As I mentioned yesterday, I am on the hunt for healthy snack ideas. I used to absolutely love plantain chips. I went through a major plantain chips phase while I was living in Los Angeles about four years ago. I haven’t found any at my local grocery store here in southern Missouri (if you local folks know of some, leave me a comment please!), so I thought I’d try making my own. I couldn’t find any fresh plantains either. Sigh. So I tried banana chips instead.I don’t know all the differences between plantains and bananas. But I do know that plantains are a lot firmer and therefore a little easier to cook with. To try and compensate I decided to buy bananas that were still a little under ripe, a little green around the edges. I also thought that since bananas are naturally a little sweeter I might try adding a contrasting flavor, such as black pepper. I am happy to report that these are absolutely delicious and nearly sweet enough to call them dessert but still super healthy.Sweet & Salty Banana Chips
2 under ripe bananas
1/4 cup brown sugar
coarse grain sea salt + black pepperFirst slice your bananas thin. Next coat them in a little brown sugar on both sides. You really don’t need a lot of sugar here. And be sure to watch out for clumps. Lay the dipped banana slices on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat and a little olive oil. Now sprinkle on the coarse grain sea salt and cracked black pepper.Bake at 400°F for 16-20 minutes. Every oven is a little different so be sure to keep an eye on these! You want the edges to begin to get crispy but the centers will still be a little soft and chewy. It would be very easy to burn or undercook them (mushy, no good!), so be sure to keep an eye on them.These are best (and the most crisp) the day they are made, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container for a day or two. No need to refrigerate. Enjoy and happy snacking! xo. Emma
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Ingredients
- 2 under ripe bananas
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- coarse grain sea salt + black pepper
Instructions
- First slice your bananas thin. Next coat them in a little brown sugar on both sides. You really don't need a lot of sugar here. And be sure to watch out for clumps. Lay the dipped banana slices on a baking sheet lined with a silpat matand a little olive oil. Now sprinkle on the coarse grain sea salt and cracked black pepper.
- Bake at 400°F for 16-20 minutes. Every oven is a little different so be sure to keep an eye on these! You want the edges to begin to get crispy but the centers will still be a little soft and chewy. It would be very easy to burn or undercook them (mushy, no good!), so be sure to keep an eye on them.
P.S. Want other delicious fruit-based recipes? Check out: fruit cobbler (three ways!), baked fruit, bourbon apple pie, ice cream made from bananas, citrus bars (three ways!) and citrus salad.
This looks awesome! What an amazingly tasty looking healthy snack!
Aww, I just loved the recipe and for sure am going to try to make this. I like sweet banana chips alot specially kerala chips. This time I ordered it online from https://southindianstore.com/product/sweet-banana-chips/ and it also so good, really loved it.
I tried making these today but I think I sliced the bananas too thin because I couldn’t get them off the foil after they came out of the oven! and yes, I had to use foil b/c I didn’t have a silpat mat. doh! the flavors were delicious though, of the parts that I could scrape off of the foil! LOL! Next time I will have to slice them thicker but I am deffffinitely going to try again! 🙂
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
I don’t know if you have a Trader Joe’s in your area but they sell delicious plantain chips!
Just made these and they are delicious! My new favorite– not to mention cheap and easy– snack. Thanks for sharing!
Mmmmmm. My hispanic heritage has instilled a love for plantains in me– I should totally get my mom to make these with me:)
xo Melanie
http://thehalfginger.blogspot.com
Bananas are super healthy and yummy as dessert. Most of the time, when we make banana chips, we fry instead of bake 😉
Tried ’em! They were awesome; my husband and I devoured them all in one sitting! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
AMAZING!
I´m not sure I´ll help but, I´m brazilian and here we have at least some 10 types of bananas. 🙂
What you call plantain is probably what we call “banana Terra” (Ground Banana) and is the biggest and the most dry one, kind impossible to eat raw.
The sweetest is the “banana d’água” (watery banana) which is good for cooking with the skin on the microwave and after cooling a bit, peel and add cinnamon.
The best one to cook and eat with the meals is the banana Prata (Silver banana), which has more flavor and it´s a little bit acid.
There´s also Ouro (gold), maçã (aplle) and Figo (ficus), to mention the most popular.
Hope I helped you to find the best banana for you chips and explained the diferences! 🙂
This looks delicious!!
this looks yummy. i will definitely try this!
totally pinning this for later, i like the idea of sweet and salty.
love, moon
http://xfallenmoon.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/xfallenmoon
Pinning this as we speak – they look deeeelish!
x
They look like a wonderful healthy snack – and I’m always on the look-out for them! We had a similar snack in Thailand a couple of weeks back – basically banana crisps. I couldn’t quite decide if they were healthier than potato chips or not! Either way they were delish!
C x
www.cocktailsandcaroline.com
Oh em gee. They look and sound so tasty!
These look so good!
I really want to try them, but the only bananas I currently have are frozen. Would I be able to use those?
Ohhh,I love those ones,they sell them in stores here,so I never tried making them.Now I think I`m going to!:)
I think plantains are more starchy than bananas,don`t you?In Santo Domingo they call the bananas maduros,which means more matured and the plantains banana!Haha,maybe it just means the banana is a more matured plantain?!Well I don`t know either:)
xoxo
I want these in my belly right nooooooow!!!! I am the laziest person on the planet when it comes to preparing food but this recipe looks so easy and so delicious that I just might have to make it! Thanks for sharing!
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
these look so good! x