This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
If you’ve never made banana chips at home, you’re in for a surprise. All you need are a couple of bananas and a little patience while they bake. The result is a naturally sweet snack that everyone loves.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Chips Recipe
Homemade banana chips are one of the easiest healthy snacks you can make. They’re naturally sweet, crisp around the edges, chewy in the center, and perfect for snack boxes and school lunches. The recipe can be scaled up or down. Personally, I usually make a double batch because they disappear fast.
Best Bananas to Make Banana Chips
Ripe, yellow bananas with a few brown speckles work great because they have the perfect balance of sweetness and are firm enough to slice. Avoid green bananas, which aren’t sweet enough, and overly brown bananas, which tend to be too soft and can become mushy instead of crisp.
How to Make Banana Chips
If this is your first time making banana chips, the short video in the recipe walks you through these steps:
- Prep
Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, slice the bananas and place them on the baking sheet. - Reduce browning
Bananas will naturally brown as they dehydrate in the oven, but you can preserve most of their yellow color by brushing a lemon-water mixture (4 parts water, 1 part lemon juice) over each slice or soaking them in a bowl. Don’t worry, they won’t taste like lemon juice. - Bake
They should be spread out on a sheet pan, with a little space in between. If you’re making a lot, you can bake several sheet pans at the same time; just swap positions halfway through baking. Depending on their thickness, they’ll take between 1 ½ and 2 hours for the bananas to crisp up (become chips).
- Cool & store
Cool completely on the baking sheet before storing them in an airtight container for up to one week.
Stop Wondering What to Pack.
Pack lunches your kids will actually eat with 101 lunch ideas, practical packing tips, a complete Thermos Lunch Guide, and my Pack Meals Like a Pro bonus.
Banana Chips FAQ’s:
No. Lemon juice helps slow browning and keeps the banana slices looking lighter, but it’s optional. The banana chips will still bake and taste great without it.
Yes, but expect different results. Green bananas and plantains make a starchier, less sweet chip that’s more similar to store-bought banana chips. They may also need a slightly longer baking time.
Banana chips continue to crisp as they cool. If they’re still soft after cooling, they likely need more baking time. Slicing the bananas too thick or using overly ripe bananas can also make them chewier.
After they’ve cooled completely, store them in an airtight container for up to a week. If they’re left uncovered or you live in a humid environment, they might soften over time. Add a piece of sandwich bread inside the bag or container to absorb the moisture. Or, you can pop them back into a 250F oven for 10 minutes to crisp them up again.
Yes. Slice the bananas evenly and cook them at a low temperature until lightly golden. At 250F they’ll take about 35 minutes. At 300F they’ll take about 25 minutes, although every air fryer cooks a little differently.
No. They keep best in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigeration can introduce moisture, making them soften faster.
More Healthy Snack Ideas
If you love healthy baked snacks, try making apple chips, no-bake energy bites, and homemade fruit roll-ups.
Homemade Baked Banana Chips
Watch How It’s Made:
Ingredients
- 4 bananas
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup water
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 250F with the top rack positioned in the middle. Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a shallow bowl or pie dish, combine ½ cup water with 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
- Slice the bananas between ⅛ and ¼-inch slices. Soak them in the lemon water mixture and transfer them to the lined baking sheet, making sure there's a little space between each slice. They can be tight but in a single layer. You can also brush them with the lemon juice mixture using a basting brush.
Bake
- Bake them in the preheated oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until they are mostly crispy, flipping them over halfway through and swapping the baking sheet positions about 1 hour in. Visually, they'll be medium golden brown, with some yellow left.
- Remove the sheet pans from the oven and let the banana chips cool down completely on the counter. They'll be slightly soft at first, but they crisp up as they cool.
Storage:
- Once the banana chips have fully cooled, transfer them into an airtight container or zip bag where they'll keep for a week at room temperature.
