This article examines the capability of microwave-assisted vacuum frying (MWVF) on saving frying time and quality improvement of fried banana chips. The MWVF machine was designed to combine vacuum frying (VF) and microwave heating (MW) in which electromagnetic distribution was simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics application software. Fresh banana chips were fried at 95°C and 2 kPa, at various vacuum frying times (25–75 min), and at microwave heating times of 5 and 10 min. The quality of the banana chips was considered in terms of moisture, oil content, texture, color, and sensory attributes. The results showed that MWVF could provide a significantly shorter frying time than VF, from 75 min to 50 min (VF40MW10). The MWVF techniques were able to preserve the quality of banana chips similar to the VF method. The banana chips made by MWVF had a better sensory evaluation than the ones fried only by vacuum.
