Plantains are a staple ingredient in Puerto Rican food as well as other Caribbean and tropical cuisines. Most people know of sweet plantains, but you can eat and cook with either ripe plantains (sweet) or green plantains. Both are delicious. I’ve wanted to share a pastelón recipe, a dish akin to lasagna that I love, for a while now. Just about everyone I know that tries it also loves it.
First, let me share a quick explanation of plantains. Plantains are not bananas, but they are like cousins. There are green ones, yellow ones, and those that lean towards black. Green plantains are not sweet and are used in Puerto Rico to make dishes like tostones (fried green plantains) and mofongo. Yellow plantains are ripe and have a sweet taste. They are the ones used to make amarillos (or maduros in some countries), which are fried ripe plantains. The black-ish plantains are even more sweet and their texture is very soft. For pastelón, you want very ripe plantains, so try to pick out black plantains mostly when making this dish.
Now, let’s get to the pastelón recipe, which I just know you’re going to love! Be sure and tell me if you try this, ok?
Pastelón Recipe (Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna)
Ingredients:
- Ground beef, about 2 lbs.
- Adobo
- Meat tenderizer
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- Sazón, 1 packet
- 3 tbsp. tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 tbsp. sofrito
- Spanish olives, 5-6 diced
- Salt, as needed
- Vegetable oil (for frying)
- Ripe plantains
- 3-4 eggs
Steps:
Cook Ground Beef
You will need to make a sofrito as a base for the ground beef. To see pictures and links for the basic ingredients used in Puerto Rican sofrito, click on over and read 5 Must-Have Ingredients for Cooking Puerto Rican Food. As with previous recipes I’ve posted, I apologize for the lack in detail with the ingredients and the steps, but it is true to how I and everyone in my family cooks. We do not measure and just go along pouring items into the pot.
- Season ground beef with adobo and meat tenderizer.
- Add vinegar, sazón, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sofrito, and olives.
- Brown the beef and cook until well done.
- Keep on low heat until ready to use.
Peel and Fry Plantains
- Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan.
- Peel each plantain by cutting off the ends, then carefully slicing down the skin length-wise. Separate the plantain from the peel. (See image above for example.)
- You will need to slice each plantain into layers by cutting length-wise across the plantain. Each layer should be thin, but thick enough to pan-fry. (See image below for details.)
- Carefully place each plantain layer into your frying pan. You want the plantain to have a golden-brown color, turning each layer halfway-through so that both sides get a nice color.
- Once both sides of the plantain are golden-brown, remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered plate so the oil is absorbed.
- Repeat steps 4-5 until all your plantain layers are fried.
Assemble and Bake Pastelón
- Using a lasagna dish, layer the fried plantains to cover the bottom of the dish.
- Spread cooked ground beef on top to cover the length of the dish.
- Repeat steps 1-2, creating alternating layers of plantains and ground beef.
- Crack open your eggs into a bowl and beat as you would for scrambled eggs.
- Pour the egg over the top of the pastelón, making sure to get some into the corners, sides, and middle. This helps seal the pastelón, so it doesn’t break apart as much when serving.
- In a microwave oven, cook the pastelón on high heat for about 6-8 minutes. Check to be sure egg has cooked thoroughly. You could probably also bake the pastelón in a conventional oven, but my mother always uses the microwave when she makes pastelón, so it’s what I learned.
That’s it! You now have a delicious pastelón ready to serve and enjoy. This goes great with a side of white rice, but a salad would be good too if you prefer. I hope you try this pastelón recipe that is popular in Puerto Rico and love it as much as I do!
Have you ever cooked with plantains? What’s your favorite plantain dish?
You’ve inspired me! We made a vegetarian version once and it was heavenly. You just reminded me of it =) We used veggie burgers instead. Really, though, anything with maduros is amazing! Great pics!
A veggie version, huh? So glad you’re inspired! 😉 Thanks.
If you are vegetarian you will like to add green beens (french sliced). In Mayagüez we call it piñón.
Yes, I’ve heard this name too and have seen some people do add the green beans.
Never! Have I heard this green beans the slice French ones! Ha! Not a bad choice!
For my daughter that’s vegetarian.
Sounds like a great option for her!
Yum! Mouthwatering. I want some now.
So glad you like!
hey sweetie what kind of cheese can we or do you use??
I don’t use cheese in my pastelón recipe, but I imagine mozzarella would work well!
Wepa! que rico es nuestro pastelón de plátanos maduros
Rico, verdad? Uno de mis favoritos!
Wow, that looks amazing. Thank you for explaining the difference between the plantains.
You’re so welcome! Glad it was useful and that you like. 🙂
i remember tasting this the first time I went to PR, about 12 years ago…que rico!! Will definitely have to try to make it on my own soon. Thank you for the recipe!
Let me know how it goes when you make it!
I’m in love with this recipe! I’m Cuban so anything with maduros rocks our world! Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re so welcome! Had you posted this recipe before Marta? We love our platanos too!!
This is the simplest pastelon recipe to make. And it it DELISIOSO!!!
I have made this recipe twice now and it comes out perfect everytime. I bake mine in the oven though, and its oh so good!!
Awwww….I’m SO glad to hear that! Baking it in the oven sounds great. Keep enjoying!