Notes
- Make them sweet: Use ripe bananas and sprinkle with cinnamon after brushing with the lemon water. Follow the baking directions above.
- Make them spicy: Add ¼ teaspoon of sriracha or hot sauce to the lemon water mixture and brush it over the banana slices.
- In the air fryer: Slice the bananas evenly and cook them at a low temperature until lightly golden. At 250F they’ll take about 35 minutes. At 300F they’ll take about 25 minutes, although every air fryer cooks a little differently.
James says
Good
Mrs.M says
My review is in the middle because I find it troubling the photo featured has pretty yellow bananas but when I followed your recipe perfectly and got brown banana crisps. They aren’t bad taste-wise but you should be truthful what the final product will looks like.
Glad I did this once but I’ll probably stick with my go-to … putting very riped bananas into a baked goods like pancakes and banana bread etc.
Noelle says
Good snack!
Darlene Cabe says
One hour into dehydrating the bananas, they burned! Poof! I’m at an elevation of 3200. I don’t know if that made a difference or not but turn the temperature way down.
Laura Fuentes says
These should be dehydrated in the lowest possible oven setting 150F or 200F as noted in the recipe.
A Booth says
They are tasty
MOMables - Laura says
Thank you for sharing you enjoyed them!
Chris says
Hi. Just wanted you to know that I totally love your recipe. It is totes adobs. Sorry about the rude comments though. Hey can I fry or toast this? Also what can I use to replace lemon juice in nigeria? Please Here answer soon before I go offline. Once again love the recipe. Bye.
MOMables - Laura says
Thank you for sharing you liked the recipe! yes, you can also pan fry bananas. once the banana chips are cooked in the oven, they are ready to go and they do not need to be cooked again.
Trudy says
I make these all the time now. Our 2yo and an almost 4yo love these. We always have a bunch of leftover bananas and I like the very little mess this creates. I read lot of comments before I gave it a go and they were so helpful. I use vegetable oil to grease the parchment paper, I slice the bananas as thin as a quarter and I dip the slices in the lemon water mixture. Oven at 240f then flip after an hour. I use a butter knife to flip them. I usually do another 30-40m on the other side. They’re crispy and so good.
Dumbphone says
Going to try this…sounds very yummy. Thank you for the recipe.
Maria says
How do I make this recipe work? Followed the directions exactly and they did not get crispy.
MOMables-Laura says
Hi Maria, this could happen if the bananas were sliced too thickly or the actual oven temperature is inaccurate. meaning it’s lower than what it reads.
The Vegetarian Mama says
Just a note that these will not turn out looking like the photo at all. Those look like commercially sold banana chips. They also won’t be as crispy as store-bought. Even with lemon juice, mine turned brown. They also never got crispy — I don’t mind the brown or the chewy, but it’s important to note realistic expectations. They do taste yummy. Not sure the time and effort is worth it vs buying organic banana chips. I get better results freezing my bananas and making smoothies or vegan ice cream.
Alissa Lyn Sarbiewski says
Can i stack parchment paper to make more chips at a time?
MOMables-Laura says
Hi Alissa, this would cause the banana slices to steam instead of bake, I don’t recommend stacking parchment paper.
Elia says
These banana chips came out great.
ewan says
This recipe takes so long to make! Which is very unuseful!
Susan says
I’m curious why this would be a surprise if you are looking to bake a banana into a chip. I assumed this would take alot of time when searching for this. Your comment is “unuseful” and potentially hurtful to the creator which she doesn’t deserve. If the timing of the recipe doesn’t work for you then move along to a recipe more suitable. Perhaps constructive criticism can be a goal for you in the future instead of spreading unnecessary negativity.
Ange Stokoe says
Well said Susan, too many negative people about.
Tyrin says
This is great and worth trying with the kids. If you find it “unuseful” like Ewan, get out of the kitchen
Fran Butler says
Followed the recipe and my bananas turned brown. Not sure how they taste but not happy. They don’t look anything like the picture.