These crunchy plantain chips are popular in Ghana and are easy to buy. The green, unripe plantains are sliced thinly and fried to crunchy perfection. If you are health conscious or looking to reduce your fat intake, then you can also bake them. In this recipe, I will show you how to do both.
Jump to:
What are plantain chips?
Plantain chips are made from green, unripe plantains either cut into thin circles or thin strips and then deep fried in hot oil. You can either salt your plantains before frying or afterwards.
I personally find that adding very fine salt after frying gives them the best results. If you only have coarse salt available then I would recommend that you dissolve the salt in some water, and sprinkle that on the cut plantain before you fry them.
Apart from using green plantains, you can also use plantains that are slightly ripe. When fried, these are darker in colour than your green plantains, because of the higher sugar content. Sweet plantain chips are just as amazing if not better than salty chips. Absolutely yummy!
Plantains are not only common in large parts of Africa but also in South America, the Caribbean and I believe parts of Asia.
In Ghana, the green unripe ones are also used to make fufu, a thick and starchy dish made from pounding cooked cassava and plantain. Fufu is usually eaten with soup like groundnut (peanut) soup, which you will absolutely love.
When ripe and yellow, plantains can be fried and eaten with beans stew or used to make kelewele.
When overripe, very soft and with black peels, they become even sweeter and can be used to make ofam, kaklo or tatale. From green and unripe to black and overripe, every stage of plantain has its use.
Ingredients
You will need some green plantains, salt and vegetable oil.
How to make plantain chips
The first step is to peel the green plantains.
Never peeled green plantains before? Then you may struggle a bit. Cut along the length of the plantain with a pairing knife and then use your thumb to move the peel around and out.
The peel sticks to the plantain quite a bit but using your fingers or your hands is the best way to remove the peels from an unripe green plantain.
Your hands will be a bit tacky afterwards but this goes away after washing and scrubbing thoroughly. If you're worried about your hands then use gloves to peel the plantains.
The most important thing to note when making plantain chips is to make sure that the slices are thin so that they crisp up in the oil.
Using a mandoline, slice the plantains. At this point, you can either slice the plantain directly into the oil or you can slice them into a bowl to get them ready for frying later. I prefer the former, as it gives you a bit more control, and things don't get hectic.
A quick tip to prevent them from sticking together is to not bunch them together. Put them in the hot oil individually and also do not overcrowd the pan.
Otherwise...
They. Will. Stick. Together. And you don't want that.
Once they are in the oil, move them around in the oil and you can do that with a slotted spoon, fish slice or a wooden spatula.
Once they're crispy, drain on a paper towel and then toss them with some fine salt. Typically, plantain chips are eaten on their own but if you have avocado, make quick guacamole and have that with the chips. This is such a great combo.
Substitutions and Variations
- Half-ripe plantains - if you don't have green plantains but you are able to get half ripe plantains you can use these as well to make plantain chips. The plantains however need to be firm so that they are able to crisp up.
- Baked plantain chips - for a healthier version of these tasty snacks, you can bake them. Spray a little bit of your favourite oil on them bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are crispy, making sure to turn them over half way through.
Baking the plantain chips
You can also bake these plantain chips if you do not want to fry them or you are trying to avoid fried foods.
Add a bit of oil to the slices and mix thoroughly. Then place the slices on a tray with baking paper and bake in the oven over medium heat for about 15 minutes, making sure to turn them over about halfway through.
I do have to admit that they are much tastier fried than baked.
Finally, add some fine salt and enjoy!
Storage
Whether fried or baked, plantain chips hold up very well when stored in an airtight container. They will last up to two weeks and stay crispy when stored this way but lose their crunch if left out in the open.
Tips
Don't leave the plantain chips to get too brown in the oil, they will get slightly darker by the time they are taken out. Remember that they are very thin and will therefore cook quickly in the oil.
Crunchy Plantain Chips Recipe
Equipment
- Mandoline
Ingredients
- 2 large green unripe plantains
- salt fine
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Cut along the length of the plantain and then using your thumb, peel off the skin.
- Using a mandoline, cut the plantain into round slices.
- Heat some vegetable oil in a deep pan for frying.
- Over medium heat, individually drop the slices of plantain into the hot oil and use a slotted spoon to move the slices around. This will prevent them from sticking together.
- The chips will be cooked in about 2-3 minutes. You will hear the chips' crunch as you move them around in the oil, a good sign that they are ready.
- Drain them on a paper towel and then transfer into a bowl.
- Salt according to taste and enjoy!
Video
FAQ
Plantain chips do not need a dip or sauce to make them great. However, if you want something to try, guacamole makes for a fantastic pairing with plantain chips.
Nothing deep-fried is exactly the standard of health. Plantain chips are a snack and therefore if eaten once in a while, should be perfectly fine. If you do have concerns, however, you can bake them for a healthier version.
