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I’m excited to share with you how to make sweet fried plantains. Plantains have a way of taking a meal up a notch. Simple black beans & rice or a burrito becomes that much more of a celebration once sweet fried plantains are involved. Vegan & gluten-free.
One of my first food memories was from Sesame Street. They were showing what different families around the world eat.
One episode featured a little girl whose mom made fried plantains as a dinner side dish. That sounded amazing to me – fried bananas! I had never heard of them before. In fact, I didn’t know anyone who knew how to fry plantains. However, instinctively I knew that I would love them.
Unfortunately, it took many, many years until I would ever cross paths with plantains.
But years later I moved to a large city and found them on menus very readily. Just as I’d guessed, I loved every sticky sweet bite.
Over time, I learned how to fry plantains for myself. Now I regularly buy them, fry them at home, and enjoy them as a side dish.
If you haven’t made fried plantains, you are in for a treat. Not only are they easy to make, they make any meal more fun. I’m excited to share with you today how to make sweet fried plantains.
How to make sweet fried plantains
Check for ripeness
The key to sweet fried plantains is making sure the plantains are ripe enough. As you’ve seen with a standard banana, when it gets brown spots and dots, it’s becoming sweeter and riper.
The key to sugary sweetness is waiting until it’s very ripe. Otherwise, the starchy plantain will have more of a potato flavor than a banana flavor.
(If you want to make savory plantains instead, look for recipes for tostones.)
I like to buy them while they are yellow and then wait for them to ripen at home. That way I can be sure that those black spots aren’t bruises from where someone dropped them. However, that means that it may take several days or up to a week until it is fully ready.
If you want to make sweet fried plantains tonight, look for ones that are already very ripe in the grocery store bin. If you’d like them to ripen more quickly, pop them into a brown paper sack.
How to check for plantain ripeness
To check for ripeness, lightly press on the plantain in the same way that you’d press on an avocado or mango. If it slightly gives under your thumb, that’s a good indication that the fruit is ready.
Next, look at its outward appearance. Some blackened areas are just fine, and I’ll even keep plantains that are mostly black in the refrigerator to stop them from going from very ripe to bad.
(I do that with avocados too. Once they become the perfect level of ripeness, into the refrigerator they go, so that they don’t become unusable.)
How to prepare & fry sweet plantains
Once you’re ready to use the plantain, cut off both ends. Using a knife, gently cut a seam down the middle.
(Skins of plantains are thicker than standard bananas and don’t peel quite as easily.)
Then peel back the skin and discard it.
Cut the plantain into half inch pieces on a bias.
Lightly cover the base of a non-stick skillet with a neutral-flavored oil like organic canola or vegetable oil. (I generally use one to two teaspoons.) Bring to a medium to medium-high heat.
(Plantains are prone to sticking. So it’s much easier to use non-stick instead of stainless steel when frying them.)
Put the plantains in the warm pan, being careful not to overcrowd. Let them fry for a couple of minutes until they are brown on one side. Avoid moving them, so that they can get nice brown coloring.
Flip them and let the other side brown for a minute more. Then lower the heat, so that they can get fully done inside without burning.
At this point, if you need to move and/or flip them occasionally to keep them from burning, go for it. In total, expect the plantains to cook for about 10 to 14 minutes.
Unlike some fried foods, I don’t put cooked plantains on towels to blot the oil, because they are prone to sticking. Plus, a little bit of sticky fried goodness only adds to the experience.
Once they’re ready, remove the plantains from heat and serve with refried bean burritos, a salad, or black beans & rice. (See more recipe ideas below.)
Sweet fried plantains (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon organic canola oil* or other high heat oil
- 1 plantain very ripe with blackened peel
Instructions
- First, make sure your plantain is ripe enough. You want the peel to be blackened and for the fruit to have a gentle give when you press on it. Once it's ready, cut off both ends. Using a knife, gently cut a seam down the middle. (Skins of plantains are thicker than standard bananas and don’t peel quite as easily.) Then peel back the skin and discard it. Cut the plantain into roughly half inch pieces on a bias.
- Lightly cover the base of a non-stick skillet with a neutral-flavored oil like organic canola. Bring to a medium to medium-high heat. (Plantains are prone to sticking, and so it’s much easier to use non-stick instead of stainless steel when frying them.)
