Frequently Asked Questions

Plantain chips are thin slices of plantain — a starchy cousin of the banana — fried until crisp and finished with salt. Chifles plantain chips are made from green plantains, which gives them a savory, hearty crunch closer to a potato chip than anything sweet. We’ve been making them the same way since 1963.

A plantain looks like a big banana but eats like a potato. It’s starchier, less sweet, and almost always cooked — fried, boiled, or mashed — rather than peeled and eaten raw. Green plantains are firm and savory; as they ripen to yellow and black (maduros), their natural sugars come out.

Plantain chips taste savory, toasty, and lightly earthy — think potato chip, but heartier, with a denser crunch. Chifles Original are salted green plantain chips with no other seasoning, so the plantain does the talking. Kettle cooking leaves them crisp and clean, never oily or greasy.

Banana chips are usually sweetened and made from ripe bananas. Plantain chips — the kind we make — are sliced from green plantains and fried savory, like a potato chip with more character. If you’re looking for a salty crunch, you want plantains.

Tostones and plantain chips start from the same green plantain — the difference is the cut and the cook. Tostones are thick slices, fried, smashed flat, then fried a second time, served hot. Plantain chips are sliced thin and fried once until fully crisp, which is what makes them shelf-stable and bagged. Same plantain, two great ways to eat it.

Green plantain chips (our Original) are savory and crisp. Sweet plantain chips are made from maduros — riper plantains with natural sugars that caramelize when fried, giving them a golden color and a sweet-savory flavor. We make both.

Chifles plantain chips are fried — kettle cooked in batches, the slower way, not run down a continuous fry line. Frying is what gives a plantain chip its signature crunch and toasty flavor, and kettle cooking does it better: fried through, crisp, never greasy. It’s how chifles have been made across Latin America for generations, and quality like that isn’t something we’re willing to speed up.

Yes. Chifles are kettle cooked in batches, not run down a continuous fry line like most mass-produced chips. Line frying is fast, but it tends to leave chips coated and greasy. Kettle cooking takes longer and fries the plantain through — a denser crunch, a clean finish, and never an oily bag.

You can — slice green plantains thin, toss lightly in oil, and air-fry until golden. They’re good. Ours are better, and they don’t require peeling a plantain at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. Homemade tostones, though? Always worth the effort.

Start with what’s not in the bag: no artificial flavors, no colors, no preservatives, no major allergens, nothing modified. What’s left is three ingredients — single-origin Ecuadorian plantains, oil, salt — kettle cooked in batches from one farm we know by name. Non-GMO Project Verified, certified Kosher, gluten-free, and vegan. That’s the whole story, and it fits on a bag.

Plantain chips are one of the simplest snacks in the aisle: plantains, oil, salt — a fruit, fried, and nothing else. Naturally gluten-free, vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified, and certified Kosher, with fiber and potassium that most chips can’t claim. It’s a fried snack made the conscious way: short ingredient list, single origin, no shortcuts.

A one-ounce serving of Chifles plantain chips has about 150 calories and 16 grams of carbohydrates. The difference from other chips is what those calories carry: real fruit, fiber, potassium, and a three-ingredient recipe with nothing artificial along for the ride. Full nutrition facts are printed on every bag and listed on each product page.

Plantains are a paleo-approved whole food, so plantain chips fit many paleo eating styles — the deciding factor is usually the frying oil. Chifles fried in avocado oil are the natural pick for paleo snackers: green plantains, avocado oil, sea salt, done.

Yes. Chifles plantain chips are naturally gluten-free and certified gluten-free. Plantains contain no wheat, barley, or rye, and our chips are produced under strict food safety certification (SQF).

Yes. Every bag of Chifles is 100% plant-based — just plantains, oil, and seasoning. No animal products, no dairy, no exceptions.

Chifles Original, No Salt, and Garlic have zero added sugar — the ingredient list is plantains, oil, and salt (or not even salt). Sweet plantain chips get their sweetness from the plantain itself: riper fruit, natural sugars, nothing added.

Chifles Original are lightly salted, and for anyone watching sodium closely, Chifles No Salt contains exactly what it promises: plantains and oil, zero added sodium. It’s one of the few chips in any aisle with a true no-salt option.

Chifles Original contains three ingredients: green plantains, palm oil, and salt. No preservatives, no artificial flavors, no colors, nothing you can’t pronounce. Flavored varieties add only their seasoning — full ingredient lists are on every product page.

Chifles are kettle cooked in palm oil, pressed from the fruit of the palm. It’s a stable, naturally trans-fat-free oil that stands up to kettle cooking without breaking down — part of why Chifles finish crisp instead of greasy. We also make chips fried in 100% avocado oil. The oil is listed on every bag and product page.

