these homemade plantain chips are the perfect cracker substitute, while being a naturally grain free choice.
The time has finally come, my grain free friends. It is plantain chip time. If you follow me on IG, you’ve probably seen my countless baking sheets worth of thinly diced plantain, salted and extra virgin olive oil’d or avocado oil’d up. And yet, I’ve always just sort of winged my baked plantain chips, and I’ve never properly jotted down a recipe. I decided that had to change, since this is clearly one of my daily/snacking staples, and they’re also so versatile if you are on a grain free or restricted diet!
I do want to speak on plantains briefly for the benefit of those on the SCD Diet. When I first started SCD, I did all the research, of course. I bought the book, I read the websites, and I constantly/frequently googled a vegetable or food item to double check if it was considered “SCD legal” before I would consume (or purchase) it. However in my early days, one vegetable (fruit? I honestly don’t know) I did not google is plantain. It’s not even something I ate at all before, but my boyfriend is Nigerian so it’s a very familiar vegetable for him. I basically assumed that plantains were SCD legal because bananas are? That was my logic. So I ate plantains.
And then, for whatever reason, I decided to check if it was SCD legal – and of course, the main site you’ll often land on for this type of check is the Breaking the Vicious Cycle website– where it states that the item is illegal (!) because it contains too much starch.
I panicked immediately when I saw this, I was still relatively early on in my SCD journey– still introducing foods in– and I worried that I had done some sort of damage. But– at the same time, it had been a day or so, and I felt fine. I’m not sure why exactly, but this answer also didn’t satisfy me. I decided to keep sleuthing on the internet, and I came across even more valuable information about the plantain, which contradicted the website’s categorization.
In a Q&A with Elaine Gotschall herself, as compiled and archived by scdiet.net, Elaine responds to a series of SCD Dieter’s questions, clarifying things like whether or not Plantain bananas and plantain banana chips (no sugar added) are allowed on the diet.(!)
This is exactly what I was looking for, and I was pleased to read Elaine’s response:
“If you can be sure there is no sweetener added to plantain and banana chips
then they are OK.”
Boom. After this, it’s worth noting, I also joined the SCD Facebook group and I posed the question about plantains to the group as well to see what the general consensus was — while some believed them to be illegal, it was clarified and confirmed by one of the group’s admin’s that they are indeed legal!
I have no idea why they are listed as “illegal” on the site, however I’ve continued to make them a staple within my diet, much like bananas are for a lot of SCD folks. I only eat them when they’re ripe and soft, with brown spots– like bananas. I don’t only bake them though, I fry them as well, and you can even make plantain pancakes as you would banana pancakes that are sweet and delicious, or try making some tostadas.
Before you do all that though: try my baked plantain chips!! I always salt them, but you can leave them plain if you prefer, or add your own spices. I snack on them with old cheddar cheese and prosciutto, just like a cracker. Or else, I serve them with breakfast– eggs, avocado and bacon. They can basically be a side for any meal.
Let me know if you try this recipe, tag me on IG @grainfreee and show me a photo! Or leave me a comment a below. Hope you enjoy!
homemade plantain chips: ingredients
- 3 medium to small plantains
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- Salt for sprinkling (as much as desired)
homemade plantain chips: how to
- Slice the plantains thinly, and throw them in a bowl.
- Toss in the extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, and line them up side-by-side on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 315 for 35-40 minutes– check after 35 minutes, and flip the plantain chips. *Please note*: If some chips are already brown, remove those from the tray at the same time! Put the rest back in the oven.
- Bake the remaining chips for another 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye to avoid them getting overly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before moving off the tray. Although, they can be enjoyed both warm and cold!
homemade, baked plantain chips (grain free, scd diet)
Ingredients
- 3 medium to small plantains
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- salt for sprinkling (as much as desired)
Instructions
- Slice the plantains thinly, and throw them in a bowl.
- Toss in the extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, and line them up side-by-side on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 315 for 35-40 minutes– check after 35 minutes, and flip the plantain chips. *Please note*: If some chips are already brown, remove those from the tray at the same time! Put the rest back in the oven.
- Bake the remaining chips for another 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye to avoid them getting overly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before moving off the tray. Although, they can be enjoyed both warm and cold!