Sautéed Sweet Plantains (Tajaditas Dulces de Platano)

I tried making this recipe in 4 ways: with sugar and without, and sliced vs. quartered. I used canola oil and omitted the salt. The quartered with sugar tasted like one of my favorite restaurant dishes; when sliced, the sweetness of the sugar was overwhelming. Without sugar, quartered tasted like warm bananas. In conclusion, add sugar if you cut the plantains into bigger sections; omit the sugar if it is sliced more thinly.

Amazing! I prepared this ahead of time for convenience and put them into 2 quart-size zipper bags. By the time I wanted to sautee them, the sugar and the moisture from the plantains had turned into a caramel sauce. I used a non-stick pan and omitted the peanut oil. Absolutely delicious! I served with the Cuban Pork Roast and the Corn and Black Bean salad from this site, along with my mango salsa (warmed) to top the pork and some basic Cuban rice for a fabulous meal. Will definitely make again and again!

Delicious!! I was playing around with different methods and I wound up putting the sugar directly in the oil/butter, which worked ten times better. i also skipped salt, but they're awesome. i think getting the ripest ones you can is best, but if you can only get the green ones, don't fret, they're still tasty.

As far as slicing goes, don't slice them into circles - they're not supposed to be like that. Slice the plantain at an angle, a little over 1/2 an inch thick. This makes each slice longer than the width of the plantain. I made 1 plantain, and it really is about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar per plantain. I added the salt into the brown sugar before dipping the plantains, and found this to be better than adding salt afterwards. However, before putting the plantains onto the pan, I gently wiped off excess clumps of sugar. It should really be a thin gooey coat of brown sugar on each plantain prior to placing them on the pan. I kept the heat on medium, and cooked each side until it was very dark brown. As far as the completed texture - it should be soft, but not mushy - and the coat should be nice and gooey and slightly sweet / salty. Enjoy!

I made some changes and additions to this recipe. I used very ripe plantains. I bought them when they were yellow with slight black spots and let them sit on my counter for 2 weeks (yes, 2 weeks) until they were completely black and felt mushy. Then I cut off the ends and used a sharp knife to cut thru the skin and peel it back to take out the flesh. I sliced them lengthwise. I melted 2 TBS of butter and 2 TBS olive oil over medium low heat. I added the plantains and cooked them slowly for about 5 minutes then flipped them over. I let them cook about 3 minutes longer then sprinkled the plantains with 2 TSP cinnamon and about 2 TBS of the brown sugar. Let them cook about 1 minutes longer, flipped them one last time and immediately took them out and put them on a serving platter.

The taste was really good - and the texture of the plantains too. But I would not recommend draining on a paper towel, unless it is for 5 seconds max, because as the sugar cools it turns into a caramel and it sticks to the paper towel. I had to pick little paper bits out of my plantains. Maybe just use a slotted spoon and give them a good shake...

I took the advice of some others and mixed the sugar and salt into the melted butter (I used only butter), then I fried them over medium heat. Because so many people mentioned that these were sticking to paper towels, I sprayed a cooling rack with non-stick spray and placed that over paper towels and I let the plantains drip. I had no problems with sticking, and these were delicious!!!!

Nice and sweet. Did not use salt. Used a non-stick skillet with 1 Tbsp butter and a little canola oil.

Good, but my plantains were not ripe enough. MAKE SURE YOUR PLANTAINS ARE VERY VERY RIPE!

This was my first time preparing plantains. This recipe was easy and tasty!

I omit the peanut oil, and just fry the plantains in the butter, with the sugar sprinkled directly into the butter in the pan. A great dessert when served with vanilla bean ice cream.

These were delish! Very sweet thou. I waited for my plantain to become ripe (just on black) and now wish I hadn't. It was so ripe as to melt the sugar I sprinkled on immediately. Next time I will try another reviewers idea of adding salt to the sugar. I drained on paper towels but if not removed as quickly as possible the carmelized sugar bonds to the paper. Hint... This morning there was one last little piece left and I popped it into my mouth - yech... cold is not the way to eat them.