Tea says
Hi,
I bought my first ever plantains about a week ago. I was so excited, as I always am when I'm about to try something new and to me exotic. I did a lot of internet search for what I'm going to do with them, and decided to turn one into chips. I gathered from your recipe and others' that it's supposed to be really easy, but I'm actually wondering if it's also possible to struggle with this? My heart sank when I took out the first few and even though they were nice and golden, they never crisped up; they were chewy. So the rest I left in the oil longer, but if they got crunchy, it also meant they got pretty dark and though still edible - kind of on their way to burnt territory. Whichever (parts of) slices were lightly golden, they were also chewy, only the dark brown parts had a lovely crispy snap.
Is it my plantains?? They were definitely green, I kept them in the fridge so they wouldn't ripen, but they weren't as lovely vibrantly green like yours, mine were green with a lot of black. Though the flesh was still very firm and bright, and my chips are neutral-tasting and not sweet, so I figure they didn't get ripe..
Though I don't own a mandoline, I don't think I sliced them any thicker than yours were..
I guess I'm just wondering if this happens to everyone sometimes, or if I'm missing something obvious? I found one recipe which soaks the slices in salty water for half an hour - maybe this helps somehow?
Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts in advance :).
Edinam says
Hi there, I’m so sorry to hear that your plantain chips did not turn out the way you would have loved them to. First off, I don’t think there was anything wrong with your plantains. The black marks on the plantains usually come from the way the plantains are handled( think of it as a blemish on the skin). The only reason mine were a vibrant green is because they came straight off the tree and as such without blemishes.
Now on to the chips themselves. The only reason I can think of is indeed that your slices were too thick - plantain chips tend not too crisp up this way. Another reason could be that your oil was not hot enough. If you have a potato peeler try peeling the plantain and frying them it. It should crisp up nicely and should be golden brown and not dark brown. The only time you’d get darker brown plantain chips is when they’re a bit ripe.
I can’t speak to the salty water because I don’t use that method. I hope I’ve been able to help and if not feel free to ask me any more questions.
Tea says
Thank you for your thorough feedback! I appreciate it.
I actually remembered to take the chewy ones and put them in my air fryer for a few minutes and they crisped up nicely, so the next time I play around with this, I won't worry because I have a safety plan if again I don't get it right. But your tips should help.
And thanks for reassuring me about my plantains. Since they're my first ever (that must sound weird to you, like when I read on a Thai person's blog about how perplexed they felt when they saw leeks for the first time:)) I thought that maybe the black spots were signs of ripening. I even have some on the counter ripening as we speak, waiting to get sweet so I can fry and serve them alongside some African bean stew - and they're mostly black, except for some very green parts, no yellow in sight. So I might have thought they were getting overripe had you not said anything, so thanks. I guess I haven't been very gentle with them when I was tumbling through the veggie drawer of my fridge..
Looking forward to finding some more yummy recipes on your blog!
Edinam says
You're welcome! Back to the plantains on your counter - if they are mostly black except for some very green parts then I am not too sure what is happening. Are they soft to the touch? If so - then they are definitely ripe. The green parts are throwing me a little bit off. Ideally the should be green-yellow- black in that order but like I said previously the greens can have some black blemishes on them. Do let me know if they were indeed ripe or not.
Tea says
Hi!
I didn't even see your last reply to my comment (I usually give it a few days to see if someone responded, but maybe I should make it a habit to give it more time!). Sorry to say I don't remember any more how my plantains ended up being, to be able to answer your question. (But I vaguely remember letting them get overripe, perhaps even to make your kaaklo recipe)
I came here for more help as you're officially my personal plantain expert (i.e. the only person I've ever asked a question about plantains:)) because I recently bought another batch in the hopes of making chips again, and my plantains are behaving in a very weird way! (I swear I searched the entire internet before deciding to ask for your time.) I bought them well over six weeks ago, and they *would. not. ripen.* I kept them on the counter the whole time; even in a paper bag for the last few few weeks. They stayed green, *and hard* (only the very tips went black and shriveled/dried). What does this mean in terms of what's wrong with them? I finally decided to fry up some chips with them, but when I cut the tops off, I could see a weird, 1-2mm thick, dark brown ring around the normal-looking flesh. It reminded me of tree bark in texture; it was dry to touch; not icky or slimy. And the plantain flesh *would. not.* peel away from that bark-layer. I could remove the outer peel, but not that inner layer. I suppose I could have peeled them like I would an apple, but I got scared something was wrong, and threw my plantains away.
Do you have *any idea* what might have been wrong with my plantains? Is it a different kind of plantain? Is there a way I can recognize it in the future and not buy it?
Sorry for the long-winded comment 🙂
Thanks!
Rauf Issah Ketekewu says
Hello Madam, Good Morning.. Please am interested in working with your Plantain chips production. I want to sell on behalf of your company from Ghana. please Kindly approve my request to start immediately. THANK YOU
Edinam says
I do not produce plantain chips, this is just a blog that shows people how plantain chips are made.
Tee says
Very detailed explanation. Will certainly try it out.
Edinam says
Thank you!