Today’s recipe, pastelón, a.k.a. plantain lasagna, will make you hop right over the fence and join Team Plantain. 😜 And if you are already a plantain fan, then here is one more recipe to add to your plantain cooking arsenal. Seriously, you can do so much with plantains, am I right? That said, the main difference I found is that although both piñon and pastelón are popular Puerto Rican dishes that layer plantains, the plantains in piñon are typically mashed before they’re layered out. Another thing is that piñon also has canned green beans and kidney beans mixed into the beef filling. No matter what you call this dish, we can all agree that it’s truly an indulgent, wholesome recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
How to Make Pastelon
Prepare the Plantains Frying Plantains Baking Plantains Make the Filling Assemble the Plantain Lasagna
Serving and Storage Instructions
What to Serve With Pastelon
Pastelon is super good all by its lonesome, but I definitely like to pair it with a tropical drink. Try serving it with sorrel drink, mango juice, or Jamaican carrot juice. However, Southern sweet tea is a non-traditional drink that is quite refreshing with this dish. You can use whatever kind of protein you like in this recipe. Any ground meat, beans, or even a meat substitute will work. You can even use two different types of ground meat together if you want to. Traditionally, this recipe calls for raisins, which add more sweetness. I left them out because I’m not a huge raisin fan, at least not for this dish. Feel free to add them if you are a raisin lover, though. Store any leftover pastelon in an airtight container in the fridge, and it will keep for 3-5 days. I don’t usually recommend freezing pastelon because of the plantains, but you can freeze pastelon filling in an airtight container for three months. Just thaw it out the night before you want to make pastelon, and one giant step is done already. You can reheat pastelon in the oven or microwave. If you use the oven, set it to 350℉/177℃ for about 10 minutes or until the pastelon is heated through. Sometimes, I like to get a little fusion with this recipe and serve it up with bread from another culture. East African chapati or even just a basic flatbread tastes fabulous with it.
More Puerto Rican Recipes to Try
PiononoArroz con GandulesPicadilloPernil (Roast Pork)MofongoPasteles
Conclusion
Don’t let that long list of ingredients or steps scare you; this recipe is not at all hard to make. And believe you me, the resulting flavors are so worth the effort! Don’t forget to rate this recipe once you’ve tried it. I know it’s going to be a new family favorite. 🤩
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”hlR7CN3D” upload-date=”Tue Aug 07 2018 11:48:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Plantain Lasagna” description=”Plantains Lasagna aka Pastelon – a Latin-Style (Puerto Rican) lasagna that is a combination of sweet and savory, with spiced beef, sandwiched in layers of plantains, and topped with cheese and or eggs. Have I picked your interest yet?”]> This blog post was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
