When I’m craving a sweet and savory snack, I always make my Sweet Plantain Empanadas. Instead of the traditional crispy, flaky crust, these empanadas are made with ripe sweet plantains.
Yes – the dough is made with sweet plantains. I fill them with my famous picadillo, a little sprinkle of cheese, and fry em’ up! Everyone loves this recipe. It’s addicting, so I got to share it with you all.
Selecting the Right Sweet Plantain
First step in making these Sweet Plantain Empanadas is finding the perfectly ripe plantains. If you’ve never worked with plantains before, they are similar to their distant cousin- the banana.
They are more starchy and have thicker skins. The key to selecting ripe plantains is to look for a yellow skin with lots of black marks. The darker the plantain, the more ripe/sweet they are.
Preparing the Dough
Once you have the sweetest plantains you can find, it’s time to boil them until fork tender. For ease, I like to keep them with the skins on, and just cut the tips.
As they reach the desired tenderness, the plantain skin will naturally soften and either crack open or fall apart. Then, you allow the plantains to cool slightly before starting the dough-making process.
Creating the dough for this recipe, begins with the following steps:
- Mash the plantains until fully smooth and sticky.
- Then, add your seasonings. I recommend a pinch of salt, some sugar if needed, and a sprinkle of flour to combine.
Since plantains are naturally starchy, it doesn’t take much for the dough to come together. The flour in this recipe will act as a drying agent, but also as a thickener.
You’ll know the dough is perfect when you are able to form the dough into a ball and flatten it without cracks.
If you press into the dough, it will also bounce back a bit. That indicates there’s a good balance of moisture and flour. I prefer to flatten the dough with my palms but a rolling pin works too.
Empanada Filling
When it comes to stuffing these Sweet Plantain Empanadas, I like to aim for sweet and savory flavors. My classic Puerto Rican Picadillo is one of my favorite fillings.
The spiced ground beef really compliments the sweetness of the ripe plantain. To really boost the filling, I also love to add some mozzarella cheese.
You see – once you add the cheese, the filling suddenly resembles a Puerto Rican Pastelon and who doesn’t love that?!
More Puerto Rican Recipes
In many Puerto Rican dishes you’ll notice common ingredients like sweet plantains or ground beef/picadillo being used. You’ll also notice we love balancing savory and sweet notes in our cooking.
If you LOVE those type of bold flavors, I recommend trying some of my favorites:
Sweet Plantain Empanadas
Ingredients
Sweet Plantain Empanada Dough
- 2 large ripe sweet plantains
- 1-2 teaspoons white sugar if needed and to desired sweetness
- 1-2 teaspoons all purpose flour as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Filling
- 3 tablespoons ground beef picadillo recipe linked above
- 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese optional
Instructions
- Begin by slicing off the tips of each sweet plantain; top and bottom. Cut plantain in half. Do not remove the skin.
- In pot of boiling water, place the plantain halves inside and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender.
- Once skins break and plantain is tender, remove from boiling water and cool in a bowl. Remove skins, if not already broken, as they cool.
- Mash the plantains until smooth and clumps are not visible. Combine with sugar, pinch of salt, and vanilla extract. Once mashed, the mixture will be sticky.
- Next, slowly add flour into mixture until it's slightly thick and dry.
- To prepare the empanadas, grab a palm full of the empanada dough and roll into a ball. Press ball onto a sheet of parchment paper and flatten until even.
- Spoon picadillo filling in the center of the dough. Sprinkle in cheese and fold one edge onto the other edge. Press and seal using fingers.
- Sprinkle remaining flour on top to avoid stickiness then fry empanadas in hot oil for 3-4 minutes or until golden yellow caramel color.
- Place empanadas on plate with paper towels to cool and absorb excess oil. Then enjoy!
Santiago says
My abuelo used to make these all the time and I was dying to find a good recipe. Made yours and it tastes just like home. Thanks for sharing.
Omar G. says
Followed your recipe exactly. Very delicious. Next time I’m going to add some cheese.
Ashlee Dias says
10/10 stars!!! I can’t believe how easy they were to make. Sweet and delicious!!!!