This coming weekend is Mother’s Day, so Frank and I are heading back to our hometown area to spend some time with family. Since we don’t often get to spend time with family, we thought that it would be nice to get both of our families together for some drinks and appetizers. We’ll definitely be serving these roasted plantain chips, which are not only the perfect compliment to a cocktail but also SO easy to make.

I know what you’re thinking — why would I make plantain chips when they are so readily available in the grocery store these days? The quick answer is that these are so much better than what you buy in a store, PLUS they are equally inexpensive. Our Whole Foods carries plantains for $.60 each, so you could make a lot of plantain chips for not a whole lot of money.

Plantain chips are versatile. For starters, you can make them with unripe plantains, which is always a good option, or you can wait a few days until brown spots appear on the skin of the plantain for a sweeter version. The version presented here is simply salted, but you could also play around with a sprinkling of flavorful seasonings like cumin, curry powder, or cayenne for a bit of heat.

No matter which way you choose to prepare these, I will give you fair warning that these are ADDICTIVE! Two plantains-worth of chips mysteriously disappear very quickly between the two of us in our household, so if you’re planning to have these for a larger gathering I would recommend doubling or tripling the recipe!