Fried green plantains also known as tostones are chunks of green plantains, that are fried, flattened, and then fried again.
These twice-fried plantains are popular in Latin American cultures and come out crispy and salty.
They are delicious served as a side dish or as an appetizer with a variety of dipping sauces. Some of my personal favorites are mojito sauce, guacamole, and mayo-ketchup.
You really can’t go wrong with fried plantains—and the recipe could not be easier!
Why you’ll Love Tostones
- Delicious party appetizer -Tachinos are a delicious party appetizer for Summer gatherings, Cinco de mayo, or enjoy anytime you make a Spanish or Caribbean style meal.
- Quick and easy to make – These fried plantains only take about 20 minutes to prep and cook. It’s a quick snack idea just like my Elote in a Cup recipe.
- A real crowd-pleaser – This is one of those appetizers that tends to disappear as soon as it’s laid out. Luckily, with only a few ingredients this recipe is easy to multiply depending on crowd size.
Fried Green Plantains Recipe
This tostones recipe is made with two plantains, but make more depending on your crowd size.
Here is what you need.
Ingredients
- Green Plantains
- Garlic Salt
- Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil
Green Plantains – Make sure to look for plantains that have not ripened and are as green as possible.
Avoid getting brown plantains, otherwise you’ll be frying up sweet maduros, not crispy, salted tostones.
Garlic Salt – Tostones are simply seasoned green plantains that are fried. My favorite seasonings are garlic salt, Goya Adobo seasoning or sea salt.
Vegetable Oil – The oil is used for frying smashed plantain slices. Use vegetable, canola or avocado oil.
How to Make Fried Green Plantains
- Peel the plantains and cut into 1 inch thick slices.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium heat.Make sure the oil is sizzling hot before adding plantains and that oil covers the plantains.Fry the plantains until lightly golden on both sides.
- Using a spider skimmer, fork, or metal spatula remove plantains from oil and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Smash plantains with a small saucepan, bottom of a can, or tostonera, by pressing down to flatten the plantains.
- Return the flattened plantains to the hot oil and fry a second time until crisp around the edges. Place plantains on a paper towel lined plate and blot off any remaining grease. Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste and enjoy tostones plain or dip in your favorite Latin American dipping sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Only use green plantains to make tostones. Ripened plantains are too sweet.
- To keep tostones from falling apart when you smash them, make sure they are golden brown after the first frying. If they are not cooked enough, they will fall apart.
Helpful Tools for Cooking Tostones
Dipping Sauces for Tostones
Each Latin American Culture has their preferred way of cooking and eating plantains.
Some cultures enjoy them sweet, while others make “tajadas con queso.”
However, most Spanish cultures serve tostones with a creamy dipping sauce and each one is delicious.
It’s nearly impossible to choose just one!
14 Popular Latin American Sauces
Mojito Sauce- or mojo de ajo, is the staple dipping sauce in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Mojo sauce- is a popular sauce originating from Cuba and throughout the islands of the Caribbean. There is a green mojo sauce and a red mojo sauce.
Green mojo sauce- or “mojo verde” is a vibrant sauce perfect for dipping platanos in.
Red mojo sauce- or “mojo rojo” is a spicy sauce that originated from the Canary Islands.
The base consists of pimienta picona or pimienta palmera peppers along with other ingredients.
Mayo Ketchup- is a dipping sauce also called fry sauce, pink sauce, and salsa rosada.
Salsa rosada is sauce you’ll find on most Puerto Rican and Dominican tables.
Refried black bean dip- or “frijoles molidos” is delicous with crispy, salted patacones.
Guacamole- is a dipping sauce that originated from Mexico and is one of my favorites!
Chimichurri- sauce originated from Uruguay and Argentina, made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and a few other seasonings.
Costa Rican Chimichurri- is a chunky sauce similar to pico de gallo. Only there are no diced jalapenos in this recipe.
Ceviche- is a seafood dish with chunks of raw fish, lemon and lime juice, red bell pepper, onion, and cilantro.
There are many variations of ceviche depending geographically where you are from.
Authentic Costa Rican ceviche has a secret ingredient to their ceviche and you’d never guess it’s club soda and ginger ale.
Garlic lime mayo sauce- is the perfect blend of citrus, cilantro, and mayonnaise.
Aji Amarillo sauce- is a spicy, creamy sauce made with aji Amarillo which is a yellow chili pepper from Peru.
added ingredients include; shallots, garlic, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, crumbled feta cheese, ketchup, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
Hogao Sauce- is a Colombian creole sauce that is the base for Colombian dishes, served as a condiment, or dipping sauce.
Moreover, if made into a dipping sauce blend until smooth and remove any chunks.
Other names for Tostones
Tostones- are ripe green plantains that are twice-fried and are a staple dish to Latin American Cuisine and Caribbean Cuisine.
I was curious what other surrounding cultures called this delicious appetizer. Below is a list of other names tostones go by depending where one may be from.
- Tachinos- Cuba
- Chatinos- Cuba
- Platano frito- Dominican Republic
- Frito Verde- Dominican Republic
- Bannann Peze- Haiti
- Patacones- Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru.
- Patacon Pisao- Colombia
- Plantain Crisps- West Africa
How to Make Fried Green Plantains (Tostones)
See how easy it is to make this tostones recipe. Tostones are twice-fried green plantains that come out crisp to perfection every time. Sprinkle with sea salt, garlic salt, or Goya Adobo seasoning. Enjoy plain or dip in your favorite Latin American dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 large green plantains
- 2 cups vegetable oil or canola oil
- Garlic salt, to taste
Instructions
- Peel the plantains and cut into 1 inch thick slices.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Make sure the oil is sizzling, hot, before adding plantains and oil covers the plantains. Fry tostones until lightly golden on both sides, (about 5 minutes) Using a spider skimmer, fork, or metal spatula, remove plantains from oil and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Smash plantains with the bottom of a can, small saucepan, or tostonera, by pressing down to flatten them.
- Return the pressed plantains to the hot oil and fry until crisp around the edges (about 2 minutes.) Transfer plantains to a plate lined with a paper towel and blot off any remaining grease. Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste and enjoy tostones plain or dip in your favorite Latin American dipping sauce.
Notes
Make sure the cooking oil is hot before adding green plantains. I like to let oil heat up for about 10 minutes before adding them to the pot.
Cook tostones until brown before pressing them. If you under cook plantains they will break when you press them.
Make tostones ahead of time by frying in oil until brown, press them, and store plantains in an airtight container, between parchment paper until ready to fry a second time and serve
