Fried Sweet Plantains (Platanos Maduros)

Fried Sweet Plantains (also known as Platanos Maduros) are a popular Puerto Rican dish that 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 and piononos.

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!

Ingredients

The ingredient list for this recipe could not be simpler. You will need:

• Brown plantains
• Cooking oil 

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Here’s how I make my platanos maduros:

Get detailed instructions on how to peel a plantain!

What Makes these Plantains 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.

Optional Toppings

As you can tell from the ingredients, you really don’t need much to make these fried sweet plantains. They’re delicious on their own with an optional sprinkle of salt!

That said, there are some fun ingredients I like to sprinkle on at the end to fancy them up a bit when I’m feeling adventurous.

Here are some sweet variations:

• Sugar – add a light sprinkle of sugar when your maduros are fresh out of the fryer for an extra sweet kick.
• Cinnamon – cinnamon definitely has a place in my heart for both Puerto Rican and Moroccan cuisine. This spice compliments plantains really well and can be sprinkled over top just like sugar!
• Honey – if you’re trying to cut out refined sugar, a drizzle of honey can be a fun alternative to try. 

You can also lean towards a sweet & savory spin with a dipping sauce like mayoketchup or cilantro lime sauce.

Depending on how ripe your plantains are you could make something sweet and tangy (like these platanos maduros) or savory and salty like mofongo or tostones. 

More Plantain Recipes

Leftovers?

When it comes to fried food, I’m a strong believer that it needs to be eaten the day of, fresh out of the oil. Plus, with these platanos maduros, there are usually never any leftovers.

If you’re hoping to make these in advance, I wouldn’t recommend it. Because the plantains are ripe and brown, they shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to fry up.

Make them fresh and enjoy them like a true Puerto Rican 😊

Buen Provecho,

Print