12 Popular Plantain Chip Brands for Snacking & Beyond

Plantains are a part of the banana family. However, unlike bananas, plantains need to be cooked before being consumed. That is why they are called the “cooking banana”.

One of the most popular ways to eat cooked plantains is by making or buying plantain chips. If you are looking to buy plantain chips, fortunately, they are gradually becoming more common in U.S. grocery stores.

Here are 12 popular plantain chip brands that may be found near you:

Brands of Plantain Chips

Barnana

Find It: Where To Buy

Barnana was started in 2012 by Nik Ingersoll, Caue Suplicy, and Matt Clifford. The company’s big break occurred that same year when they brought their products to a trade show that eventually resulted in them landing a deal with Whole Foods.

As its name implies, the company’s focus is on banana snacks. They are a Certified B Corporation with its products being made in the U.S. and its bananas/plantains being obtained from Central and South America.

Barnana offers these organic plantain chips:

  • Pink Salt
  • Acapulco Lime
  • Sea Salt & Vinegar
  • Spicy Mango Salsa

Chifles

Find It: Where To Buy

Chifles was started in Tampa, Florida in 1963. The Rivas family took over the business in 2017 after working as distributors for the company. Soon after, a fire destroyed the company warehouse which nearly destroyed the business. However, the new owners persevered and a couple of years later they were awarded the title of the number one plantain chip in the nation.

Chifles makes these plantain chips:

  • Original
  • No Salt
  • Lime
  • Garlic
  • Sweet
  • Hot & Spicy
  • Plantain Shells
  • Plantain Chips
  • Plantain Strips
  • Sweet Plaintain Strips
  • Plantain Sticks

Good Sense

Website: goodsensesnacks.com

Good Sense was launched in 1976 by Gerry Knight. He was inspired to start the business because he was unable to find healthy snack options, which were sparse in the mid-1970s. Knight started creating his healthier snack foods in his garage. Today the products are sold nationally and internationally with the company being led by the second generation of the family.

Good Sense makes this plantain chip flavor:

  • Sea Salt

Goya

Find It: Where To Buy

Goya was launched in 1936 by Spanish immigrants, Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife Carolina. The couple moved to Puerto Rico and then to New York where they opened a small store before launching a wholesale business in the 1930s. The Unanue family still controls Goya with Robert Unanue working as CEO.

The company has become one of the premier brands of Latin foods available in the United States with its 2,500 food products including everything from pork rinds to canned beans. Of course, one of the many products made by Goya is plantain chips. These are the plantain chips produced by them:

  • Original
  • Unsalted
  • Sweet
  • Plantain Bits
  • Lime
  • Hot & Spicy
  • Garlic
  • Plantain Strips

Iberia

Find It: Where To Buy

Iberia Foods has been around since 1930. They specialize in selling and distributing a wide range of foods and beverages from Latin America, Spain, and the Caribbean. They make 800+ products so they are undoubtedly much more than just a plantain chip brand.

Here are the plantain chips made by Iberia:

  • Ajo – Garlic
  • Madurito – Sweet
  • Saladito – Salted
  • Tostones

Inka

Website: inkafoods.com

Inka produces chips made from hand-picked plantains harvested from the jungles of Peru at a small plantation. Peru is an area where plantains naturally grow and thrive in the Amazon tropical environment. The chips are simply processed by slicing the plantains, cooking them, and then adding seasoning.

Inka Plantains are all-natural with no trans fat and they are low in sodium. Additionally, the chips are gluten-free, non-GMO, and kosher-certified.

Inka makes these flavors of plantain chips:

  • Sea Salt
  • Sweet
  • Garlic
  • Carolina-Style BBQ
  • Chile Picante

Mariquitas Classic

Website: mariquitaschips.com

The Mariquitas plantain brand originated in Cuba where it is common to find plantain chips sold by street vendors. Mariquitas is actually the Cuban name for plantain chips, according to the company. While this brand’s roots are from Cuba, its chips have been made in Florida for more than 40 years.

The plantain chips made by Mariquitas are:

  • Original
  • Garlic
  • Sweet/Ripe
  • Original Plantain Strips
  • No Salt
  • Lime
  • Fire & Lime

Samai

Find It: Where To Buy

Samai is based out of Ecuador, an area known for its high-quality tropical fruits and vegetables. The company’s crops are harvested and then immediately taken to a nearby facility to begin producing amazing snacks. They make plantain, veggie, root, tostones, and cassava chips.

Samai makes these plantain chips:

  • Pacific Sea Salt
  • Naturally Sweet
  • Garlic
  • Lime
  • Jungle Chili
  • Smoked Sweet Chili
  • Artisan Plantain Strips w/ Sea Salt

Soldanza

Website: soldanza.com

Soldanza products are made in the Northern Lowlands region of Costa Rica. This tropical area is known for producing some of the best plantains in the world that, of course, can be made into chips. Soldanza makes gluten-free chips without preservatives or artificial colors.


SunRidge Farms

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The family-owned and operated SunRidge Farms is located in Royal Oaks, California. The company was founded in 1982 and specializes in making natural & organic foods. They make over 1,000 food items such as nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and much more.

SunRidge Farms offers these plantain chips to its customers:

  • Sea Salted
  • Churro
  • Chile Picante

Terra

Find It: Where To Buy

Terra Chips is a brand of The Hain Celestial Group. It was started by two New York chefs named Dana Sinkler and Alex Dzieduszycki. The two left their careers at four-star Manhattan restaurants to begin a catering business. While operating their company, they developed Terra Chips in 1990, which they began serving at events they catered. They eventually brought their chips to retail with Saks Fifth Avenue being one of their initial clients.

Today, Terra specializes in making vegetable, sweet potato, and plantain chips. It makes these plantain chips:

  • Sea Salt
  • Sweet

Zambos

Find It: Where To Buy

Zambos is owned by its parent company called Dinant. They first began producing plantain chips in 1973. Zambos is made under the Yummies brand owned by Dinant that produces several other popular snacks such as Ranchitas, Taqueritos, and Ziba’s.

Zambos makes these flavors of plantains chips:

  • Originals
  • Chile Limon
  • Ceviche
  • Salsa Verde
  • Sweet

Top Featured Image Credit – Marco Verch/flickr, CC license