Recipe: Sweet Fried Plantains (Plátanos Maduros)

Here's a sweet and savory side dish that's economical and easy to make. Sweet fried plantains, or plátanos maduros in Spanish, are a staple of Latin American cuisine, and are found in a few West African dishes as well. These chewy, slightly caramelized disks pair well with black bean soup, roast chicken, rice, or simply on their own.

The preparation technique is similar in most areas, but the garnishes are different. For example, in Venezuela, cinnamon is added. In Honduras, they are served with sour cream. In Cuba, they are served as-is. I prefer the Cuban version - I really like the flavor of the cooked fruit and I don't think the plátanos maduros need anything else.

Plantains are very similar botanically to bananas, but have less sugar. Like bananas, they are picked and shipped while green, and change color to yellow and then to black as they ripen. The yellow stage of the plantain is firmer and contains a lot of starch, and has a mouthfeel similar to a potato when cooked. For plátanos maduros, you want to buy the extremely ripe plantains - the black ones. These contain more sugar and have a softer texture. Since I live in San Francisco, I buy them at my neighborhood bodega, but if you don't have any Latin American grocery stores in close proximity, plantains are often found at supermarkets next to the bananas or in the exotic fruit section. They are bigger and thicker in size than bananas, and the seams are more pronounced.

Plátanos Maduros Recipe

Ingredients:
1 very ripe plantain with black skin
Canola or corn oil
Optional: fresh lime

Directions:
Heat enough oil in a skillet so that the oil is about ¼ of an inch deep. Peel the black skin from the plantain and slice it diagonally into rounds that are about ½ inch thick. When a drop of water sizzles in the oil, add the plantain slices and cook until the bottom is golden brown. Turn over each slice and cook until both sides are evenly golden, with a hint of caramelization on the edges. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towels to drain; pat off any excess oil. Serve hot. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on them if you desire.

(Image: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (16)

I've been making these a few times a week this summer. I fry/boil mine - fried on both sides first and then a small amount of water added to pan covered to cook them through. Not as much oil, and very tasty.

One of my favorite foods!

I like how good Latin markets will have the stacks of plantains organized by stages of ripeness.

Baked some slices with a papaya that was cut before it was fully ripe. I read that you can cook papaya like a squash. Put a little dark rum, squeeze of orange , cinnnamon, sprinkle of dark sugar. Had with black beans, rice, fried fish and salsa.

yummmmm. This is a common dessert/evening snack in South India. It's fried in ghee and then sugar sprinkled over. slurp..

I like them cut lengthwise, in long, thin strips. Seems to taste better like that !

yay! this is my favorite food!

In my home we eat them with two fried eggs. We like to dip the plantains in the eggs.

A Peruvian friend of mine makes a native dish from twice fried pantains, red onions, and bacon. He claims its a breakfast dish, but its delicious enough I eat it whenever its cooked.

I <3 Cuban fried plantains !

I have a Puerto Rican friend who makes the best plantains. I've tried making them a few times: some turned out better than others ;)
I think getting the oil temperature right is my biggest struggle.

The other day, I went to a restaurant in Miami serving "tortilla de maduros" -- essentially a plaintain omelette, with more eggs than a traditional Spanish tortilla. It was one of the best lunches I've had in the past while.

Then again, maduros are good in pretty much any capacity.

We ate these everywhere on our honeymoon in Costa Rica a few months ago. The very best ones we had were homemade by a family that we had the opportunity visit (and where also cut in lengthwise strips like rosaak's). They were amazing!

However, under no circumstances should you buy fried plantains at a Costa Rican airport. They were horrid.

@sparksj
The "twice fried" that you mention is referred to as a TOSTONE and is excellent! Keep in mind though that to make this type, you need the plantain to be GREEN and no where near being ripe (or maduro). I say breakfast lunch and dinner....as well as a snack. :) Very versatile in how you can top or or just top with a sprinkle of salt.

@orchidgirl1979
I'm Puerto Rican and this is a weekly staple of ours. The green (or verde) types as well as the ripe (or maduro) types can make a nice side dish with so many main courses. Depending on your area, the stores that carry them may not be of decent quality and that can certainly impact the experience. Many people are scared of these since they expect there to be some type of banana component and it's just a totally different concept.

this is my all time favorite food, people. we slice ours on a diagonal. obviously this doesn't change the taste (although there is more surface area to fry), but it does make it a lot easier to flip while cooking.

We live in Peru, and have this for lunch about once a week, with rice and fried eggs. It's my kids' favorite meal.
Cooking Plantains

I love them hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Hi! I'm from Venezuela and I've never heard of anyone using cinnamon on their sweet fried plantains. We don't add anything at all. Here we call this dish "tajadas" and we have them mostly as a side dish although some people (like me) like to have them as dessert as well :)

Thank you for posting the recipe..

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get these to turn out right!!

I absolutely love maduros, and I like them to be soft, squishy inside, and nicely carmelized outside. Exactly as pictured here! My plantain looked identical - black on the outside, a slight orange-y look inside since it was so ripe. I used a cast iron skillet with the right amount of oil, and I cooked them as per instruction.. However, they are not softening at all. They are hard, sorta crispy on the outside, and taste mealy. :/

Please help if you can!

Thank you!