Jump to Recipe·5 from 1 review

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. My family lovingly refers to this as ‘plantain lasagna’ because of the cheesy, beefy layers.

a baking dish of pastelón on a counter

This Puerto Rican pastelón combines fried sweet brown plantains (also known as maduros) 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.

Step by Step Instructions

peppers and onions in a pan on a stovetop
Cook onions and red pepper in olive oil over medium heat. Add sofrito and ground beef and cook until the beef has browned.
picadillo in a pan on a stovetop
Add seasonings, bay leaves, tomato sauce, olives, and water and bring to a simmer. Lower, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until beef is fully cooked. Add salt to taste.
brown plantains frying in oil
Peel and slice the plantains into strips. Fry the strips in hot oil until they are all deep golden brown on both sides.
a dish of pastelón before being baked
Preheat the oven spray a loaf pan with non stick spray. Layer a bit of picadillo at the base of the pan, top with strips of plantain, a bit of beaten eggs, more picadillo and mozzarella. Repeat these steps until you run out of ingredients. Finish with a generous layer of cheese and bake until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
pastelón cut into 6 slices
Let the pastelón cool for at least 10 minutes so that everything settles before slicing. Serve with ensalada verde or pique.
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 brown all over. At the very least, you want them to be mostly brown with patches of deep yellow.

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.

a plate of pastelón and ensalada verde

Buen provecho,

Salima written in cursive
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
a baking dish of pastelón on a counter

Puerto Rican Pastelón (Beef & Plantain Lasagna)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Puerto Rican
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe
Save Recipe

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 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup pimento olives, sliced
  • 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.

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!

Enjoy this recipe?

If you tried this recipe, please consider leaving a review in the comment section. I love hearing feedback and your review helps to keep Salima’s Kitchen going!