If you’re looking for an easy snack to make and keep for a long time, then banana chips are the answer. They are easy to make, and you can keep them stored for a long time.
They are easy to take on road trips or even snack at home when you get those hunger pangs.
Want to know how to dehydrate bananas to make banana chips? Read below for the recipe and a few tricks I’ve learned along the way.
How To Dehydrate Bananas To Make Banana Chips
If you want your banana chips to feel and taste great, you must get everything right from the recipe’s first step. From selecting the correct banana type to ensuring that they are fully dehydrated, it takes some experience and knowledge of some finer points.
Once you’ve completely dehydrated the bananas and have banana chips, you need to store them properly. Adequate storage will keep your banana chips in an edible state for months.
More appropriate storage solutions can keep banana chips for up to a year! – More on this later.
Making dehydrated banana chips at home saves a lot of money you would otherwise spend on pre-packed snacks. It’s also good for your body and has an extended shelf life.
How To Make Banana Chips
Here are the ingredients, recipe preparations, and directions for dehydrating bananas and making banana chips.
Apart from ingredients, you also need a few pieces of equipment when preparing dehydrated banana chips. These include a dehydrator to dry the banana pieces, an airtight container (optional), a vacuum sealer (optional), and a moisture absorber (optional).
Ingredients:
- 7-9 medium to large bananas for 1 ½ quart of dehydrated banana chips
- Lemon juice for pretreating
Recipe Prep:
Here is how you prepare the bananas to make dehydrated banana chips.
- Wash and dry each dehydrator tray before use.
- Place a plastic mesh liner on each dehydrator tray.
- Slice the bananas into ¼-inch thick round slices using a sharp knife. You must keep the size uniform among all pieces to help with drying.
Once you’ve prepared the bananas for the recipe, it’s time to get them dried immediately to make banana chips.
Method:
- Dip the sliced banana into a pretreatment solution such as lemon juice. It’s done to prevent the bananas from browning.
- Arrange the banana slices on a dehydrator tray, leaving space between each.
- Repeat the above process with the bananas and fill all the dehydrator trays.
- Stach the trays on the dehydrator and close with the lid.
- Turn the dehydrator on, setting the temperature to 135 F.(Fahrenheit)
- Dehydrate the bananas for 6 to 12 hours. The dehydrating time will vary, so you need to check it accordingly.
- Turn the trays every 3 to 4 hours to allow for even drying.
- Once complete, remove the trays from the dehydrator and let the banana chips cool down.
- After they cool down, you can store them in an airtight container for later use.
Nutritional Facts
Here are the nutritional facts for the above banana chips recipe.
- Calories: 43kcal
- Carbohydrates: 11g
- Protein: 1g
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 1mg
- Potassium: 171mg
- Calcium: 2 mg
- Iron: 1mg
- Vitamin A: 32IU
- Vitamin C: 2mg
Recipe Facts And Tips
Here are a few facts and tips to get the perfect banana chips at home.
- Use a plastic mesh liner on each dehydrator tray and place the bananas on it. It will prevent the dried bananas from sticking to the dehydrator tray.
- Leave space between each slice of banana to prevent them from sticking to each other.
- Dip the banana slices in a pretreatment solution like lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- Use firm but ripe bananas for the best-flavored banana chips.
How Ripe Should The Bananas Be Before Dehydrating?
The bananas you use to make banana chips should be ripe but firm. It will give banana chips the perfect taste and texture.
Over-ripe bananas will become mushy and give a different taste when dehydrated. Using hard and not ripe bananas will not give you sweet-tasting banana chips.
For best results, taste a piece of banana to check if it has a sweet flavor that is perfect for dehydrating.
How To Pretreat Banana Chips?
The purpose of pretreating bananas is to prevent them from turning brown when dehydrating.
Mix 3 tablespoons of lemon juice with 3 tablespoons of water to make the pretreatment solution. You can even use a citric acid-based pretreatment product like Fruit Fresh. However, making one with fresh lemon juice provides better results.
Make sure to test a few banana slices dipped in a pretreatment solution to detect any major change of flavor. If so, you need to make a new pretreatment solution, as a flavor change can cause your dehydrated banana chips to taste different.
How To Keep Banana Chips From Sticking When Dehydrating
Banana slices stick to the dehydrator tray as the moisture is removed from them. When banana chips stick to the dehydrator tray, it will be difficult to remove them once done. The dried banana chips could break when trying to remove them from the tray.
It is the reason why you should line each dehydrator tray with a plastic mesh liner. Then the banana chips won’t stick to the dehydrator tray as the non-stick mesh lies in between.
These plastic trays are flexible. You can bend them to help release the banana chips before removing them.
How To Identify When Bananas Are Done
When identifying if banana chips are done, you should not try checking them when they are hot. Take the tray out of the dehydrator and wait until the banana chips cool down to check if they are done.
You should remove one chip from the tray when checking banana chips for doneness. If it tears, the edges stick to the tray, or it feels mushy, which means there is still some moisture. Put them back in the dehydrator.
Sometimes, when the bananas are not sliced in equal thickness, the thick ones could take more time to dehydrate. If so, keep only the thick ones and check the rest to see if they are done. Keeping the thicker ones for about an hour extra should do the job.
How To Store Dehydrated Bananas
Conditioning is vital in ensuring that you can store your banana chips for a long time.
Appropriate conditioning of your banana chips helps reduce the chance of mold developing. It usually occurs when your bananas are not completely dehydrated, and there is a bit of moisture left in them.
Place the cool dehydrated banana chips in a glass jar and keep them in a safe area without direct sunlight. Check for moisture inside the jar every day for up to a week.
If you find moisture in the banana chips, dehydrate them again. Repeat conditioning for the dehydrated banana chips to confirm no moisture left the second time round.
Once the banana chips are completely dehydrated, you can store them in an airtight container for up to 6 months. If you vacuum seal them, you can store them for up to one year.
About Dehydrators
Knowing the different types of dehydrators is also vital when drying banana chips. Dehydrators with a set temperature usually run at a steady but high temperature, like 165 F. (Fahrenheit)
Your banana chips will dry much faster in this type of dehydrator. However, you need to pay close attention when making banana chips using a dehydrator with a set temperature.
Dehydrators with a digital control setting allow you to control at which temperature you need your banana chips to dry. These types of the dehydrator are relatively more expensive than ones with a set temperature.
Other Ways To Use Dehydrated Bananas
Making banana chips is not the only way to use your dehydrated bananas. Here are a few other ideas to make use of dehydrated bananas.
- Use them as a topping in yogurt.
- Add them to oatmeal or breakfast porridge.
- Add them to baked granola.
- Include them in a DIY trail mix.
Health Benefits Of Dehydrated Banana Chips
Dehydrated banana chips are healthy and nutritious. Their low-calorie count makes them ideal as a snack because you can munch them without feeling guilty.
Bananas have a high amount of potassium, giving you a lot of energy to get along with your daily tasks. This feature makes it ideal for taking as a pre-workout before you start exercising.
Banana chips are low in fat and sugar, which is also good for your body. In general, the nutrients found in bananas benefit your eyes and are believed to prevent conditions like high blood pressure.
Conclusion
Dehydrated banana chips are easy to make and great to keep as snacks to munch on whenever you feel like it.
If you store them appropriately, you can use them for months without any change in taste or texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Banana Chips Simply Dehydrated Bananas?
Home-made banana chips are dehydrated bananas without the addition of any preservatives.
How Long Does It Take To Dehydrate Bananas In An Air Fryer?
Dehydrating bananas in an air fryer takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
