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Pastelón (Baked Plantain Lasagna)

a baking dish of pastelón on a counter
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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Pastelón is a traditional Puerto Rican dish made with layers of fried sweet plantains, picadillo ground beef, and melty shredded cheese. Often called 'Puerto Rican lasagna', this baked dish has the perfect combination of crispy, creamy, sweet & salty. 

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

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • ⅓ cup sofrito
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 tsp sazon seasoning
  • 1 tsp adobo seasoning
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
  • ⅓ 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 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 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!

Keywords: pastelón, pastelon

Find it online: https://salimaskitchen.com/pastelon/