Give Your Snack Dips An Upgrade By Dunking Plantain Chips

Whether it's Super Bowl Sunday or you're just setting out snacks for a backyard hang, chips and dip is an easy go-to. But with hardly any effort, you can level up your appetizer beyond just a bag of Ruffles — after all, your tasty dip (and your Cuban sandwiches) deserve a more flavorful companion.

Enter plantain chips, which are particularly beloved in Central American, South American, and Caribbean cuisine. They're a simple replacement for their potato counterparts, as you can buy them in bags from the grocery store (although you can also whip them up from scratch at home). Plantain chips are — as their name suggests — made from plantains, fruits similar to bananas but with only a lightly sweet flavor. However, they boast plenty of starch, making them an excellent swap for spuds when it comes to using them for chips. When they're sliced, seasoned, and either baked or deep-fried, they produce the perfect combination of salty and sweet flavors with plenty of crunch. Because you get those additional slightly sugary notes mixing with whatever seasonings your particular chips offer, you can drag them through either savory or sweet dips.

As we mentioned, you can pick up bags of plantain chips at major retailers like Target and Vons, but it's also not too difficult to make them yourself. Once you get your hands on some green plantains (which are less sweet than ripe ones but firm enough to turn them into chips), peel and thinly slice them, using a mandoline to help if needed. Then you can either bake them by tossing them in oil and seasonings, laying them on a baking sheet, and cooking them for up to 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit — or you can deep-fry them for only up to 45 seconds at 375 degrees Fahrenheit oil, seasoning them afterward.

But before and after this, you'll need to flavor your chips and pair them with dip. Salt, garlic powder, and onion powder are classic options, but you can also go with paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes, or Tajin seasoning. For dessert-like chips, feel free to toss yours with cinnamon and sugar. Practically any dip will pair well with these crispy morsels, but if you're using a spicy seasoning, you can douse yours in smoky white queso, guacamole, spicy black bean dip, corn dip, or a party-pleasing taco dip. But if you're going in a sweet direction, sugary plantains would be delicious in caramel pecan cheesecake fruit dip, a s'mores-flavored version, or a cookie dough bowl.