This Caribbean vegan plantain curry is filling, delicious and made in one pot. It's packed with sweet potatoes, spinach, kidney beans and fragrant spices. An overall award winning dinner that is great for bulk cooking or weeknights for the family.
Here in the UK I think it's safe to say that British people love their curry dishes. Whenever people think of a curry, they immediately think of Asian cuisines.
Little do people know that the Caribbean has a monopoly on their own rendition of a good old curry - whether it's curried shrimp, beef or Pumpkin Curry
We have a unique vibrant spin on things and this vegan plantain curry (aka plantain curry) is everything you could need on you dinner table - it's plant based, packed with flavour and filling too.
What's the difference between bananas and plantains?
Now that plantains has become a trendy health food, so many people still don't know the difference between a plantain and a banana so let's cover this topic briefly.
In short, plantain derives from the same family as a banana, however, it behaves like a vegetable despite it growing on a tree like a fruit. Plantains can boiled, fried, mashed or even roasted just like potatoes.
It is relatively larger in size with robust skin and has a low sugar content (when not fully ripen) and starchier then it's banana counterpart. For that reason, it is considering a cooking banana that cannot be eaten raw.
On the contrary, bananas are small in size, sweeter with less starch and can be eaten on the go just like a snack!
How to cut a plantain
The good news is that it's fairly simple to cut and remove the skin from a ripe to over ripe plantain
All you need to do is......
- Lay your plantain preferably horizontally.
- Then cut off each of the ends from the plantain and discard,
- Next you then use a knife to score a long the skin of the plantain (you will see where the skin separates from the flesh, just like a banana.
- Use your hands to remove the rest of the skin.
Ingredients you will need
- Ripe plantain
- Sweet potato
- Cooked kidney beans (or peas as English Caribbean islands refer to them as)
- Onion
- Scallion
- Bell peppers
- Coconut milk
- Spinach (or use callaloo if you can source it)
- Tomato
- Curry powder
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Black pepper
- Pimento berries (all spice)
- Thyme
- Ground coriander
- Himalayan pink salt
- Water
- Coconut oil
- Scotch bonnet
How to make plantain curry
- Grab a sturdy non stick casserole pot/dutch pot/large skillet and melt the coconut oil on low-medium heat.
- Saute the scallion, onion and garlic until soft and translucent (picture 1)
- Once the onions and so fourth are sauteed, add the bell peppers and ginger and cook for roughly 5 minutes until the peppers have become soft. (picture 2)
- Add thyme, chopped tomatoes, coriander, pimento berries, black pepper and curry powder. (picture 3)
- Stir all of the spices into the vegetables for about 2 minutes until they become fragrant.
- Add the kidney beans, sweet potato and plantain (only add the plantain now if it is firm, not over ripe) along with the scotch bonnet, coconut milk and water. (picture 4-7)
- Bring the pot to a rolling boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for about 25 minutes.
- Carefully fold in the spinach 5 minutes before the given cooking time and sprinkle in the pink salt. (picture 8)
- If your plantain is soft and over ripe it's best to add them 5-10 minutes before the curry is ready or else they will turn to mush.
Notes and tips
- For convenience use a can of cooked red kidney beans make sure it is in water, not salt water.
- If using dried beans make sure to cook them ahead of time. If you have an instant pot/stove top pressure cooker that will hasten the cooking process
- If you don't like kidney beans, feel free to use any other legume.
- If you want overly sweet plantain, use extra ripe (skin is almost black) but add them towards the end of cooking. I used moderately ripe (with high yellow skin) plantains that are subtly sweet.
- Use white or orange sweet potatoes depending on where you live/availability
- Pimento berries are a whole version of allspice. Use ¼ tsp of ground allspice if you cannot obtain the whole berries.
- Callaloo makes this recipe more Caribbean, it's a type of spinach. If you can't get hold of it, use spinach or even kale works too.
- Scotch bonnet is optional, use a habanero or chilli or ¼ tsp chilli powder if you can't obtain it
- Use light coconut milk if you want to decrease calorie intake
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy plantains?
The best place is from a market that stock African/Latino/Caribbean groceries. Also if you frequent a neighbourhood with this demographic, you will find supermarkets that stock it too.
Can I use a banana instead?
No, the two are NOT interchangeable
Can I freeze the plantain curry?
Yes, this is a freezer friendly meal
Can I make this recipe in my slow cooker?
No, the plantain will breakdown over a course of several hours. It's best to make this recipe on a stove top.