These were so good! My mom loved them. the caramelizing of the sugar made them come out sweet and crunchy--the crunchy being my mom's favorite part. Thanks for this recipe! i will be making them again when we buy more platanos :) God Bless! __Alexus

Loved this recipe, my plantains were sooo good.. I used canola oil and butter, but otherwise perfect!

i have no idea what i did wrong but these did NOT turn out like i expected. i didnt over cook them and they smell and look burnt, there sticking to EVERYTHING. not going to be trying these again.. there goes my desire to try new things.

I've been making this since I was a kid, a very simple yet delicious side dish

YUM!!

This is a great recipe and I received many compliments after serving it for an outdoor summer party. The key to this recipe is that the plantains have to be VERY ripe, almost black, otherwise they are not very sweet and considerably more like a potato in flavor.

it was good!! i would have put an additional tablespoon of brown sugar and i used someone's suggestion of sprinkling plantains with cinnamon right before you take it off the heat. the paper towel stuck to the plantains, but other than that, it was a piece of cake!

Great for dinner and an afternoon snack.

Very good recipe. I don't like to fry things but I tried this one recipe and fried it with olive oil, just a little bit so it can brown. I will keep doing this as an appetizer.

Very yummy! Used black plantains & sauteed in non-stick pan sprayed with Pam. Left out the butter & oil to make them healthier. Brown sugar got a bit carmelized, but it was very tasty.

This was the first time I've cooked plantains and I didn't really know what they tasted like. Personally they were too sweet for me and I used two really, really ripe plantains (completely black) one semi ripe plantain and the consistency on the ripe ones were just sticky and gooey, kind of unpleasant.

I used to live in Panama & am always on the look out for a plantanos recipe similar to that. This was not the same, but was pretty good anyways, thanks.

Great taste. Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great. I gave them 4/5 stars because, while they taste really good, I don't think that I will crave them.

I sliced them lengthwise and used coconut oil rather than peanut. I thought about adding cinnamon, but they were great as is.

Threw black plantains in oil, with less than tsp brown sugar already in oil. Cooked till browned and placed on papertowel to absorb oil. They were very sweet and carmelized- but next time I wont leave them there long bc then they were stuck and I might use butter too instead of oil. I also sprinkled them with salt (after tasting them) and the sweet-salt was delicious!

I guess we don't like plantains.

Good.

Yum! I made some changes though, I used coconut oil, (cold-pressed, extra virgin, organic) and maple syrup with the juice of about half a small lime with the plantains cut on an angle. Yum!

I am usually not a huge fan of Plantains. I like a bite of them and then I'm pretty done. I LOVED THESE. I used vegetable oil instead of peanut just cause that is expensive. I also added a dash of cinnamon. They were so good. Thank you!!

WOW. These are good. I used VERY ripe fruit, and I cut them into quarters, and used a bit more sugar, as I had 3 plantains. They are fantastic, almost had a "candied" effect. You absolutely need to use the salt, in my opinion, to help with a "savory" effect and balances out the sweetness. I just sprinkiled a little kosher salt on them--if you are using iodized, you may want to reduce the salt a bit. Truly amazing.

I used regular oil instead of peanut oil and it still came out perfect. Using the brown sugar gave it the perfect sweetness

I added 1 TBS of cinnamon and it was amazing!

Just did not like

Loved it.....would make them again. Followed the recipe with the exception of using Canola oil instead of peanut. Found it hard to believe no one has mentioned that placing hot caramelized plantains on a paper towel will adhere them like glue, to the paper. It was not too difficult peeling the paper towel pieces off the bottom of them once they had cooled.

Very easy to make and delicious. It took a lot longer to cook than the suggested time (about five minutes per side.) I will definitely be making this again.

Perfect! Made it and followed recipe exactly using black peeled plantains imported from Ecuador. Delicious!

