Air Fried Plantain (Plátanos)

Learn how to fry sweet ripe plantain in the air fryer using only a fraction of the oil. Such a delicious, easy and versatile recipe to make. Perfect to snack on, eat for breakfast or even pair it with a main meal.

I don't know about you but I absolutely LOVE eating plantain in any form. Whether it is roasted, boiled, steamed or even mashed I adore every variation.

Plantain is commonly consumed in the Caribbean, Latino and African community however, other cultures have started to hop on the bang wagon and eat it too.

Since plantain is becoming so widely now it is more available then it used to be in my neck of the woods.

Growing up we would eat fried plantain as a snack, eating it by itself or pairing it with our breakfast.

Our preferred method of cooking would be to shallow fry the plantain until it was golden.

We would either cut the plantain into slanted circles or cut the plantain in half and then slice lengthways.

Frying plantain is a very popular method for many in the Caribbean community because that is what we are most accustom to.

However, since owning my air fryer I use it for any things because most of my recipes don't require a large amount of oil.

Who wouldn't want to explore a healthier way of frying some sweet plantain without having to rely on using a lot of oil? I know I would!

Ingredients you need

• Plantain - As you can see from the picture you will need plantain that is sweet. Sweet plantain has yellow skin with dark spots. The more spots and/or darker the outer skin, the sweeter the plantain and the softer the flesh will be. For this air fryer recipe I would suggest using plantain with ripeness to what is pictured. Yellow with a few dark spots.
• Olive Oil - I personally like to use olive oil that is in its spray formula because it is easier to control the amount that is needed. 

Recipe preparation

Frying plantain using the air fryer is relatively straight forward. The main difference between using the air fryer versus the stovetop is the amount of oil that is used.

The first thing you need to do is to remove the skin of the plantain. The skin of a plantain is very easy to peel away because it isn't firm.

I usually slice off both of the ends first, using a paring knife then score lengthways down the peel and from there the skin pulls away from the flesh with very little ease.

Once the flesh is exposed, you can slice the plantain into slanted circles or half the whole plantain and slice it lengthways.

I did it both ways so you can see exactly what I'm referring to. You can stick to one cutting method or do both like I have.

For this air fried version, I would recommend using plantain that is not extremely soft nor too firm, somewhere in between works best unless you want super soft, extra sweet plantain.

From here, you can either place the plantain in a large bowl and drizzle/coat with olive oil or coat the air fryer basket (or liner) with oil and then simply transfer the plantain into the basket and coat the tops with oil.

Then all you need to do is air fry the plantain, turning over half way through until it is golden.

Reasons to make this recipe

• You only need 2 ingredients to make this recipe
• Perfect for those who have a sweet tooth
• Great to snack on or pair with a main meal
• Healthier alternative to shallow frying and less calorific
• You don't need to use a lot of oil
• Suitable for most dietary requirements i.e vegan, gluten free, paleo etc..
• A quick and easy recipe which takes less than 20 minutes to prepare.

The steps

• Use a paring knife to slice off the ends of the plantain.
• Run the knife down the length of the peel (not into the flesh) to remove it.
• Slice the plantain either into slanted circles or lengthways then halved into 3-4 parts (see picture).

• Coat the air fryer basket in olive oil (I recommend lining it first).
• Place the plantain in the air fryer basket (you may need to do this in batches) and coat the top of the platain with oil.
• Set the air fryer to 180C/356F.
• Air fry the plantain for 10-15 minutes, turning half way through (coat with more oil if needed).

Notes and tips

• Use the cooking time as a general guideline only, as the time may vary.
• The amount of oil needed is a matter of discretion, you should only need a small amount (1-2tbsp).
• Make sure the plantain isn't overlapping in the basket, leave enough room for the air to circulate and fry the plantain.
• Try to use plantain that isn't extremely firm or overly soft. For best results, use plantain that is yellow with some dark spots (see picture).
• You can purchase YELLOW plantain from African, Caribbean or Latino supermarkets. You may need to venture into a neighbourhood with the aforementioned demographic.
• If you want to keep the plantain warm, wrap it in foil and place on the lowest setting/warm mode in your air fryer for several minutes to heat up.
• Do not freeze the plantain, eat it straight away.

More plantain recipes to try

• Plantain Burger
• Mashed Sweet Plantains
• Plantain Frittata (Plantain Omelette)
• Plantain Lasagna (Pastelon)
• Plantain Curry
• Spicy Sweet Shrimp and Plantains
• Plantain Flour
• Yellow Plantain Porridge
• Plantain Pie
• Dominican Mangu

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