Sometimes the most simple of things can taste so good. When it comes to plantains, it couldn’t be more true. I love everything about plantains. When they are black with ripeness, they sweetly melt in your mouth. When they are still green, they are heartier than potatoes. I would choose plantain tostadas over potato chips any day.
Home made plantain chips are a staple for me. They’re such a delicious and wholesome snack. I hesitated blogging this recipe, because it’s just so simple. It’s hard for me to consider it a recipe when there are so few ingredients and such little work involved.
Plantains are a great source of beta carotene, potassium and fiber. They also provide vitamin C, protein and calcium. This super food can be subbed for potatoes in most recipes, adding additional health benefits to a number of meals.
Plantains are not only great to eat, they’re also really good for your skin. When I get a sunburn, I skip the aloe vera and turn to my juicer. Applying a small amount of plantain juice on burnt skin can help rejuvenate the skin cells and promote new cell growth. How cool is that?
What is your favorite way to enjoy plantains?
Plantain Chips
- 1 ripe plantain
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ tsp. chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400
Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray, set aside.
Peel the plantain and slice into very thin discs. You can do this by hand or use a mandolin or food processor for extra thin chips.
Toss sliced plantain in olive oil and transfer to the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle with chili powder, salt and pepper.
Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.
Serve warm or cool. Store in a sealed container.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I love that you shared this recipe because I’d never even thought of making plantain chips myself, and I love seeing how easy it is! I also had no idea about using plantain juice on sunburns, I’ll have to remember that too! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks Natalie. Plantain juice works really well and it’s a bit cheaper than aloe. They have a lot of interesting medical uses. In some places in the Caribbean they also use mashed plantains to stop wounds from bleeding. I guess it’s like natures bandaid.
I love plantains too! Usually I just saute them on the stove… I’ve used them as dippers for guacamole, and mashed up into black bean patties – yum! I’ve never tried baking them though to make plantain chips – I’ll definitely have to try that next!
Love them with black beans! yum. Baking them in the oven makes them similar to tostadas without all the oil. Just don’t forget to grease the cookie sheet or they’ll never come off! (for serious, I’ve ruined one before…)
I’m thrilled that you posted this! I love plantains in restaurants and buying plantain chips once in a while, but truth be told I have never tried baking them myself. Glad to know it works so well!
So I juiced a plantain to use for “skin relief” purposes, because I really liked the idea of that, but I swear the whole thing only produced about a tablespoon of juice? Does that seem right? Have you ever tried using the pulp? Do you think it would do the job just as well?
Lorrie, how ripe was your plantain? I find I can get more juice out of one if it’s very ripe. The skin should appear black and it will almost look rotten. Sometimes I will mix in some of the pulp to make a thicker paste and it works well too. Usually when I add in the pulp I’ll use it as a facial mask.
This looks great! But I do have maybe a dumb question, are the plantains that you use something different then regular old bananas? We only get the small, Asian bananas here in Malaysia, do you think they will work? Thank you!!
Hi Stephanie. Plantains are different than regular bananas. They are bigger, lower in sugar and have a lot more starch. You cannot eat them raw (or you can but its like eating a raw potato) If you use regular bananas they won’t bake into chips.
You can bake normal bananas to make a dessert though! Try slicing one in half and keep it in the peel. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes. It’s like a warm banana pudding. I used to make this a lot in college. :)
Hope that helps!
I love to take super ripe plantains, slice the skin down the center, put some ginger juice and sprinkle cinnamon ….cook for 2 minutes in the microwave – it’s like a a banana pudding. It would probably be better slow roasted in the oven.
wow that sounds wonderful Ellen! I’ll have to give that a try!
I made these by the recipe the first time and gobbled them up in a heartbeat. Now I experiment a bit each time I try them with different seasonings. They never make it to the storage phase, because I make them first and snack on them while I’m doing the rest of my cooking and baking. I’d only ever had fried plantains at someone’s home before, so I was a bit intimidated as to what to do with these. Soooo glad there’s 2 Mexican/Latin shops less than a block from my house, so I’m never far from a fresh, easy snack! Oh, and my sister’s addicted to them now, too! Thank you so much for sharing.
So glad you like them Katy! I’m the same way, by the time they’re done I’ve eaten most of them! :)
Do these stay crispy for a few days or are they best eaten right away? My one attempt at plantain chips didn’t quite turn out. I used an unripe plantain, cut them too thick, and i don’t think i baked them long enough…needless to say, they got soggy.
I find they are best eaten the same day they’re made, although they aren’t bad the next day. The thinner you slice the plantain the crispier they will be.
My Mum is one of the best Plantian Chip makers I know and recently when I went home to visit her, she treated me to her latest in plantain chips. Garlic Plantain Chips !!. She simply put the garlic through a garlic press and then rubbed it on the plantain, some salt and then fried. Subtly Addictive.