When in Rome, do as the Romans.
When in the Caribbean…
…Make plantains.
Never had a plantain? I’d describe it as a heartier banana that almost borders on the texture of a sweet potato, sliced and fried similarly.
In fact, plantains are often used as the potato or pasta of the Caribbean because they are starchy.
The way I prepared them was a little sweet from the cinnamon and sugar and the flavor of the coconut oil seeped into them perfectly.
So the next time you see these in the market, don’t fear them.
Know that the inside is lovely and you can wind up with these. And they are so good. Just trust me on this one.
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Coconut Oil Fried Cinnamon Sugar & Ginger Plantains (vegan, gluten free)
2 plantains
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Directions: Peel the plantains and slice the flesh about 1/8th inch thick. Add enough coconut oil to the bottom of a skillet, heat it up, and fry the plantains about 90 seconds on each side. Remove plantain slices from the oil and lay them on paper towels to blot excess oil.
While the plantains are cooling, combine sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl. Add the plantains to the bowl, tossing with your hands to coat the slices before serving.
Extras will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. Not necessarily “ideal” but still okay a day (or two) later.
Optional:
Omit cinnamon-sugar-ginger coating and try a savory coating
Dip them in something (based on what kind of spices you used in your recipe) such as: a yogurt-based dip, ketchup, honey, ranch or Blue Cheese dressing, or smear them with extra coconut oil or butter, or make honey butter or honey coconut oil.
I suspect a agave or honey-cream cheese-cinnamon-sugar dip would have been perfect with the recipe I used today (1/4 c cream cheese, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon; stir to combine & dip the slices in)
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Here’s a chart that highlights a few of the differences between plantains and bananas
| Plantains | Bananas |
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You don’t have to make the plantains with cinnamon and sugar. But that would be crazy. Why make something savory when you have a raging sweet tooth and can satisfy it with some cinnamon and sugary and still say that you’ve eaten your vegetables.
You could make plantains with garlic and onions or any number of spices from cumin to turmeric to curry to just fry them in vegetable or olive with salt and pepper or no seasonings at all.
And yes, that’s a banana in the picture with the plantains. Just to keep you on your toes.
For those who don’t “love” bananas (I like bananas in things, like in one of these, but am not really that keen on bananas just on their own), plantains don’t taste all that similar to bananas.
A few hours later the extra plantain slices we didn’t inhale immediately were almost cake-like. Okay, cake is a stretch, but bread-like. Chewy and starchy and full of texture. Not mushy like a banana.
If you’ve ever had dehydrated bananas, plantains have a similar texture.
They make for a great snack and I served them as a side to our dinner but I don’t even bother taking dinner pictures here anymore because the lighting is so atrocious.
And with the cinnamon, sugar, and dusting of ginger at the end, good stuff.
But a dusting of cinnamon and sugar will always make things better for me.
Case in point, Coconut Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds
Questions:
Have you ever had plantains? If so, where and how were they prepared?
Would you like to try them sometime?
And if you want to get your hands on some free Coconut Oil (maybe to fry up some plantains), enter the Coconut Oil Giveaway that I have going on.
Wow I’ve never had plantains before.. I don’t think I’ve even seen them here in Australia! But they do look good, I love bananas and sweet potatoes, so surely I’d like them.. would be very interested to try!:)
When I was in Nicaragua on a medical mission trip, I had fried plantains all the time! They are amazing!
I hate bananas with a fiery passion but love plantains. There’s a place in Jamaica that I used to go to where you could get the most amazing plantain nachos on the beach, just so good.
I adore plantains. Not a huge banana or potato person, but plantains? All sorts of awesome:)
i think it’s absolutely positively amazing that you turned these beautiful plantains into the crunchy versions pictured above! i suppose that i never figured of how they were actually made. i always assumed they arrived fresh to the bulk dried food section at the grocery store. haha! (me = airhead). lovely recipe. i will be doing this one for my next film night party! x
I LOVE plantains. I don’t think they taste anything like bananas, maybe because they aren’t eaten raw? The other thing to note about them is that they are better (read: sweeter) when the outside is completely black. So, buy them green and have patience.
Fried in a bit of oil with salt and sugar. That was my staple breakfast when I lived in Panama. I think I ate them every day. So good.
The first time I tried plantains was earlier this year in punta Cana. The resort prepared them like hash browns in the breakfast buffet and they were great! I recreated it at home once but I don’t usually eat things like hash browns for breakfast so I haven’t really thought about plantains since. I love how you’re just cooking up a storm down there! Enjoy!
Ha! When I was first married I bought plantains and thought they were just really big bananas … I didn’t know they had to be cooked and they tasted terrible. After that, I learned how to cook them and really liked them.
I think I’ve only had a plantain once in my entire life…not sure why – it was delicious!
I’ve never tried plantains but you’ve inspired me! One of these days I’ll have to pick a few up.
Loooooove plantains!
I love plantains! Super hard to find up here, though.
When you let them get so ripe, the skin is black, they are just as sweet but tastier and richer than a banana, super delicious, best raw pudding ingredient ever…
I love plantains! I usually only have them when I travel so this would be fun to whip them up myself– pretend I’m on a tropical vacation : )
pretending and a good imagination are my rules to live by :)
I’ve never had plantains, thanks for sharing the difference I never actually knew any of that. I would definitely give them a try though, if they caramelize anything like a banana does I’m sure they are fantastic.
they do sort of caramelize..I didn’t let these get very caramelized but yes, you totally can.
OHHHH YUM. You are speaking my language, girl. Plantains are my absolute FAVORITE food in the entire world. I like to wait until they’re black and sweet and then I fry them up in a little coconut oil. I’ve never tried them this way–it’s on my list now!
Im glad Im speakin’ your language. Lmk if you try them this way and if you have any other fave ways/recipes, holla!
I’ve actually never had plantains. I’ve always wanted to try them, just never really had the opportunity other than buying and trying to come up with something at home.
You totally need to try them! And I will let you know about the white asparagus if that gets made (or bought) ha!