Love Latin American food? Well try this amazing Puerto Rican style lasagna consisting of seasoned ground beef that is neatly sandwiched between thin layers of plantain strips and topped with dairy free cheese making it lactose friendly.
I'm so pleased to finally introduce you all to this recipe called Pastelón aka Plantain Lasagna. This latino dish makes the perfect weeknight dinner recipe, it's flavoursome, tasty, freezer friendly and even great to prepare for a dinner party.
If you enjoy Caribbean cuisines and sweet plantains with ground beef, then I promise this lasagna is what you are looking for.
I made this recipe over a course of several months, fine tuning it until it came out perfect.
There's nothing but thin strips of sweet plantain, lightly fried until golden brown with each layer topped with seasoned ground beef and a lactose/dairy free cheesy topping.
I love this plantain lasagna so much that there isn't a week that goes by now that I don't eat it.
The difference between pastelón and piñon
Many people claim that pastelón and piñon are not the same thing.
Piñon has a layer of canned green beans with mashed plantain and hails from the south/west region of Puerto Rico.
Pastelón doesn't has hails from the south/eastern region.
As with most cultural cuisines each region has the own terminology and way of preparing things.
Ingredients you will need
- Ground beef: I use low fat lean beef which has fat residue but you can use whichever works for you!
- Plantain: You will need a minimum of 4 depending on the size of your roasting dish. They should be ripe (some dark spots, not overripe)
- Sofrito: The onion, garlic, green bell pepper act the foundation to the recipe, very important!
- Olives/Capers: This is optional but typically included
- Cilantro (Coriander): Used as seasoning
- Tomato sauce: You can pureed sauce so think passata!
- Dairy free cheese: My favourite brands are Sheese, Miyoko and Daiya!!
- Eggs: This used as egg wash
- Sazon seasoning and adobo seasoning: What you need to season the ground beef and crucial for latino cooking
How to make plantain lasagna
- Place the ground beef in the bowl and season with sazon and adobo then set aside.
- Sautee the sofrito - onion, garlic, bell pepper and cilantro until soft and translucent.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet with the sofrito then brown the meat.
- Add the tomato paste and olives/capers to the skillet and stir.
- Meanwhile prepare the plantain by cutting off the ends of each one.
- Slice the skin off the plantain lengthways then slice the plantain (you should get 4 strips per plantain)
- Then fry both sides until golden brown
- Layer the bottom of the roasting dish with the plantain strips then brush on the egg mixture.
- Spoon the ground beef and spread evenly on top of the plantain layers.
- Sprinkle the cheese onto of the ground beef , repeat the step until beef and plantain is layered 2-3 times
- The final layer should be strips of plantain drizzled with egg wash and sprinkled with cheese prior to baking.
Can I use green plantains to make this recipe?
Although the lasagna is typically made with yellow plantain, there is no reason why you cannot make a savoury version of this dish
How ripe should the plantains be?
You need them to be somewhere in between. In terms of appearance, you want your plantain to be yellow with some dark spots.
You don't want the plantain to be green/light yellow as this a more young plantain which is more firm and the texture will be dry when cooked.
Plantain that is too soft (overripe with black skin) will absorb most of the oil and won't hold up very well.
Where can you purchase plantain?
If you live in a city/country with a high percent of African/Caribbeans or Latinos. You will need to head to a market place/supermarket that cater to this demographic. There's a very high chance of obtaining what you need.
Can you make the recipe using bananas instead?
No. Plantain and bananas aren't the same although from the same family. The plantain lasagna wouldn't workout very well!
Notes and tips
- Switch up the ground meat. If you don't want to use ground beef, feel free to use turkey if you wish. This won't impact too much on the overall result.
- For best result use a lean meat like 5% or 7% ground beef. It's less fat and any excess.
- Be generous with the seasoning. Latinos are very particular using their own seasoning - sazon and adobo which is what is featured in this recipe. I used my homemade version as listed. A heaping tablespoon of sazon against 2 heaping teaspoons of adobo so both spice blends compliment each other.
- Dry rub application. There is no need to leave the dry rub to infuse overnight, the ground beef can be seasoned and used immediately.
- Make to sear the beef. The beef should take a few minutes to brown, just keep stirring and rotating the pan so it cooks evenly.
- The amount of plantain needed. I used a total of 4 large plantains with the ends being snipped off then score the plantain length ways to remove the skin. Slice the plantain length ways and each slice should be 1" in thickness.
- Building the lasagna. start by arranging the plantain at the bottom of the dish, lay them side by side in unison. It's okay with the are uneven as the beef and cheese will over it.
- Size of the roasting dish. For best results use a rectangular dish roughly 19 x 12 cm dimensions.
Other latino recipes you may like
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Plantain Lasagna (Pastelon)
Ingredients
- 4 large plantains ripen
- 1 lb of ground beef
- 2 teaspoon of adobo seasoning heaping
- 1 tablespoon of sazon heaping (see post for recipe)
- 1 onion minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 green bell pepper minced
- ¼ cup of fresh cilantro coriander, chopped
- ⅓ cup of olives/capers
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 2 cups of dairy free cheese
- 3 large eggs beaten
- Coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350f/176C
- Grease or lightly spray a casserole dish and set aside
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef and season with the sazon and adobo and set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat then proceed to saute the onion, garlic, and minced bell pepper - this is the sofrito!! along with the cilantro until soft and translucent.
