No-fail baked plantains
I followed a grain-free diet for years before I tried plantains. If you are late hopping on the plantain bandwagon, here are three reasons to make them your friend:
- Plantains offer a paleo-friendly source of starch. To reap the best physical and mental health on a grain-free diet, it’s crucial to find your optimal carb intake. Don’t automatically correlate paleo with low carb. To learn about my journey and tips with customizing your carb intake, read my post How to Eat Sugar.
- Plantains provide inexpensive nutrition. My local food co-op sells plantains at $1 to $2 a pound.
- Plantains are endlessly versatile. In their various stages of ripeness, they can be used for sweet or savory uses. Want to expand your plantain repertoire? Read my 20 Plantain Recipes to De-Gluten Your Favorite Recipes.
Ways to enjoy sweet baked plantains
- Keep it simple: drizzle with some coconut oil or ghee and a pinch of salt.
- Top with rich, slow-cooked meats that pair well with the sweet undertones – think mole or carnitas.
- Make a decadent, no-sugar-added treat to satisfy your sweet tooth. First, top the warm plantains with coconut oil, ghee, or your choice of nut butter. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and – my secret ingredient – pure vanilla powder.
One-Step Baked Plantains
Ripe plantains, baked in their skin, become tender and sweet. For an easy treat, sprinkle with cinnamon and a dollop of coconut oil.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe plantains or as many as desired. They should be yellow and well spotted.
Toppings as desired
- Unrefined salt
- Coconut oil ghee or butter
- Pure vanilla powder my favorite!, available here
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap each plantain in parchment paper and twist to seal. It will not be airtight, but good enough. Then, set the wrapped plantains in a rimmed baking dish. (I prefer to use parchment paper rather than foil, as the aluminum in foil has been shown to leach into foods while cooking.)
- Bake for 40 minutes, until the plantains are very tender when the skin is sliced. Let cool slightly, then remove the skin and slice. Enjoy while warm.
- I enjoy these baked plantains as pictured. While still warm, I drizzle with some coconut oil and a pinch of salt. Then I lightly sprinkle the cinnamon and vanilla powder on top.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
What is your favorite use or recipe for plantains?
I have a whole bunch of recipes for plantains that I eat all the time starting with tortilla de platanos machos for breakfast (basically a banana omelet), fufu (my husband used to call fufu, banana hash) for lunch, and my favorite tostones. I used to make
plantanos al tentacion al horno but it doesn’t fit with how I’m eating these days.
This is really good too Carne guisado con platanos. I grew up eating plantains, the green ones get treated like a starch and the ripe ones like a fruit.
Have you ever had plantain soup? it’s really good too.
regards,
Theresa
Thanks Theresa for the beef & plantain stew recipe, I’ll try that! Thanks Lauren too… I have been frying plantain slices which is nice but looking for more ideas as I’m more familiar with potatoes!
Any chance you might give more information on recipes and preparing them? Sounds wonderful.
Our favorite plantain recipe is for ginger bread waffles. The waffles are light and delicious.
I would love your recipe!
Hi Lauren,
I’m really looking forward to your way of doing the plantains. I’ve got to share though, that the way I’ve been making them is really quicker and super good too. You take the ripe plantain and fry it with a small amount of coconut oil, on medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes (depending on how ripe the plantain is). That’s it! You can add your vanilla or cinnamon afterwards, but it’s not needed. Try it!
Thanks for the inspiration!
You can also steam the plantains, am from a region in India where lots of plantains are grown and it can be added to meat instead of potatoes or eaten when they are ripe without baking or steaming.
YUM!!! I love plantains especially this time of year.
I am from DR and grew up eating plantains, green and yellow in so many ways. I love to make them in the morning for breakfast. Boiled and mashed like potatoes, with eggs and uncured bacon. When you eat green plantains you feel fuller and you digest the plantains slower. I bake them peeled with cinnamon and coconut or ghee in a dish wrap with parchment paper and dish covered.
Sweet potatoes, green, purple, Japanese, not yams, we make it in different ways. Not only as a starch, but as a dessert.
Made this tonight & it was good only thing is now it’s 91 degrees in my kitchen so I’m going to try it on the grill this weekend.
I love the idea of cooking them in the oven!! Sounds like less clean-up…then on the stove top. 🙂 My fav plantain recipe is definitely green plantain hashbrowns with onion powder! My 6 year old son says they taste like McDonald’s (I’ll have to take his word for it though!).
Hi, do the plantains need to be wrapped in paper?
I haven’t tried without wrapping them. I believe it keeps the plantains moist and allows the peels to be removed after baking.