Pastelon (Plantain Lasagna)
This Puerto-Rican-style pastelón is a delicious plantain lasagna combining sweet and savory flavors. Spicy beef sandwiched between layers of plantains and topped with cheese and eggs is incredibly tasty and naturally gluten-free. An excellent meal for special days or even just a regular weeknight dinner.
Are you still on the fence about plantains? I get it. If your culture doesn’t incorporate them, you might not know what to do with these extra-large bananas. The good news is that they’re easy to come by, delicious, versatile, and super easy to cook with, so you can find a ton of plantain recipes here on Immaculate Bites.
Today’s recipe 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?
Piñon vs. Pastelon
More than once, people have told me that this recipe is actually called piñon instead of pastelón. So I did a bit of research on the matter. As with most dishes, I found that there’s more than one way to prepare pastelon. In fact, even different regions of the same country often have different preparations or names for similar dishes.
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!
How to Make Pastelon
- Peel and slice the plantains into long strips. You can get 4-5 pieces per plantain, depending on its size. (Photos 1-2)
- To fry: From here, you can either fry or bake the plantains until lightly golden. Fry in about ½ inch of oil in batches, turning once, until lightly browned for about 5 minutes. Drain cooked plantains on a paper towel. (Photos 3-4)
- To bake: Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking oil (preferably canola) and arrange the plantains in a single layer. Lightly spray the side of the plantains facing up. Bake at 400℉ (205℃) for 12-20 minutes, turning the slices over after 8 minutes.
- Sauté the onions, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, oregano, and coriander for about a minute. Add the bell pepper and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. (Photos 4-5)
- Add the ground meat and beans and cook for about 7-10 minutes while stirring frequently. (Photo 6)
- Season with salt, chicken bouillon or sazon, and black pepper. Add the olives, green onions, and parsley, adjusting the seasonings to taste. Set the filling aside. (Photos 7-8)
- Layer the bottom of the baking pan with the plantain slices. Spread a decent amount of the beef mixture over the plantains just like you would prepare lasagna. (Photos 9-10)
- Repeat, alternating rows of plantains and meat until both are used up. Add grated cheese between each layer if desired. (Photo 11)
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and pour them over the top of the pastelon, covering the entire casserole. Top with grated cheese if desired. (Photo 12)
- Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 25-30 minutes, or until the egg has cooked through and the filling is bubbly.
- Cool the pastelon for 5 minutes, and serve hot.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- This recipe is remarkably flexible, and you can tweak the ingredients however you like. For example, leave out the cheese for a paleo-friendly version. And simply omit the meat for a vegetarian version.
- Some pastelon recipe call for raisins. Feel free to add them if you are a raisin lover.
- Moderately ripe plantains don’t fall apart or soak up tons of oil, making them just right for layering.
- Add a little cayenne pepper to taste for a bit of spice!
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Lasagna-style recipes usually taste better the next day. So you can assemble everything the day before, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake. Let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes and bake.
Store any leftover pastelon in an airtight container in the fridge, and it will keep for 3-5 days. You can also freeze pastelon in an airtight container for 4-5 months.
What to Serve With Pastelon
Pastelon is super good all by itself, but I definitely like to pair it with a tropical drink, like coquito. A little fusion with this recipe with East African chapati or a basic flatbread tastes fabulous with it.
More Flavorful Puerto Rican Recipes
By Imma
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?”]
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This blog post was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Pastelon (Plantain Lasagna)
Ingredients
- 3-4 large ripe plantains
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 teaspoons (15g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (2g) cumin
- 1 teaspoon (2g) smoked paprika
- ½ -1 teaspoon (1-2g) cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon (1g) dried oregano or thyme
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) ground coriander
- 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 pound (450g) ground beef or ground chicken
- 1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) water
- ½ teaspoon (2.5g) salt
- 1 packet Sazón (or 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon)
- ½ teaspoon (1g) freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (30g) sliced olives
- 2-3 green onion, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons (8-12g) parsley, chopped
- 2 cups (470g) shredded cheese
- 2-3 large eggs
Instructions
The Layers
- Using a sharp knife, cut both ends off the plantain for easier peeling. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain, cutting only as deep as the peel. Remove the peel. Slice the plantains horizontally into 4-5 pieces, depending on the plantains. You can either fry or bake the plantains.
- To fry: Heat a large cast-iron skillet with ½ inch of oil on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry the plantain in batches, turning once, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Avoid overcrowding the pan (the plantains will absorb excess oil and become soggy).
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried plantains and drain them on paper towels.
- To bake: Spray a baking sheet with oil and place plantain slices on it in a single layer. Spray plantains lightly with canola oil and bake at 400℉ (205℃) until slightly browned (12- 20 minutes), turning the slices over after 8 minutes.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet, and saute the onions, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, oregano, and coriander for about a minute.
- Then add the bell pepper and tomatoes or tomato sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the ground meat and beans, and cook for 7-10 minutes, while stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add broth or water as needed. Season with salt, chicken bouillon, or sazon and black pepper.
- Finally, add olives, green onions, and parsley, and adjust seasonings to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Assembly
- Spray a deep 8"x8" baking pan with cooking spray or rub with butter or oil.
- Line the bottom of the baking pan with the plantain slices, making sure there are no spaces between the plantains.
- Spread enough of the beef mixture over the plantains to make a layer, just like you would for lasagna. Alternate rows of plantains and meat until both are used up. Add cheese in between if desired.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and pour over them the pastelon, covering the entire casserole. Top with grated cheese if desired.
- Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 25-30 minutes, or until the eggs have cooked through and the filling is bubbly. Let it cool for a few minutes and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Add a small amount of broth or water as needed while cooking the filling to avoid burning.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Top 10 recipe in my arsenal, whole family enjoys and my coworkers literally (it’s funny) drool when I bring in leftovers. I’ve honestly never had something with such a savory-sweet, complex flavor. Typically I leave out the cayenne and bell pepper and halve the cumin when my mother’s eating, as she’s allergic to peppers. Still tastes excellent. I have also developed a vegan/vegetarian version for a Hindu in-law: replace meat with 1 can/0.5 dry cup lentils and 1 can/0.5 dry cup black eyed peas and add 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Adjust water and filling cook time so legumes are al dente before baking. Gets the textures, mouthfeel, and umami flavor right without meat. Cannot thank you enough for publishing this recipe, truly.
Amazing!!!!! That looks absolutely delicious!! Glad you loved it. Looking forward to you trying more of my recipes.
I love this recipe!! One of my go to recipes. Quick question has anyone tried it with ground turkey??
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. With all the spiciness, you may not even notice the difference. Please let me know how it goes.
I use ground turkey all the time. Like turkey and chicken best, sometimes needs a little extra oil however.
I have been looking for a Pastelon recipe and this is THE ONE! Made it with dollops of cream cheese between the layers and the egg wash on top. (t is making its way into my permanent recipe collection. As much as I love other cheeses, the cream cheese was incredible. Thank you for sharing your lovely recipe!
Thank you, too, Jan for sharing your version. Now you got me wanting to make one soon. 🙂
I’ve made this plate a few times already and every time I make it, my husband gives me great complements. He is very picky when it comes to food and taste, so when I get a good comment, that recipe will definitely be a keeper. Thank you very much Immaculate for this recipe.
Aww, amazing to listen to your story. Try some more recipes your husband will definitely love them also. Much Love
Great recipe. We used grillers veggie crumbles as vegetarians and did oven fry technique for the plantains. It smelled amazing.
This was delicious! I made it vegetarian with a lentil/tomato base and that worked well with the plantains. Thanks for a great recipe
It’s my pleasure sharing these recipes, Marika! Thank you for trying it 🙂
This recipe was easy to make and taste sooooo delightful! It awakens the taste buds of those who love plantain. Baking the plantain is and excellent option for those who shy away from fried foods
Thank you, Pecky!
We just finished this pastelon and absolutely loved it! I made it exactly as written and it was the first time I used plantains. Thanks so much, this recipe is a keeper!
YAY! Thanks so much.
I just made this recipe tonight. I mixed ripe & super ripe plantain. Bcos i wanted some of the food to melt in my mouth. I also added bacon to the mince meat to give it some extra savory crunchiness.
Sounds good, Thank you for your feedback, stay tuned for more amazing recipes.
I tried this lasagna and it was soooooo good,will definitely do it again, giving the pasta lasagna a break
Absolutely. Do let me know how it works out for you
Hi Imma thanks for the update and help I look forward to seeing your reply with Good food Recipes. That’s was extremely helpful and great. God bless you all and your family and friends and your parents who love you too much God gives you good health bye-bye. Tahir sheikh Islamabad Pakistan. Be happy always.
Thanks ! You too.
I absolutely LOVE this dish!!! Great flavour too!! I didn’t use beans or eggs, but I did add lots of Mexican Blend Cheeses between each layer. Yummmmmmm!
Does this freeze well? Would be great to have on hand!
Awesome!! I am so glad this dish was a hit with you. I have never tried freezing this before. I would say prepare it, cover, and freeze. When you are ready for it, just pop in the oven.
Love love love this one!
I did a couple things differently. I put both tomato and tomato sauce (there is no such thing as too much tomato) and used more garlic (no such thing as too much garlic either!) The bouillon I used was a chicken tomato one, which gave a beautiful color to the meat as well
I also air fried my plantains, and that gave a good result.
An absolute hit which I’m sure I will do again!
Ohhh that sounds delicious!! And true, there is no such thing as too much garlic . I am so glad it turned out great. Thanks for the feedback, Heidi!
No black beans on the original pastelon. That’s a new thing mainly Cuban.
Made this for a Christmas Party and everybody LOVED it! They even asked for the recipe. Thank you! My goal is to do as many recipes from your blog so I can pretend to be as good of a chef as you are 😀
Hi Sammy. I am so glad this was a hit! I just love cooking 🙂 and can’t wait for you to try out other recipes. Happy Cooking!
Love love love this recipe, combined it with a friend’s. Next time with oven baked rather than fry plantain so less greasy and try a vegan version with either spinach and mushrooms, adobo (as used my own seasonings) jerk lentils bolognese or something else and vegan cheese. I think, I sliced plantains too thick trying to keep them whole. Lovely
I’m going to try this dish with shrimp
Let me know how it turns out!
I am trying this dish this week if not tonight! I love everything about it but green olives…I am not going to change the recipe though lol!
2 questions:
1. What kind of cheese would you recommend?
2. Do you season the eggs that get poured on top?
Please do, you are going to love it . It taste great with or without olives.
1.I have used several(cheddar, Jack cheese, Mexican cheese blend. Mozzarella ) and they all work.
2. You can season the eggs , if desired . I rarely do. As long as the ground beef mixture is well seasoned , you do not have to .
Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks .
Your recipes are so detailed. Nice.
I always look up to reading and practicing your steps and pictorial presentations.
Thank you. Glad to be of help to you. 🙂
Family loved it. Everyone is having seconds.
Yaaay! So glad to read this. Thank you for trying it out and enjoying this with your family.