Learn how to make these homemade green banana chips using your air fryer. They are super healthy, crispy, delicious and incredibly addictive. Suitable for most dietary requirements and no deep fat frying is required.
I love green banana and plantain chips, they are my favourite Caribbean snack to eat. Without sounding biased but they are so much better than potato chips.
If you haven't tried making chips at home then now is the time to do so. Besides, green bananas are trending amongst the health enthusiasts so more reason to try them.
What are green banana chips?
In short, they are chips made with either a raw plantain or banana and are very popular in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and South India.
The aforementioned are sliced thinly into small discs or long pieces which are deep fried and flavoured with salt or other spices.
For me, it's like a taste of the Caribbean in your mouth. A few years ago I decided to make my own rather than rely on the storebought ones because they are often deep fried.
I'm not a huge fan of deep fried food so making my own in the air fryer became my only solution.
My family love them as much as I do and I want to share that joy with my wonderful readers.
This recipe is very very simple and you only need a handful of ingredients which is a bonus.
Reasons to make your own banana chips
- You have complete control over the cooking method i.e using an air fryer instead.
- Don't have to rely on deep frying.
- No additives or preservatives are used.
- You can double or triple the batch if you want to.
- You can make different flavoured chips.
- Suitable for most dietary requirements included vegans.
- They make a great healthy snack.
The health benefits of green bananas
Both yellow and green bananas hold equal amounts of health benefits. However, green bananas are a superfood that are highly underrated.
Green bananas are extremely high in fibre meaning they help you feel a lot fuller for longer.
Green banana porridge is a great example of how to use green bananas.
This porridge helps to keep hunger at bay and can often sustain the body until lunch time due to the resistant starch and pectin (these are 2 types of fibre).
Fibre is also responsible for helping to ease constipation by helping with the formation of stools which helps to regulate bowel movements.
Green bananas are ranked low on the glycemix index at 30, they are also good for promoting a health digestive system (keeping gut bacteria healthy) and help to control blood sugar levels after a meal (source)
The steps
- In a medium sized bowl, pour in the water and mix together with the curry powder and pink salt.
- Set the bowl of water set aside.
- Meanwhile, cut off both ends of the green banana and discard.
- Use a paring knife and gloves (green banana can be sticky and stain) to cut away the peel lengthways, being careful not to slice deep into the flesh and discard the peel.
- Immediately transfer each finger of banana into the bowl of water (the skin may have dark spots, which is normal) and leave to soak for 20 minutes (this is an important step to remove the starch and yield crispiness).
- Drain the banana using a colander and rinse them off.
- Blot the bananas thoroughly with some kitchen paper.
- Use a mandolin slicer (my preferred choice) or the flat side of a box grater to slice each banana into very thin chips.
- Mix together the olive oil, curry powder, paprika, chill (if you are using) and pink salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Add the green banana chips and use your hands to toss and thoroughly coat them in the oil.
- Preheat the air fryer.
- Line your fryer basket with a paper liner (this is optional).
- Place the green banana in the air fryer basket and arrange in a single layer with some of the chips 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).
- Once done, sprinkle with additional pink salt, if needed.
- Allow to cool and serve accordingly.
Note and tips
- For best results, I highly recommend using a mandolin slicer. This little gaget will yield very thin slices of chips.
- It is normal for the flesh of the green banana to darken, especially if you peel them very slowly.
- Store any leftover chips in an air tight container for 2-3 days.
- For best results, eat the chips immediately, I find sometimes the chips can soften after several hours but can be corrected by re-air frying them.
- 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, garlic/onion powder etc..
- Air frying time may vary depending on the brand/model of your unit so please use the cooking time as a general guide.
- You will want green banana that has a DEEP green hue to them, with no yellow tint as those bananas are considered "turned" "starting to ripen".
- Keep a watchful eye on the chips as they are air frying as they can burn very easily and sometimes fly around.
More green banana and plantain recipes
- Green Fig Salad
- Green Fig and Saltfish
- Green Banana Mash
- Green Banana Porridge
- Boiled Green Banana
- Sweet Plantain Chips
- Sopa de Plátano Verde (Green plantain soup)
- Plantain Bread
- Plantain Frittatta
- Plantain Burger
- Plantain Curry
- Pastelón
- Yellow Plantain Porridge
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Green Banana Chips (Air Fried)
Ingredients
To soak the green banana
- 4 cups water (946ml)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (4g)
- ½ teaspoon pink salt (3g)
To air fry the green banana chips
- 4 green bananas
- 1½ tablespoon olive oil (21g)or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (4g)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (2g)
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder (3g) optional
- ½ teaspoon pink salt (0.5g)
- additional pink salt to taste, after air frying
Instructions
To soak the green banana
- In a medium sized bowl, pour in the water and mix together with the curry powder and pink salt.
- Set the bowl of water set aside.
- Meanwhile, cut off both ends of the green banana and discard.
- Use a paring knife and gloves (green banana can be sticky and stain) to cut away the peel lengthways, being careful not to slice deep into the flesh and discard the peel.
- Immediately transfer each finger of banana into the bowl of water (the skin may have dark spots, which is normal) and leave to soak for 20 minutes (this is an important step to remove the starch and yield crispiness)
- Drain the banana using a colander and rinse them off.
- Blot the bananas thoroughly with some kitchen paper.
To make the chips
- Use a mandolin slicer (my preferred choice) or the flat side of a box grater to slice each banana into very thin chips.
- Mix together the olive oil, curry powder, paprika, chill (if you are using) and pink salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Add the green banana chips and use your hands to toss and thoroughly coat them in the oil.
To air fryer the green banana chips
- Preheat the air fryer.
- Line your fryer basket with a paper liner (this is optional).
- Place the green banana in the air fryer basket and arrange in a single layer with some of the chips 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).
- Once done, sprinkle with additional pink salt, if needed.
- Allow to cool and serve accordingly.
Notes
- For best results, I highly recommend using a mandolin slicer. This little gaget will yield very thin slices of chips.
- It is normal for the flesh of the green banana to darken, especially if you peel them very slowly.
- Store any leftover chips in an air tight container for 2-3 days.
- For best results, eat the chips immediately, I find sometimes the chips can soften after several hours but can be corrected by re-air frying them.
- 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, garlic/onion powder etc..
- Air frying time may vary depending on the brand/model of your unit so please use the cooking time as a general guide.
- You will want green banana that has a DEEP green hue to them, with no yellow tint as those bananas are considered "turned" "starting to ripen".
- Keep a watchful eye on the chips as they are air frying as they can burn very easily and sometimes fly around.
Carrie Robinson
I am just loving this savory take on banana chips! And bonus points for being made in the air fryer. 🙂
Charla
Thank you so much
Stephanie
When I was little, my mom had a huge food dehydrator and banana chips were my favorite. For some reason, it never occurred to me that I could do essentially the same thing with the air fryer. This is genius!
Charla
Yes, doing them in the air fryer is such a game changer!
Lisa Huff
They definitely do look better than potato chips! I would never have thought about soaking them in water. So much easier with an air fryer than with a pot of oil! Love that!
Charla
Exactly Lisa, such an healthier alternative and thank you!
Beth
Another fantastic side dish to make in my air fryer! These look so crisp and yummy.
Charla
Thank you so much Beth
Lubna
These look extremely crisp and yum. In South India, we relish these as side dish with dal and rice.
Charla
Thanks Lubna, I bet it tastes amazing with dal and rice.