Yes. Chifles plantain chips are Non-GMO Project Verified. Plantains themselves are not a genetically modified crop, and our verification covers the full recipe in the bag.

Yes — plantains, like all fruits, are inherently Kosher. What certification covers is everything after the harvest: the oil, the salt, the equipment, the process. Chifles carries Kosher certification across the full recipe, so the answer holds from the farm to the finished bag.

Yes. Chifles plantain chips are certified Kosher. Between Kosher certification, Non-GMO verification, gluten-free, and vegan, Chifles fit more dietary tables than almost any chip on the shelf.

Plantain chips are naturally free of the most common allergens — no wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, or shellfish in the recipe — and Chifles are produced with no cross-contact with major allergens. Always check the bag for the current allergen statement.

For kids past the choking-hazard age, plantain chips are a snack parents can actually read the label on: plantains, oil, salt. No artificial colors or flavors, and none of the major allergens in the recipe — a natural fit for nut-free classrooms and lunchboxes. For parents choosing between chips, this is the short-ingredient-list option.

Our lineup includes Original, No Salt, Garlic, Sweet Plantain, Plantain Strips, and more — including chips fried in avocado oil. Every flavor starts with the same green plantains we’ve used since 1963.

Yes. Chifles Plantain Strips are cut lengthwise for a longer, sturdier chip — perfect for dipping in guacamole, salsa, or whatever’s on the table.

Yes. Chifles No Salt plantain chips are exactly what they sound like: plantains and oil, nothing else. All the crunch, none of the sodium. If your local store doesn’t stock it, No Salt is always available in our online store.

Yes. Chifles avocado oil plantain chips are fried in 100% avocado oil — same green plantains, same crunch, a cleaner oil profile for those who want it. You’ll find them at select retailers and in our online store.

Green plantains from our single farm partner in Ecuador are peeled, sliced thin, kettle cooked in batches, and salted right at origin — close to the harvest, when the plantains are at their best. From there, chips head to our 40,000-square-foot Miami facility, home base for the brand since the beginning. Simple recipe, short supply chain.

Every Chifles plantain comes from Ecuador — single origin, from one farm partner we’ve worked with for years. Because we’re vertically integrated, we control the plantain from the farm to the fryer to the bag. One source, one standard, every batch.

Single origin means every plantain in the bag comes from one place — for Chifles, one farm partner in Ecuador. Most snack brands blend crops from wherever the commodity market points that month. One farm means one soil, one climate, one standard, and a chip that tastes the same in February and July.

Yes. Chifles controls its own supply chain from a single farm in Ecuador through production and packaging. No brokers, no mystery middlemen — just plantains moving from our farm partner straight into our process. It’s how the chips taste the same in every bag, como siempre.

You’ll find Chifles at major retailers across the country, including Publix, Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco, plus online through our store and Amazon. Availability varies by store and region — check the snack aisle or the Hispanic foods section.

Yes. You can order directly from our online store, and select Chifles products are also available on Amazon.

Our online store currently ships to select states — you’ll see available shipping options at checkout. If we don’t ship to your state yet, you can find Chifles on Amazon or at retailers near you.

No — our online store ships within the United States only. If you’re outside the U.S., check retailers in your area; Chifles travels further every year.

We’d love to talk. Chifles is stocked by national chains, independent groceries, bodegas, bars, and restaurants across the country, with distribution and direct-store-delivery options depending on your region. Contact us and our sales team will follow up.

Chifles have a six-month shelf life from production — check the best-by date printed on the bag. Once opened, reseal the bag or store chips in an airtight container and enjoy within a week or two, though in our experience, an open bag rarely lasts that long.

Chifles go with everything: guacamole, salsa, hummus, ceviche, black bean dip — or straight from the bag with a cafecito. Plantain Strips are built for dipping; Original works crushed over soups, salads, and rice bowls.

Absolutely. Crushed Chifles make a crunchy coating for chicken or fish, a topping for mac and cheese or black bean soup, and a base layer for plantain-chip nachos. No Salt works especially well as a breading, since you control the seasoning.

Chifles is made by Plantain Products Company, a family-owned business founded in Tampa, Florida in 1963 and now based in Miami. We’re the #1 plantain chip brand in America.

Yes — Chifles is the best-selling plantain chip brand in the United States by dollar sales. Sixty years in the category will do that.

“Chifles” is what plantain chips are called in parts of Latin America — particularly Ecuador and Peru. The name came with the recipe.

CHEE-flehs. Two syllables, roll nothing, and you’re in. If you’ve been saying it differently for years, don’t worry — the chips taste the same either way.