Air Fryer Plantain Chips

Learn how to make some delicious yellow plantain chips using the air fryer. They are naturally sweet, super easy, crispy and incredibly addictive. Such a healthier alternative to deep fat frying.

Here is another air fryer recipe for you, this time we are making a snack that is popular in the Caribbean.

Plantain chips are extremely tasty and so easy to make, but did you know that you can make your favourite chips using an air fryer?

Yes, that's right, you can practically use the air fryer for an abundance of recipes and it's always a huge bonus for recipes that are typically deep fat fried.

You can kiss goodbye to those unhealthy potato chips which are high in fat and calories due to being deep fat fried.

Instead, these chips are made using ripe yellow plantain, a small amount of olive oil and pink salt, that's it.

No fillers, additives or preservatives, just the above, how great is that?

The ripeness of the plantain

The key to great plantain chips is to purchase your plantain at the exact ripeness that you need.

You want the outer skin to be high yellow, with virtually no dark spots. As the plantain ripens, just like a banana, the peel darkens until it becomes black.

What also happens is the natural occuring sugars increase as the flesh ripens and the texture becomes soft.

We don't want the flesh to be too soft because the texture would be too mushy to make good chips.

Instead, we want texture that is quite firm and not soft, that's the perfect texture for making these chips.

You can slice them very thinly using a paring knife which is what I did when I made the oven version.

Nowadays, I don't bother using my paring knife since I purchased a mandolin slicer. It does all of the hard work for me with minimal effort.

The steps

• Cut off both ends of the yellow plantain and discard them.
• Slice the peel lengthways (not too deep) then remove and discard the peel.
• Transfer the plantain in a bowl of water with a teaspoon of pink salt and allow to soak for 10-15 minutes (this helps to remove the starch and yield more crispiness).
• Drain and rinse the plantain using a colander.
• Blot the plantain dry with kitchen paper.
• Use a mandolin slicer or paring knife to slice the plantain into thin discs (the thinner they are, the crisper they will be).
• Preheat the air fryer.

• Transfer the plantain chips and pink salt into a large bowl.
• Use your hands to toss and coat the plantain chips in the oil.
• Line your fryer basket with a paper liner (this is optional).
• Place the chips in the air fryer basket and arrange in a single layer with some  overlapping.
• Air fry at 350F/180C for 15 minutes.
• After the first 5 minutes flip the chips over.
• Continue to air fry the chips, checking and flipping them every few minutes until they are done (remove any individual chips that are ready). They burn quite easily to reduce the temperature if need be.
• Once done, sprinkle with additional pink salt, if needed.
• Allow to cool and serve accordingly.

Notes and tips 

• If you want your chips to be the same size, then I recommend using a mandolin slicer and not a paring knife.
• These chips only have a short shelf life, eat them immediately or store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• It is normal for the chips to lose some of their crispiness, you can re-crisp them by re-air frying them for a few minutes.
• It is best to place the chips in a single layer with some chips overlapping, this is more time consuming but the chips will air fryer in unison.
• Feel free to add any additional ingredients i.e black pepper, onion/garlic powder etc..
• Keep a watchful eye on the chips as they are air frying as they can burn very easily and sometimes fly around.

More air fryer recipes to try

• Chayote Fries
• Green Plantain Chips
• Spicy Peanuts
• Kale Chips
• Pineapple Rings
• Breadfruit Fries
• Yuca Fries
• Curried Chickpeas

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