These plantains are easy and fantastic. They remind me of St. Thomas which is the first place I had ever tried any. In spite of never lining them in the past, my wife and daughter tried them and loved them. I used coconut oil instead of peanut oil. Served them with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled all of it with a small bit of honey. Thanks for the recipe that was different than just getting plantains in oil.

These are some of my favorite things to eat. However, I learned to make them without the sugar and would eat them for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or for a snack) cut into a bowl of rice. CANNOT wait to try them with the brown sugar!!!

I always wondered how the restaurants made these. So easy! I found ripe yellow plantains with black spots plantains at the Asian market. I kept them for 4 days until they started to soften and had more black. I cooked 4. I sliced them diagonally and fried in my Fry Daddy until they started to brown. Then I drained on paper towels. Fried again in butter, sprinkled white sugar (didn't have brown) on the plantains and continued to fry until the sugar had caramelized. Better than any I have had in the restaurants! I did the double fry because I was afraid the sugar would burn in the pan. Probably not necessary. Awesome recipe!

Loved it, and thank you for all the comments and tweaks. I used the sugar in the oil method, no paper towel, drip dried directly on my baking rack, cut diagonally. My Columbian friend said don't use peanut oil, sub with coconut oil. I went for it. Holy holy cow.. It was superb. I bought peanut oil last night to try this again changing only the type of oil.

I'm not sure how these are supposed to taste so I went ahead and gave it 5 stars. My husband really liked it but I don't think I like the taste of plantains. I got a bowl of brown sugar and tossed the slices in that instead of sprinkling 3 Tbs just because I thought it'd be easier. Of course, that did mean more sugar per slice, which isn't necessarily bad... However it did start to burn and quickly turned the oil black. I don't think it would have been a problem if I had just followed the recipe.

I added cinnamon and replaced the peanut oil with coconut oil! Delicious!

Great recipe.

Excellent. I followed the advice of adding the brown sugar into the pan with oil. It made perfect chewy and sticky plantains. These will stick to paper towels so just let them rest on a plate. Also, allow the plantain to get black and overripe for best results

Very good. I used canola oil since I didn’t have peanut and I added the brown sugar to the oil/butter mixture instead of dredging. Came out beautifully carmelized. Didn’t need to drain on paper towels as they were not greasy.

Sliced the plantains long ways. The key is to have the oil medium so that the sugar doesn’t burn. So good! And easy!

First time having plantains! At the grocery store where they were located, I asked a nice woman who was also buying some about the prep. She said to fry them. I sliced them diagonally and used olive oil and butter (no peanut oil on hand). I bought two to try and used this recipe for the first one. I didn't bother with draining at all after reading some of the comments here. They have a creamy texture, almost like the texture of a sweet potato or squash. Not really strong in flavor. I liked it, and it surely was something different. I'll think I'll experiment with another recipe on the other plantain.

delicious.

Go light on the sugar so it doesn’t overpower it. Otherwise, delicious!

Delicious

I think I over cooked them because mine came out very crispy and dry on the inside, not soft and glazed as it looks on the photo. Will have to try again on a low flame. Still good though.

These turned out really yummy! I took advice from other reviewers and did not drain them on paper towels and I can see that would've been a disaster if I had because of how sticky they were. I also read to put the sugar right into the pan and then add the plaintains, but I didn't know if it would have worked. I coated the brown sugar per the instructions but next time I will put the sugar in the pan for a more even coating and an easier recipe. I also cut the plaintains at an angle as suggested by other reviewers and waited for the peel to be almost totally black.

Delicious!

Came out delicious will definitely make it again.

