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Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!

September 26, 2015

The perfect crispy bite sized crackers for little hands! Perfect for crumbling in a bowl of soup, or stacking with some cheese for snacktime!

Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!Two year olds.

Need I say more?

Well I probably should because mentioning the world of a 2 year old can mean so many different things. Random household objects scattered in the strangest places of the home. Meltdowns over “broken” bananas. Complete and utter joy over noticing a butterfly…

But today we are going to talk about 2 year olds and eating. Age 2 can be a tough age in the meal world. Some because I think our expectations for what a meal should be at this age are unrealistic. While 2 year olds still need nutrient dense food choices, their appetites do drop off a little at this age. They just plain don’t need as much as what you probably would expect they would – at least not every day. Two year olds will eat like a teenage boy one day and the next have no more than a cup of milk and a banana and be perfectly fine.

Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!Two year olds are also B.U.S.Y. 🙂 Expecting a 2 year old to sit for a full meal to your standards just might not be realistic until they are closer to age 3 or 4 in my experience. So my experience has been smaller, more frequent meals just work better at this busy age.

My goal is always – make every bite count.

If my two year olds are going to eat 5-6 times per day, I’m going to make sure most of those are “mini meals”. Instead of snacking toddlers on empty calories of fishy crackers and the little O’s cereal, you are going to find these little guys will do better eating some friendly fats with a little bit of carbohydrate. Their blood sugars will be more stable making less volatile little people, they will be satiated longer, and their brain and growing bodies will be nourished to grow.

One of my go-to on the go “mini meals” for my 2 year old who has to sit in the car for a loooong time during drop offs for my elementary school kiddo and my preschooler, are these plantain crackers with some sort of fat – sometimes raw cheese or butter, sometimes chunks of avocado, other times some olives. The point is, it is a quick “mini meal” that I can throw in a little cup or bowl that my 2 year old can handle herself while in the car for these taxi driving trips to drop off or pick up her sisters.

Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!And bonus! The big kids love them too.

A quick handful into my 1st grader’s lunchbox (See my Instagram hashtagging #rgnschoollunches to see how I pack them!), or into a little container with a hard boiled egg for my 4 year old’s preschool snack, and that is as quick as it gets!

I have been working on these plantain crackers for… a while. My problem was always an end result that was soggy or chewy instead of crispy like a cracker. How did I master the cooking method? Go figure…by accident!

Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!One day, my 2 year old was having a particularly “2 year old day” and getting her ready to leave for school pick up took longer than expected. I had some plantain crackers in the oven for a while, and before we left for school pick up I turned off the oven, and just left the crackers in there because I knew they didn’t look “done” yet. When we got home a half hour later, they were perfectly crisp and NOT over cooked! It was like that extra time in the oven with the heat turned off almost dehydrated them the rest of the way. I have been making them this way over the last month to test my theory out and they have come out perfect every time!

Crispy Plantain Crackers :: Great for toddlers, kids, and adults! Gluten, Egg, Nut, & Dairy Free!I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I hope your little 2 year old treasures enjoy them 😉

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Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Crispy Plantain Crackers

The perfect crispy bite-sized crackers for little hands! Perfect for crumbling in a bowl of soup, or stacking with some cheese for snacktime!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: how to make plantain crackers, plantain cracker recipe, plantain crackers
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Renee Kohley - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com

Ingredients

  • 3 large plantains If your plantains are smaller use 4. My plantains have been yellow using this recipe - I think if you use green plantains you will need more moisture somewhere in the recipe - either some water or more plantain.
  • 1 cup potato starch
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp each of onion and garlic powders Optional
  • Sea salt to sprinkle the top of the crackers

Instructions

  • Everything into your food processor and blend until smooth. You will have to scrape down the sides once or twice.
  • Spread the batter onto 2 large jellyroll pans that are lined with Silpat or parchment paper (I have tested both liners and both work). Spread it as thin as you can - this is really important so that they cook even and don't come out soft/chewy. Pay attention to the middle making sure there isn't too much there - push the batter all the way to the edges. It spreads easily with a spatula. Sometimes if my bananas are on the bigger side and I have too much batter I will get a third sheet out - you just want to make the batter on the sheets thin. You can see the thickness in the crackers on my images in this post.
  • Bake in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes and then use a pizza roller or a butter knife to score the sheets into cracker shapes.
  • Put the sheets back in the oven and bake another 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees. If you see any browning around the edges move to the next step.
  • Turn the oven OFF while keeping the sheets of crackers IN the oven to dehydrate the rest of the way about 20-30 minutes minimum. I have left them in there for an hour or so if I am out and about running errands without any issues or burning because the oven is off.
  • Let the crackers cool a few minutes before handling - they crisp up even more after they cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container and eat within 2 weeks.

For more real food snack ideas, you can check out my Snack Ideas board on Pinterest!

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44 Comments

  • Reply Megan Stevens September 27, 2015 at 10:43 am

    These look yummy!

  • Reply Jessica September 27, 2015 at 11:01 am

    Oh yum. Great idea. I can’t wait to try these.

  • Reply anna@greentalk September 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm

    I wonder if you can simply dehydrate them? They sound yummy.

  • Reply Emily @ Recipes to Nourish September 28, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    Thank you for talking about TWO year olds 🙂 I can relate to so many of your points. I love this idea, I have never used plantains before. I can’t wait to make some, I’m sure my little two year old is going to love them.

  • Reply Carol September 28, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    These look great! Pinned and saved to Yummly. Thanks!

