Baked ripe plantains with cheese {Plátanos asados con queso}
Easy recipe for making homemade baked ripe plantains stuffed with cheese – also known as plátanos maduros asados con queso.
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.
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.
Baked ripe plantains 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
Optional garnish:
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.
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.