I used ripe red bananas (from Ecuador) and these turned out delicious. I served with saffron rice, black beans, and broiled chicken thighs that had been marinated with a cuban marinade. Topped with chopped romaine, mangoes, avocados, and green onions. The bananas were perfect!

simple and delicious!

very good. I used coconut oil instead of the butter oil mixture and found the taste to be 5 star. I served with lightly seasoned salmon, avocado slices and forbidden (black) rice.

his is my second time using this recipe.... used almost forgotten plantains that I allowed to ripen until black....loved the texture and the sweet taste... ate them by themselves 1st day and with corn and black bean salad the second day.......franb

I made this recipe by completely omitting the peanut oil. If you have a good nonstick pan the amount of butter in recipe is more than enough. I also added sea salt to brown sugar as others suggested instead of sprinkling after cooking. Will absolutely cook this way again!

Yes peanut oil, brown sugar and butter substitute was coconut cream oil, turbinado sugar and olive oil. Delicious! Oh yes my plantain was black.

love it! quick and easy! my only advice would be to let it cool without putting paper towel on the plate because it'll stick to the plantains and then you'll have to spend a couple minutes taking off the paper. i love to eat this with sour cream. ??

I made these for the first time tonight. My boyfriend is Puerto Rican (this is a traditional Puerto Rican dish) and loved them! I followed the recipe, except fried them with coconut oil for longer than 2 mins per side. Came out wonderful, will make them again!!

I use granulated pure cane sugar and drizzle maple syrup for dessert

Everyone loved it here! Simple to make, delicious!

this recipe was a hit with my husband. The brown sugar put a nice caramel crunch on the plantains.

Super yummy! I waited until the plantains were black...there was even a little mold on one side of the peel. I thought they'd surely be rotten--but OMG those were the BEST plantains ever! So yeah--yucky peel=amazing plantain.

Very tasty & so easy to make! They turned out just like the ones at my favorite Cuban restaurant! So delicious!

Very good.

This was delicious- BUT a word of caution! The brown sugar makes them very sticky and therefore stuck to the paper towel!!

Drained on paper towel as instructed and they stuck to the paper towel, so I had to tear them off the paper towel, leaving the sugar-coated bottoms stuck to the paper towel.

really good - added the brown sugar to the oil in the pan and then fried them. dusted a little salt on them and they were perfect

My plantains were not as ripe as I had hoped, and I skipped the oil and fried them in margarine and did not add the salt. The salt in the butter offset the sweetness, but I knew that would happen. I skipped the brown sugar, as it seems to cause more problems than it was worth, so I drizzled mine with Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Sauce - you can find it with the ice cream toppings, and it totally made the dish.

Did not expect any of this.. it’s good!

Great recipe. It's simple, so it's flexible. I'm not a huge plantain fan, but had some I needed to get rid of, so I did these ultra sweet. My plantains were extremely ripe, and I cut them about 1/2 inch thick to maximize sugar exposure. I also cut them lengthwise to help them hold up to the thinner cut. They made a great dessert, although I think I gave our dinner guest a screwed view of what plantains are SUPPOSED to be like.

Turned our perfectly.

Very easy to make and delicious.

loved it!!

Easy to follow recipe with the taste I've only experienced from Dominican restaurants in New York City. Will make more often from now on!

Delicious and easy peasy

Delicious! Only thing I changed was to mix the sugar in with butter and fried. Skipped the oil

I was in a rush to cook these so decided to only cut the plantains in quarters. It still tasted good but next time I'll have to slice them 1 inch thick like my grandma used to do.

Since this was just for me, I only used one plantain. As one reviewed said I chose to put the sliced plantains in a ziploc with the 3 tsp brown sugar. It creates a kind of caramel sauce. Then I used 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan [no oil] and fried the slices for about 2 minutes per side. My plantain was almost black when I used it. It was perfect! These reminded me of the ones my mom made growing up!!! So yummy!

I tossed the plantains with brown sugar in advance and allowed them to macerate. Then I melted two tablespoons of butter in the pan and cooked them directly in the butter, I used no peanut oil at all. Other than that I followed the recipe. They turned out lovely. My wife and I loved them and they were a perfect desert. I don't recommend draining them on a paper towel. They are too sticky for a paper towel. I put some directly on our plates and the remaining ones I placed in a stainless steel bowl. I will definitely make this again for us and for company.