’s always amazing to me how a bunch of greens can be reduced to almost nothing.

After blanching the kale for a few minutes and letting it dry, I chopped it in the food processor with the Parmesan cheese. This isn’t necessary, but it was easy, and I didn’t mind the extra washing.

As always, the key to waffles is a gentle touch when mixing the liquid ingredients into the dry.

We had a few leftover waffles after kiddo and I had dinner, so I decided to make kale waffle chips during a zoom call.

Frequently asked questions

Do you eat these with syrup? You could we just ate these with bites of egg. It would have been great with hummus or tahini. The kale waffle chips were dipped into the sumac sauce from the Jerusalem cookbook – have you made it yet?
Why aren’t these kale waffles green except on the edges? My waffle iron has one setting and browns the waffles. If you have a waffle iron with different settings, cook these waffles on low for longer.
Will these waffles freeze? YES. Waffles freeze perfectly, but the waffle chips won’t. The waffle chips will keep at room temperature for about a week, if they last that long.
Can I turn other waffles into waffle chips? YES. There are a lot of uglyducklingbakery waffle recipes, but the fawaffle is probably the one I’d make next!

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Kale waffles and kale waffle chips

Servings 5 1/2 cup waffles

Author uglyducklingbakery

Equipment

Waffle iron

Ingredients

8 oz kale (weight with stems, stems removed and discarded)
1 oz butter, unsalted, melted
¾ cup (94g) bleached, all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
⅞ cup buttermilk measured in a 2cup measuring cup, if possible
1 egg
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the kale for 3-5 minutes (longer if your kale is bigger leaves), drain, rinse with cold water, squeeze out as much water as possible, and let drain. Chop finely by hand or in a food processor with the Parmesan cheese.
In a small pot, melt the butter and let cool slightly.
In a medium to large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt).
In your measuring cup or small bowl, mix the wet ingredients (buttermilk, egg, and butter).
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine only until the dry ingredients are completely moistened.
Add the kale and Parmesan cheese to the mixture.
Waffle the mixture per your waffle iron instructions.
If you want to make kale waffle chips, cut up the waffles into desired size pieces and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet at 200°F for about 90 minutes until crisp. Store at room temperature for up to one week.