- Once softened add the ground beef, stir and sear the meat. This should take a few minutes to brown, just keep folding and stirring the meat.
- Add the tomato and olives/capers, stir then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-1o minutes.
- Prepare the plantain by cutting the ends of each one, then scoring lengthways across each plantain (becareful, not to slice too deep, just deep each to remove the skin). Take off the skin and cut the plantain in lengthways strips about 1" for each one. You should get 4 slices per plantain.
- Melt some coconut oil on medium heat, just enough to lightly fry the plantain strips. Work in batches of needed and fry both sides until golden brown.
- Blot off any excess oil before covering the bottom of the roasting dish with strips of plantain. Grab the egg mixture and brush it over the first layer.
- Then spoon the ground beef about 1'' thickness and spread evenly across and then sprinkle some of the cheese onto
- Repeat this step of layer the plantain, brush the on egg wash, spooning and spreading out beef and sprinkling the cheese again until you have 2-3 layers.
- The final layer should be a layer of plantain then brushing the remaining part of egg wash before topping off with the cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown
- Serve accordingly.
Notes
- Switch up the ground meat. If you don't want to use ground beef, feel free to use turkey if you wish. This won't impact too much on the overall result.
- For best result use a lean meat like 5% or 7% ground beef. It's less fat and any excess.
- Be generous with the seasoning. Latinos are very particular using their own seasoning - sazon and adobo which is what is featured in this recipe. I used my homemade version as listed. A heaping tablespoon of sazon against 2 heaping teaspoons of adobo so both spice blends compliment each other.
- Dry rub application. There is no need to leave the dry rub to infuse overnight, the ground beef can be seasoned and used immediately.
- Make to sear the beef. The beef should take a few minutes to brown, just keep stirring and rotating the pan so it cooks evenly.
- The amount of plantain needed. I used a total of 4 large plantains with the ends being snipped off then score the plantain length ways to remove the skin. Slice the plantain length ways and each slice should be 1" in thickness.
- Building the lasagna. start by arranging the plantain at the bottom of the dish, lay them side by side in unison. It's okay with the are uneven as the beef and cheese will over it.
- Size of the roasting dish. For best results use a rectangular dish roughly 19 x 12 cm dimensions.
We were supposed to be on a 3 week holiday this month, but due to C*V*D we are stuck at home. So I decided we would take a food vacation instead. I am so glad we decided to visit Puerto Rico, this dish was amazing. I made the sazon as I can’t do MSG, thank you for providing it. This was my first time using plantains and they were so easy to work with. We are already thinking about what the meat mixture can be used in...empanadas maybe.
Hi Katelyn, thank you for your wonderful feedback. At least your yourself and co were able to bring a piece of Puerto Rico to your dinning table instead. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and made the sazon too, bonus! Empanadas (don't have a recipe yet) or Cuban Picadillo can be used for leftover meat mixture, assuming there is enough.
THIS TOOK ME 3 HOURS TO MAKE LOL. HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY BE DONE IN 1H I HAVE NO IDEA.
Hmmm Ok that's interesting to know. I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless.
It was delicious, but next time I might skip making it into a lasagna and just fry plantains and eat the beef mixture with rice.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's okay to adjust to suit your needs, that actually sounds really good!
When I first saw this dish, I thought it was rather interesting - Plantains /Lasagna? Well I made it without cilantro and eggs and oh my heavens, it tastes so good. I have already recommended it to my sister and I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
Thank you for your feedback Lyn
Hi! I am curious if this recipe could be made without the egg wash? Or what you might use as a replacement? I dont eat eggs.
Thanks in advance!
Hello Arielle. A lot of vegans and/or people who are allergic eggs to/or don't eat them use flax eggs (ground flaxseeds mixed with water). It's a great egg replacement and I think it will work for the pastelon recipe. here is the recipe link https://thatgirlcookshealthy.com/flax-eggs-recipe/
I've never heard of Pastelon before, but it the flavor combo sounds really delicious and it looks amazing. I am definately down to give it a try!
Thank you Colleen. It's definitely worth a try for sure.
This was so good. I'd only had fried plantains before this and it really opened my eyes. I can't wait to try plantains in more recipes!
Another plantain lover, this is great. Thanks Sara.
What a savory recipe; made this for dinner last night and it has become a new family favorite recipe!
Yay! So glad you are a fan of Pastelon too Sara.
I've never heard of Pastelon before, but I have to say, I need to make this... I LOVE plaintains and this just sounds like the ultimate comfort food!
Thanks Lisa, you are missing out BIG time. I hope you manage to make the recipe at some point.
I love the smell of fried plantains in the morning and I cannot even begin to imagine how delicious this pastelon must smell when baking in the oven! SO GOOD!
Thank you Denisse