  • Reply Mary September 29, 2015 at 5:46 am

    These look great! Leaving crackers in the oven after turning it off is how I always make mine 🙂 They get crisp w/o burning.

  • Reply linda spiker September 29, 2015 at 9:55 am

    5 stars
    Yum! I have never cooked with plantains. Looks amazing.

  • Reply Loriel September 29, 2015 at 10:17 am

    I love this! They look so tasty, too.

  • Reply The Food Hunter September 29, 2015 at 11:07 am

    I love making my own crackers these sound perfect!

  • Reply Angela September 29, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Do you know if some other kind of starch, such as arrowroot would work in place of the potato starch?

    • Reply Renee Kohley September 30, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      Hi Angela! I have not tried it with arrowroot but you could certainly play around with it 🙂

  • Reply Melissa @ My Darla Clementine September 30, 2015 at 12:35 am

    You always have the best recipes!! These look great. I’ve been looking for a cracker recipe for my girls. Love that this one uses plantains!

  • Reply Wendy September 30, 2015 at 11:06 am

    These look amazing! I so feel you with the 2 year old. My daughter barely eats at all. She’s my 3rd and nothing like her older brothers. She does love crackers though – this is such a great way to pack in some nutrition.

  • Reply Lindsey Dietz September 30, 2015 at 11:15 am

    This is the second plantain cracker I’ve come across this month. I think it’s a sign that I need to make them!

  • Reply Michelle September 30, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    I have got to try this! Looks super yummy.

  • Reply Stacie October 6, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    should the plantains be green, yellow or browned? I have some that are overripe (lots of brown on them) – would they be ok to use? Thanks!

    • Reply Renee Kohley October 6, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      Hi Stacie! Great question – and I think I should probably add that in the recipe because when I have been making them my plantains have been yellow – not green. So the consistency will be different if green ones are used – yours should be fine with the recipe as is – I think if people have green plantains then more liquid will be needed somehow 🙂 I hope that helps!

  • Reply Swarna October 8, 2015 at 7:25 am

    Hi Renee,

    I tried these chips the other day and mine turned out very hard. I followed the recipe exactly the way it is. My plantains were green and looked very fresh. Reading your comments to Stacie, looks like its because of my plantains being too green. Do you buy your plantains and let them sit on counter until they turn yellow? Mine are always green and mostly I use them in a day or two after I buy them, so I never saw them turn yellow.

    Any suggestions are appreciated:) I would like to give this another try.

    Thank you

    • Reply Renee Kohley October 8, 2015 at 9:14 am

      Hi Swarna! That is such a bummer – yes it probably was the green plantains – just let them sit out for a while. The plantains at our grocer are almost always yellow so I didn’t even think about the green part – I apologize for that!

  • Reply Swarna October 8, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    Hi Renee,

    No problem at all! No need for apologies 🙂 Thanks for getting back to me! I noticed that you updated the type of plaintains under the ingredient list:)

    Thanks

  • Reply Shannon @ GrowingSlower December 1, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    This is brilliant! Can’t wait to try it!

  • Reply 65 Gluten-Free Kid-friendly Recipes - Rubies & Radishes February 6, 2016 at 11:34 pm

    […] Crispy Plantain Crackers from Raising Generation Nourished […]

  • Reply Meghan @ Whole Natural Life February 16, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    Wow–I never would’ve thought of making crackers with plantains! I have to try these. I have a two year old, too. She loves crackers, chips and anything crunchy so I think she will love these.

    • Reply Renee Kohley February 16, 2016 at 8:29 pm

      I think she will like these Meghan! They don’t taste like banana or plantain – just like a regular cracker!

  • Reply 50+ Paleo Kids Lunch Ideas - Life Made Full February 17, 2016 at 9:08 am

    […] Crispy Plantain Crackers from Raising Generation Nourished […]

    • Reply Meghan @ Whole Natural Life February 18, 2016 at 5:18 pm

      Good to know! Although she would probably still like them if they tasted like plantains–she loves plantain chips! 🙂

  • Reply 50+ Paleo Snack Ideas! - Life Made Full February 21, 2016 at 9:02 am

    […] Crispy Plantain Crackers from Raising Generation Nourished […]

  • Reply Beth March 2, 2016 at 12:43 pm

    I’m looking forward to trying these for myself (as my 8 month old daughter isn’t quite ready for crunchy snacks yet). Wondering if you ever substitute any other kind of oil?
    Thanks so much for your hard work! It’s so so appreciated, even by this newbie who hasnt been feeding a baby food food for very long yet…

    • Reply Renee Kohley March 4, 2016 at 7:31 pm

      Hi Beth! I think olive oil would work. Avocado oil tends to make things crisp which is why I love using it for crackers – I do think olive oil would work though!

  • Reply Real Food Gluten-Free Flour 101: My Guide To Gluten-Free Baking - Live Simply May 5, 2016 at 11:51 pm

    […] away at how soft and moist it turned out. Probably my favorite way to use potato starch is to make crackers with it. In the right proportions, potato starch gives a crisp end finish to baking, and it makes […]

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    […] Crispy Plantain Chips […]

  • Reply 10 Easy and Healthy On-the-Go Summer Snacks - Live Simply June 26, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    […] conventional or health food store), or you can make your own. I have a routine of popping these grain free crispy plantain crackers in the oven every Sunday and they last for the week between my family of five. It’s 5 minutes […]

  • Reply Aviva July 28, 2016 at 9:05 am

    Would green bananas work in place of plantains?

    • Reply Renee Kohley July 29, 2016 at 7:52 pm

      I have tried this Aviva and it doesn’t come out as light and crispy for some reason!

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