5+ Puerto Rican Plantain Recipes
Today we’re talking all things plantains. This roundup of Puerto Rican Plantain snacks starts with some easy fried plantain chips and ends with a seriously impressive plantain fritter recipe. Keep reading to get the rundown on all of my favorite ways to prepare this popular latin ingredient.
If you’re familiar with Puerto Rican food, you know how much we rely on plantains as a staple in our cuisine.
In many Puerto Rican snacks, the foundation is plantain, yucca, or beans of some kind.
Keep reading to discover some of my favorite plantain recipes.
Crispy Puerto Rican-Style Tostones
These crispy Puerto Rican tostones are made by smashing and frying green plantains – this recipe couldn’t be simpler to make or more delicious!
Ingredients: green plantains, oil, salt, lime, adobo.
Sweet Fried Plantains (Maduros)
Sweet Fried Plantains (also known as Maduros) are a popular Puerto Rican dessert and snack, made with fried brown plantains.
Ingredients: brown plantains, oil.
Traditional Puerto Rican Mofongo (25 Minutes!)
Mofongo is a popular Puerto Rican dish made with fried green plantains mashed with chicharrones (crispy pork skin) and garlic. It’s traditionally served with a red shrimp sauce (camarones guisados) or chicken broth, and makes a super delicious side dish.
Ingredients: green plantains, oil, garlic, chicharron.
Baked Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)
Let me teach you how to 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.
30 Minute Jibarito (Plantain Sandwich)
This 30 minute Jibarito is made with fried plantains instead of bread and filled with all of your favorite sandwich ingredients. It’s a truly delicious piece of Puerto Rican American culture, full of unique flavor and texture.
Puerto Rican Piononos (Plantain Cups)
These Puerto Rican piononos are sweet and savory treats made with a combination of fried brown plantains, picadillo, and beaten eggs. The result is sweet plantain cups stuffed with a salty ground beef & fluffy egg filling. They’re the perfect bite-sized appetizers or entrees that capture the flavors of Puerto Rico in a cup!
Alcapurria
Alcapurria are popular Puerto Rican fritters, made with yucca and plantains, stuffed with picadillo, and fried to perfection.
Ingredients: onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, sofrito, ground beef, tomato sauce, pimento olives, sazon, adobo, cumin, oregano, oil, plantains, yucca root, cooking spray.
Plantain Fries
Learn how to make these perfectly crispy plantain fries at home in a matter of minutes! They’re a fun spin on French fries, made with a classic Puerto Rican ingredient.
Ingredients: green plantains, oil.
Puerto Rican Style Air Fryer Plantain Chips
These air fryer plantain chips are seriously crispy, crunchy, and delicious! They’re made in the air fryer in less than 30 minutes and the perfect snack. Find out how to make them and how to pick the right plantains for this recipe.
Ingredients: plantains, oil, salt.
I hope you found some inspiration in this list of plantain recipes! While this isn’t a complete list, I think it captures just how versatile the ingredient really is. If you make a recipe please leave a comment below and let me know what you think!
Buen provecho,
Puerto Rican Plantain Recipes: Including Tostones (Fried Green Plantains)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Category: Snack, Appetizer, Side Dish
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Latin
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Tostones are a super popular savory Puerto Rican snack made from green plantains that are sliced, smashed and fried to crispy perfection.
Ingredients
- 3–4 green plantains
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 4 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tsp adobo seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- Start by peeling your plantains and cutting into 1 inch sections. Preheat your oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, gently add in your plantain chunks, making sure not to crown the pan too much. Your pan should have enough oil to almost cover the slices, so add more if needed. Fry the slices for 8-10 minutes, making sure to flip them until golden brown all around.
- Remove the slices and cool on a paper towel lined plate. Once the slices are cool, use a plate to smash the slices until they flatten just slightly. Make sure to not smash them too thin or they will break apart on the second fry.
- In a large bowl combine the water, lime juice, salt and adobo seasoning (optional). Gently add in the fried plantains and soak for 4-5 minutes before draining the water and patting dry with paper towels.
- Bring the oil back to high heat and add the smashed plantains back to the oil, frying for another 5 minutes or until crispy. Top with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lime juice and enjoy!
Great cooking going on with these treasured recipes!
Thank you so much Silvia!
You are welcome Salima.
Tostones are the best. And mofongo.
Agreed 🙂