Who can resist these delicious baked ripe plantains stuffed with cheese? One thing you may have noticed about Ecuadorian food – and Latin food in general – is that there is a lot of frying going on. There are a lot of healthy options also, but yes a lot of things are fried, which can be very tasty and is fine as long as there is a balance. My mom was always concerned about keeping us healthy when we growing up and was very focused on healthy food, so she tried a lot of different ways to prepare foods that were typically fried and either bake them and/or use less grease.
We loved having fried ripe plantains with cheese for breakfast, but sometimes my mom would bake them instead, and they were just as good. She would rub a little bit of butter or oil on the plantains, bake them and then stuff them with cheese – or for a quicker version you can slice the plantains, bake them and then sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Easy recipe for homemade baked ripe plantains stuffed with cheese.
Ingredients
- 6 ripe plantains, whole
- 1-2 tbs melted butter or oil, use as little as you want
- 6 thick slices of mozzarella
- Aji criollo or cilantro hot sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F
- Peel the plantains, place them on a baking sheet and rub them with butter or oil.
- Bake the plantains for 30 minutes, then turn each one and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden on both sides.
- Remove the plantains from the oven, made a horizontal slit on the middle of each plantain, and stuff them with the cheese slices.
- In a few minutes the cheese will have melted, serve immediately, with or without hot sauce.
These baked ripe plantains with cheese are great for breakfast or brunch. You can eat a whole one or cut in half or smaller pieces to serve as appetizers or as a side dish. I love to eat these baked ripe plantains with aji criollo, a spicy Ecuadorian hot sauce, the combination of sweet plantain, melted gooey cheese and spicy cilantro hot sauce is just perfect. So, if you love plantains but want to try a healthier alternative to frying ripe plantains, or just want to try a new twist on them you should give these a try.
Step by step preparation photos for baking ripe plantains with cheese:
Yum. Making this this very minute…
Thanks for all the recipes you share! My family and I are currently living outside of Quito and I’ve used your blog a lot especially when I’m preparing snacks for my daughter’s school! She attends an Ecuadorian preschool and I have to prepare a lot of typical foods that I’ve never done before! Thanks for all your help and deliciousness!!!
For all you Seattleites: Sometimes the market (Pike Place) carries plantains, but only seasonally that I’ve found. I regularly find them at Uwajimaya, the large Asian market in the International District.
They sell plantains at QFC, Metropolitian Market, Whole Foods. They are easy to find.
I LOVE these! I’m from ecuador too, and the best type of cheese to use is a salty cheese. Mozzarella is good, but try going to the store and look for “Queso blanco” aka white cheese, it works awesome.