Plantain crackers are a great staple for AIP and Paleo eating. I’ve made these savory, tasty crackers in the oven a bunch of times, and wanted to try them out using the dehydrator to see if they were any different. So I made a batch, split it in two, baked half in the oven and dried half in the dehydrator to see how they’d compare. The basic recipe is taken directly from Mickey Trescott’s Autoimmune Paleo blog. At the bottom of the oven instructions is the dehydrator method. Here’s how they came out:
The oven crackers (left) came out darker and more bendy, as you can see below. They would be great for spreading a nut paste or sauce on, or even scooping up a thick stew. They have a clear plantain flavor under the rosemary and garlic, but it’s not strong in my opinion. The dehydrator crackers (right) came out more crumbly. They might not support a thick spread such as a nut butter. They aren’t as plantain-y tasting, which might be preferable to some folks.
oven-baked cracker
dehydrated cracker
Overall, I think the oven-baked crackers are the better option, although, with the higher heat and shorter baking versus drying time, they seem moister – so for a longer trip, I might be more tempted to make the dehydrator version, since they are drier (and therefore assumedly less prone to spoilage).
Option B: experiment with baking in the oven at lower temps for longer, to see if they come out dryer without burning. On my to-do list!
Mickey’s recipe states that the oven-baked crackers keep for up to a week in an airtight container. I haven’t had a chance yet to test their “shelf life” out on a long trip yet.
Front-country tip: these crackers are really good under some coconut basil pesto!
- 2 large, green plantains
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Cut a slit from one end to the other of the plantains and use that cut to peel them. Chop them into large chunks and place them in a high-powered blender or food processor with the coconut oil, rosemary, garlic, and sea salt.
- Blend or process until a slightly thick and chunky mixture forms. Pour out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and smooth out until it is a ¼” thick with either a spatula or another piece of parchment paper and a rolling pin.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and score into 1½” crackers with a knife. Place back into the oven and cook for another 50 minutes to 1-hour. They are finished cooking when the crackers are a nice medium brown and the ones in the middle are no longer soft. You may need to cook these up to 20 minutes more to let them get fully crispy.
- DEHYDRATOR INSTRUCTIONS: Prepare cracker dough as above. Spread dough out ⅛ to ¼ inch thick on a Paraflexx sheet or parchment paper on a dehydrator tray. Make the edges of the dough a bit thicker; they will dry faster, and this way they won't get too dry. Dehydrate at 125°F for 3-4 hours till dry.
I can’t wait to try your variation! I love the comparison photos between the two. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Mickey
I have some of both still at my house… if you were in town I’d invite you over for a test run! I know your oven-baked crackers come out crispier than mine did, and I suspect it’s the more ripe plantains I like to use. My sweet tooth…
Let me know how it works for you.
– Sue
You said you used riper plantains for your cracker recipe. For years I have read about how unripe bananas are so difficult on the digestive tract. So why would unripe plantains be any different?
Hi Shannon – Yep, you’ll hear conflicting opinions on plantains and bananas. Here’s some background:
Ripe and green bananas and plantains both have potential benefits and drawbacks, depending on your body’s needs.
Green plantains are high in resistant starch, which passes through the small intestines and functions similarly to insoluble fiber (a plus). Resistant starch helps force the body to use fat by blocking its ability to use carbs as fuel. It can also help increase insulin sensitivity, a benefit to those with blood sugar issues. The short-chain fatty acids produced by fermentation of resistant starch increase the ability of the body to absorb some nutrients, including calcium. However, some people do have bloating and gas with higher resistant starch, perhaps due to imbalances in the gut biome.
As bananas and plantains ripen, the starches are converted to sugars, which are more easily digested. However, that can be tricky for people with blood sugar balance issues because it feeds the blood sugar swings that cause problems. Ripe ones have a higher antioxidant content as well.
I tend to avoid super ripe plantains, except when I fry them; they taste better to me that way and it’s a kind of treat for me since I don’t eat sweets. I know some people who prefer to fry green ones. As for crackers, the ripe ones make for a sweeter taste, but the green ones make for a crunchier cracker. My sweet tooth leads me to use the ripe ones while it would likely serve my body better to use green ones. I believe that the final gauge of what to use should be determined by your body’s response.
I hope that helped answer your question!
I think the browned crackers look tastier, but like crunchy. I wonder if placing the baked chewy crackers in the dehydrater for a while would remove the excess moisture and crisp them up? I am just starting the AIP and will soon try making some.
Hi Dacia! That might work just fine. Or, one could use the oven at a lower temp for longer as another option. The oven recipe above was taken directly from Autoimmune Paleo for a comparison between a traditional oven-baked cracker vs. dehydrator style, but there’s always room for variations. Let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Why bake in the oven and then finish in the dehydrator until they crisp? That is what I do with any cracker that needs to be cooked but does not properly crisp in the oven. Looks good though!
Oh, I see someone already suggested that! Even so, I can confirm it works. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion, Tatiana!
Maybe replace coconut oil with egg white and cook at 250 and add 30min to cooking time. Cook slow. I think egg white would make it less bendy and more crisp??????
Hi Val – Thanks for the suggestion. On the Autoimmune Protocol, eggs are on the exclusion list until reintroduction, so some folks can’t use that option. But if you try the eggs, do let us know how it turns out (I’ve successfully reintroduced them, yay). The dehydrator version of the crackers comes out crisper than the oven version, by the way 🙂
I have plantain flour. Could it be used in this recipe?
Debra – I believe you could, but it might mean changing the proportions on some items, or adding another ingredient; what to change, I’m not sure, without trying it! The flour might act a bit different than the mashed, fresh plantains. If you try it and it works, do let us know!