Fried Sweet Plantains (Platanos Maduros)
Fried Sweet Plantains (also known as Amarillos or Platanos Maduros) are a popular Puerto Rican dish made with 2 ingredients: oil & brown plantains. They are commonly served as a side dish, snack, or dessert and are known for their naturally sweet taste & creamy texture.
If you’ve been a reader here at Salima’s Kitchen for long, you know my family loves plantains.
This fruit is a super versatile and traditional ingredient used in all kinds of ways in Puerto Rican cuisine. We use these fried sweet plantains in other popular plantain recipes like pastelón.
This is because the natural sweetness they provide goes well with many dishes, both sweet and savory.
If this is your first time trying them, you’ll be impressed by the depth of flavor that comes from frying one simple ingredient. They have a sweet caramelized richness, with subtle savory notes and deliciously crispy edges.
My family enjoys serving them paired with white rice and bistec encebollado, or on their own as a sweet treat!
Instructions
Here’s how I make my platanos maduros:
Get detailed instructions on how to peel a plantain!
What Makes these Amarillos Sweet?
The difference between a sweet plantain and a starchier, more neutral tasting one is all in the ripeness.
You’ll notice the longer they have to ripen, the darker in color they turn. First they’re green, then yellow, brown, and finally black!
The darker the color, the sweeter the fruit.
More Plantain Recipes
Buen Provecho,
Fried Sweet Plantains (Platanos Maduros)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: Latin, Puerto Rican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fried Sweet Plantains (also known as Amarillos or Platanos Maduros) are a popular Puerto Rican dish made with 2 ingredients: oil & brown plantains. They are commonly served as a side dish, snack, or dessert and are known for their naturally sweet taste & creamy texture.
Ingredients
- 3–4 brown plantains
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- Prep the plantains. Start by peeling your plantains and cutting diagonally into 1 inch sections. Preheat your oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat.
- Fry. Once the oil is hot, gently add in your plantain chunks, making sure not to crowd the pan too much. Your pan should have enough oil to almost cover the slices, so add more if needed. Fry the slices for 4-6 minutes, making sure to flip them every few minutes until golden brown all around.
- Drain. Remove the slices from the oil & drain any excess grease on a paper towel lined plate.
- Serve. Serve with a light sprinkle of salt alongside arroz con gandules, picadillo, or as is. Enjoy!
These are great. My husband use to make these for me every day. Since he has passed I want to start making these again. Looks very easy
I LOVE Maduros! It had been a while since I cooked any so needed to look up thickness of the cut and how long to cook them. When my parents cooked them, it was usually lengthwise and served with fries eggs. That’s what I was making this morning, fried eggs and maduros! Mmmm… Thank you for having this simple recipe for anyone to try this delicious treat.
I just made these and they were delicious. Tasted just like the ones I had over in Puerto Rico. Will definitely be cooking the again! 💚 Definitely a keeper…thank you for sharing.
Since I was a kid my mother would make this and put cream cheese on top and have it with black beans soup over rice and to this day I still make it that way even my sons love them