Fried Sweet Plantains

Fried sweet plantains help to bring a taste of the Caribbean islands into your home. They’re perfect as a snack, appetizer, or side dish to your rice and beans!

Due to growing up in the Dominican Republic, I’ve consumed my fair share of plantains in all their varieties. From the new, green plantains to the ripe, yellow-almost-black plantains, I’m a big fan. Now that I live in New England, the plantain availability is scarce, By scare, I mean I can only find yellow plantains or “maduros” at my local grocery store. I can’t complain, though, because I’d rather just have one type of plantain than none at all.

A while back I wrote about Fried Green Plantains and how to make them perfectly crispy and salty. Today, I’ll be sharing how to make fried sweet plantains, using yellow plantains. Green and yellow plantains are the exact same fruit, except the latter is ripe. Ripening develops the sugars in the fruit, turning it into a delectable ingredient that is even used in desserts.

What’s the difference between bananas and plantains?

First of all, a banana is a snack on the go, meaning you can eat it raw. Plantains, since they are higher in starch and lower in sugars, are typically cooked before eating.

Plantains are turned into a meal by frying, boiling and mashing, or roasting them. All plantains start out green, then move to yellow (ripe), then quickly start getting black spots, until they turn completely black and are overripe.

Green plantains are used to make tostones, mangu, and mofongo in the Dominican Republic, while yellow plantains are used to make these fried sweet plantains.

How to make Fried Sweet Plantains

You’ll need: ripe (yellow-black) plantains and vegetable oil for shallow frying

Step 1: Cut both ends of the plantain off.

Step 2: Score the plantain all the way down, cutting through the skin but not the plantain flesh. Using this as a guide, peel back the plantain skin.

Step 3: Cut the large plantain into three equal pieces. If plantain is medium to small sized, just cut into two pieces.

Step 4: Cut each piece into four long slices.

Step 5: Preheat saute pan with 1/2 inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Place plantains in hot oil.

Step 6: Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip, cooking for 2-3 more minutes on the other side. Make sure they are golden brown!

Step 7: Cook thoroughly. The more ripe a plantain is, the faster it will cook.

Step 8: Serve alongside rice and beans, or just eat as a snack with cheese for lunch!

 If you have any questions about plantains, leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to answer then all!

Thanks for stopping by to learn how to make fried sweet plantains!