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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.
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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.
Ida says
I love banana chips!! I’m so glad I found this recipe to make them at home:)
joslin says
honest question, what does the water & lemon juice do? and should i brush both sides after i flip them midway? in the process of baking them right now and hoping they turn out good!
Laura Fuentes says
The lemon juice contains citric acid and it helps reduce some of the browning. Enjoy these!
Phyllis Field says
These didn’t turn out for me like in the post.
Prun says
Instead of parchment paper, I used canola oil. They burned to a crisp. I blame myself.
Laura Fuentes says
Oh no! definitely the oil will burn them. sorry that happened.