Hi I was looking at Ur recipe I tried it before but I thought you are suppose to add cheddar cheese.. Am I wrong ?
Janet, I’ve never had it with cheese, but perhaps there are some households who use cheese in their recipes out there. Everyone has a different recipe!
Can you send me the nutritional values for this?
Hi Melissa, I’m unsure of the nutritional values or how to calculate them myself. Perhaps you can look them up with the help of an online calculator?
Hello,
I have to say that you have done an outstanding job explaining how to do pastelon recipe. It looks yummy. I am going to try to make it this weekend. The only question I have is if I make it in the oven how long do I leave it in for?
You’re going to love it! Since the ground beef and the plantains are already essentially cooked, you’re really just going to need to make sure the egg is cooked thoroughly and that the entire dish is well-heated all around. I would say that you should bake it in a conventional oven for about 15 minutes, again, making sure to check that the egg is cooked all the way through and judging it to see if you need to leave it in longer. Hope that helps!
What temperature in the oven? Thanks
This recipe is actually for the microwave, but I would guess about 350 F for an oven.
This is my favorite puertorican dish! Just wanted to give you a quick tip, if you are ever in a hurry. Like me boricua working mom! I sometimes buy the maduros that are frozen and already done, slice them and arrange them in muffin pans, add meat, top with more maduro slices, little bit of egg for sealing and some cheese! Bake it! And have my quick pastelon version already divided and ready to go! For those days you dont have the time to fry all the ripe plantains AKA maduros! Thought I’d share… Although the original recipe is the best!
What a wonderful idea!!!! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing your quick version of pastelón!
I loved this when my Mami made it seemed like a lot of work. This sound much simpler
Que Rico 🙂
Hi there! I am Puerto Rican and Caucasian. I just recently begin really exploring my Puerto Rican heritage. This dish looks so delicious, I can’t wait to try it. I am getting married in August and was wondering if maybe you could give me some ideas for our menu? I would love to incorporate traditional Puerto Rican food.
Tia
Congratulations, Bonnie! Traditional Puerto Rican dishes call for arroz con gandules, pernil, plantains, etc. You could also serve pastelón – your guests would love it!
Thanks for the recipe, it came out great. This is one of my favorite dishes!
Thanks for letting me know you used my recipe! I’m so glad you liked it!
How many plaintains did u use
You’ll probably use about a dozen plantains.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!!! I have been making my own version of pastelon without frying the plantains……I just bake them or grill them and the flavor is just right…..and it does not take up too much time…….my arroz con gandules is scary……my goal is to perfect that dish from your beautiful country!
I never thought to cook them another way, but may have to give that a try! Here’s my arroz con gandules recipe (in a rice cooker), in case you want to try it! https://www.modernmami.com/latino-latina-culture/puerto-rico/arroz-con-gandules-recipe/
Hello!!! At what temperature in the oven?
This particular recipe cooks the pastelón in the microwave (that’s how my mami makes it), but I’m sure you can try it in a regular oven at about 350 degrees.
I wanted to know if u really have to fry plaintain o can let them cook in oven with the rest of ingredients
Lillian, I suppose it’s worth a try, but I’m not sure if the plantain will cook all the way through. We’ve always fried them through first before assembling the pastelón and baking it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
You can let them cook in the oven. I’ve done so, bake from about 30 to 45 minutes. It could be even longer 350 degrees.
quiero la reseta
me gustaria saber hacer pastelon de verenjenas.
el de platanos es rico. soy nacida en p.r. criada en new York, pero soy Boricua y me encanta cocinar. gracias
Hola Sonia, nunca he hecho un pastelon de verenjenas. Te dejo saber si lo intento un dia. 🙂
So if I want to cook pastelon in the oven, how long will it need to cook?
You should cook it until the eggs cook and the pastelón is set.
My Mom uses soft mashed potatoes instead of eggs to bind the meat and maduros together so that it doesn’t fall apart.
Oh wow, that’s interesting!
Does anyone have a recipe of how it’s made with the cheese???
I’ve never cooked it with the cheese, but I imagine you would add a layer of cheese at the top or perhaps in-between layers.
It’s always been baked when I was growing up and with no cheese…thank god it wasn’t even mentioned here..
I’ve been seeing some people do add cheese, but this is not the way my mami makes it. No cheese here! 😉
Fry them or cook them in the mi riwave first then put in conventional oven at 350 until the eggs cook through and it’s golden brown on top.
We also add green beans to them.
I’ve heard of this too!!
Just layer it as you would a lasagna just add shredded mozarella, thats how I make mine and its delicious!!
So you’re a fan of cheese in pastelón, huh? I’ve never tried it with cheese.
We use chedder cheese.. Plus we use the oven..and the egg we add on every layer after the meat..then the rest of course at the end on top on the plantains..
How many plantains? Recipe does not say
I’m guessing we used about 4-5 plantains, but this will depend on your baking dish. You’ll want enough to fill the length of the pan and repeat the layers.
Hi,how long do you leave it in the oven?
Hello, tried your recipe and absolutely enjoyed it! I’m curious what sides would pair well with this dish? For example, Italian lasagna is often paired with salad and breadsticks.
So glad you liked it! This pairs well with rice or salad.
Hi,
I am allergic to eggs…what can be used in this recipe as substitution?