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Vegetables · Fruiting vegetables

Plantain

Large, starchy cooking banana eaten green or ripe, fried, boiled, roasted or mashed.

Also called: plantains, plátano, dodo, kelewele

29 recipes with it

What it is

Plantains look like big, thick-skinned bananas with angular ridges. Green plantains are starchy and potato-like; yellow and black ones are sweeter and softer but still firm. They are almost always cooked. Green cooking bananas such as matoke are related but smaller and used mainly green.

Musa (AAB group)

How it’s used

  • Fried ripe as dodo, maduros or kelewele
  • Twice-fried green as tostones/patacones
  • Boiled and mashed (mangú, fufu)
  • Sliced thin into chips
  • Added to stews and curries

Characteristics

Taste
Starchy and neutral when green; sweet and caramelised when ripe.
Texture
Firm and dense; soft and creamy when ripe and fried.
When cooked
Green plantain is hard to peel (score the skin); ripe plantain caramelises quickly when fried.
Sold as
fresh, frozen
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for frying, Suitable for boiling, Suitable for grilling

Storage

At room temperature. Keep at room temperature; they ripen from green to yellow to black over days. Refrigerate only to slow ripening (the skin darkens).

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
122 kcal
Protein
1.3 g
Carbohydrate
31.89 g
Fat
0.35 g
Fibre
1.7 g
Sugars
17.51 g

USDA FoodData Central: Plantains, yellow, raw.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

Related ingredients

Recipes with plantain

See all 29

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More fruiting vegetables