- Put the plantains in the warm skillet, being careful not to overcrowd, and let them fry for a couple of minutes until they are brown on one side. Avoid moving the plantains, so that they can get nice brown coloring.
- Flip them and let the other side brown for a minute more. Then lower the heat, so that the plantains can get fully done inside without burning.
- At this point, if you need to move and/or flip the plantain occasionally to keep it from burning, go for it. In total, expect the plantains to cook for about 10 to 14 minutes.
- Once they’re ready, remove the plantains from heat and serve.
Abby says
That’s so true about people and our expectations on how they should be based on our memories and our own experiences. At this point Facebook is basically a big high school reunion, but there are still times that I’m caught off guard (like finding out a girl I babysat for has twins and a 13-year-old. Oy.)
Anyway, back to food–as it always is with me. I’ve never actually had a plantain but see them on blogs all the time, mostly because a lot of “Paleo People” use them as their only fruit. I’ve been curious, but haven’t tried them out yet. However, I do “fry” up bananas once in awhile in a non-stick pan to add to my sunflower seed butter and banana sandwiches to make them warm and gooey. So good.
Cadry says
Oh, that’s interesting that a lot of people doing Paleo use plantains as their only fruit. I don’t really keep up with Paleo trends or read Paleo blogs, and so I hadn’t realized that. Interesting!
Your sunflower seed butter & fried banana sandwiches sound so delicious!
Abby says
I just have a few vegan blogs I check that sometimes incorporate Paleo options. I could never go that way!
Becky Striepe says
I have nostalgia for sweet plantains, too! They’re easier to find in south Florida where I grew up, and we used to fry or bake them often. The best!
Cadry says
Plantains immediately take up the fun quotient in the meal, regardless of how they’re made. I haven’t made baked plantains in a while, but they are super tasty too!
Laura Black says
I live here on Maui and I am blessed with cooking bananas from a local friend who owns not one but two farms. I am not much of a cooked banana fan, but I fell in love with cooked plantains. I make them and munch on them all morning while doing my daily routine. Although, I think the absolute best way to cook them is in coconut oil!!!! Not only does the coconut complement the bananas beautifully, but coconut oil can take the heat much better than other oils that oxidize under extreme heat, like frying!!! Try it, I think you will like it a lot! 🙂
Cadry says
Oh, how lucky for you to have that kind of access to plantains! Thanks for the tip on the coconut oil. I have loads of it, and so I’ll definitely give that a try next time!
Nicole says
Yum, I love plantains! I use coconut oil and then after they are done like yours I let them cool for a few minutes and then use a heavy mug or glass to smash them down, then put them back into the oil for another browning! Last time I ate them with a sriracha vegenaise dipping sauce, which was yummy but probably not very traditional!
Now that I’m over 20 years out of high school (yikes!), the thing I’ve been noticing recently is that when I’m out and about I keep thinking I see a girl or guy that I went to high school with, but then it dawns on me that they would be much, much older now and it can’t be them (haha then I feel really old lol!)
Cadry says
That’s two votes for coconut oil! I’ll definitely try using that next time. I’ve heard of that smashing/double frying method for tostones, but I’ve never tried it with sweet plantains. It sounds super delicious!
Shell says
Plantains remind me of visiting you in California. Great memories! I’m going to try my hand at making these. I’ll have to resist the urge to make them before the fruit is super ripe. The plantain in the picture is much more ripe than I expected. Looking forward to trying it out!
Cadry says
Oh, that’s sweet! I like that. It can be hard to wait until the fruit is fully ripe. I made that mistake a few times when I first started making plantains, because there’s an inclination to assume a black fruit means it’s overripe instead of ready. Trust me, they taste much more delicious when they’re ripe and sweet! 🙂
Tracey says
Yum!!
Becky Striepe says
Oh man, I love fried plantains! These look so good, Cadry!
Cadry says
Thanks, Becky! I really need to make plantains more often. I kind of forget about them!
Leesa G. says
I know most recipes say use an oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor, but I’m wondering if frying plantains in coconut oil might be yummy? Seems like the two flavors would go well together (?)
Cadry says
If you like the flavor of coconut oil, go for it! I think it would pair with plantains very nicely. Personally, I find coconut oil to be a bit overbearing, and so I don’t use it very often. It’s a good high heat oil, though. So if the flavor isn’t too strong for you, there’s no reason not to try it!