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Let’s make Pastelón, a traditional Puerto Rican lasagna-style dish made with layers of fried sweet plantains, sofrito, ground beef picadillo, pimento olives, and mozzarella cheese. Often called a sweet plantain lasagna, this baked dish is the perfect combination of crispy, creamy, sweet and salty.

a baking dish of pastelón on a counter

If you’ve ever had the chance to try any popular Puerto Rican recipes, chances are you know how important plantains are to the cuisine.

Whether they’re baked, fried, or mashed, plantain recipes are sure to make an appearance on most tables.

This Puerto Rican pastelón combines fried sweet brown plantains (also known as maduros) that are cut in long strips with layers of this classic picadillo ground beef filling and lots of shredded cheese for an incredibly satisfying end result.

It’s a cozy, hearty dish that’s often referred to as ‘Puerto Rican lasagna’ due to it’s baked layers of meat and cheese. It comes out of the oven piping hot, so be sure to give it some time to set and cool properly before diving in.

Ingredients

bowls of cheese, sofrito, bay leaves, and more
See recipe card for quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

peppers and onions in a pan on a stovetop
Make the picadillo. Sauté onions and red pepper in olive oil over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Add sofrito and ground beef and cook until the beef has browned.
picadillo in a pan on a stovetop
Finish the picadillo. Add seasonings, bay leaves, tomato sauce, olives, and water and bring to a heavy simmer. Lower, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until beef is fully cooked. Add salt to taste.

Additional directions: Check out this detailed version of my picadillo recipe.

brown plantains frying in oil
Slice & fry the plantains. Start by peeling the plantains and slicing thinly lengthwise to create long strips. Fry the strips in batches in hot oil until they are all deep golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
a dish of pastelón before being baked
Layer & bake the pastelón. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Layer a bit of picadillo at the bottom of the pan, top with strips of fried plantain, a bit of the eggs, more picadillo and shredded mozzarella. Continue to repeat these layers until ingredients run out. Finish with a generous layer of cheese and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
pastelón cut into 6 slices
Serve. Let the pastelón cool for at least 10 minutes so that everything settles before slicing. Serve with ensalada verde or pique. Buen provecho!
a slice of pastelón being lifted by a spatula

Picking the Right Plantains

Picking the right plantains is a very important step in getting pastelón right. Make sure the plantains you are using are mostly brown, or at the very least a combination of deep yellow and brown.

This will ensure they provide that signature sweet plantain flavor & texture we want, as opposed to green plantains which (when fried) will result in a very different texture and taste.

If all you can find are green plantains (this happens to me often), buy them and let them sit on your counter for a few days or sometimes even weeks to let them ripen and brown.

a plate of pastelón and ensalada verde

Make Ahead Tip

You can make the picadillo filling up to 3 days in advance, which makes the process of assembling this dish much faster. If planning to make for a crowd feel free to do so to make things less stressful the day of!

Buen provecho,

Salima written in cursive
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a baking dish of pastelón on a counter

Baked Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

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  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings
  • Category: Entree, Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Puerto Rican
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Let’s make Pastelón, a traditional Puerto Rican lasagna-style dish made with layers of fried sweet plantains, sofrito, ground beef picadillo, pimento olives, and mozzarella cheese. Often called a sweet plantain lasagna, this baked dish is the perfect combination of crispy, creamy, sweet and salty.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/3 cup sofrito
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 tsp sazon seasoning
  • 1 tsp adobo seasoning
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup pimento olives, sliced in half
  • salt to taste
  • 4-6 brown plantains
  • 2 cups canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • Nonstick spray

Instructions

  1. Make the picadillo. Sauté onions and red pepper in olive oil over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Add sofrito and ground beef and cook until the beef has browned.
  2. Finish the picadillo. Add seasonings, bay leaves, tomato sauce, and olives, stir and bring to a heavy simmer. Lower, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until beef is fully cooked. Add salt to taste.
  3. Slice & fry the plantains. Start by peeling the plantains and slicing thinly lengthwise to create long strips. Fry the strips in batches in hot oil until they are all deep golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
  4. Layer & bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a pan with non stick cooking spray. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Layer a bit of picadillo at the bottom of the pan, top with strips of plantain, a bit of egg, more picadillo and shredded mozzarella. Repeat these layers until ingredients run out. Finish with a generous layer of cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
  5. Serve. Let the pastelón cool for at least 10 minutes so that everything settles before slicing. Serve with ensalada verde or pique. Buen provecho!

Notes

You will need an 11×7 inch baking dish (a 8×8 inch square baking dish will work too) to bake this sweet plantain recipe.

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