More plantain recipes you may like
- Spicy Shrimp and Plantain
- Pastelon
- Vegan Caribbean Breakfast
- Baked Hake Fillets with Mashed Plantain
- Baked Plantain Chips
- Plantain Pie
- Dominican Mangu
- Boiled Plantains with Kale
**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**
Vegan Caribbean Plantain Curry
Ingredients
- 2 ripe yellow plantains sliced and halved
- 1 medium sized sweet potato chopped
- 1 4 oz can of kidney beans or 1 cup/200g, drained
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 Scallion chopped
- 2 mixed bell peppers chopped
- 1 can of coconut milk 2 cups/400ml
- A handful of spinach or use callaloo if you can source it
- l medium tomato chopped
- 1 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 tbsp of ginger grated
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 4 pimento berries all spice
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp of ground coriander
- 1 tsp of himalayan pink salt or to taste
- 1 cup of water 250ml
- Scotch bonnet optional
- 2 tbsp of coconut oil
Instructions
- Grab a sturdy non stick casserole pot/dutch pot/large skillet and melt the coconut oil on low-medium heat.
- Saute the scallion, onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Once the onions and so fourth are sauteed, add the bell peppers and ginger and cook for roughly 5 minutes until the peppers have become soft.
- Add thyme, chopped tomatoes, coriander, pimento berries, black pepper and curry powder.
- Stir all of the spices into the vegetables for about 2 minutes until they become fragrant.
- Add the kidney beans, sweet potato and plantain (only add the plantain now if it is firm, not over ripe) along with the scotch bonnet, coconut milk and water.
- Bring the pot to a rolling boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for about 25 minutes.
- Carefully fold in the spinach 5 minutes before the given cooking time and sprinkle in the pink salt
- If your plantain is soft and over ripe it's best to add them 5-10 minutes before the curry is ready or else they will turn to mush.
Notes
- For convenience use a can of cooked red kidney beans make sure it is in water, not salt water.
- If using dried beans make sure to cook them ahead of time. If you have an instant pot/stove top pressure cooker that will hasten the cooking process
- If you don't like kidney beans, feel free to use any other legume.
- If you want overly sweet plantain, use extra ripe (skin is almost black) but add them towards the end of cooking. I used moderately ripe (with high yellow skin) plantains that are subtly sweet.
- Use white or orange sweet potatoes depending on where you live/availability
- Pimento berries are a whole version of allspice. Use ¼ tsp of ground allspice if you cannot obtain the whole berries.
- Callaloo makes this recipe more Caribbean, it's a type of spinach. If you can't get hold of it, use spinach or even kale works too.
- Scotch bonnet is optional, use a habanero or chilli or ¼ tsp chilli powder if you can't obtain it
- Use light coconut milk if you want to decrease calorie intake
This recipe was amazing! The flavours were beautiful. My Italian husband said this was the best things I’ve ever cooked for him. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so so much Adelina for your wonderful feedback. I'm so glad that you and your husband enjoy this dish 🙂
Made this for lunch and it was so so good. Substituted pimento berries with 3 cloves, 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder, 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder and instead of fresh thyme I used 1/4 tsp dried thyme. Cooked it in my instant pot for 3 minutes on high pressure, it was perfect.
Is there a side dish that goes with it? I had it as a soup.
I also printed the recipe in case I lose it 😉
Thanks Zainab. I'm glad you were able to substitute and still make it taste just as good. I would pair it with cauliflower rice or brown rice.
Made this dish today and it was so flavourful and delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the feedback Michelle. I really appreciate it.
This recipe is absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much! Definitely a keeper ❤️
Hi Denise, thank you for your feedback and you are welcome.
This was very good! I didn’t have pimento berries and therefore added clove and a dash of cinnamon and also omitted the scallions and spinach. Other than that followed the recipe and was delicious. Thank you!
No problem Christina! Glad it worked out for you.
This was an easy recipe and it turned out great! I love curry and I like trying healthy alternatives to my favorite dishes. I added broccoli and carrots to mine because I had them on hand and it turned out wonderfully. Definitely adding it to my make again list!
Thank you so much Janean
This is an amazingly good dish. It's my first attempt at this type of curry. It's definitely a keeper!
Thanks for the feedback Sylvia!!
Hi there, I can’t wait to make this recipe! But I was actually wondering if you could tell me where you got that pot or what brand it is, I’m totally in love with it!
Thank you! I'm confident that you will love the curry. In terms of the pot, I actually brought 2 (small and large) from an Indian store. I'm not sure where you are based but I did a quick search on Amazon and believe you can get mine in black from there. I think the brand is called "Sterling". Here is the link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marble-Coated-Non-Stick-Casserole-Tempered/dp/B07HFGZHGD/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=sterling+casserole+pot&qid=1590685167&sr=8-7
A flavourful burst of Caribbean flare! It honestly felt like transporting the experience of travels to the home. I made a few additions to this recipe, but the base one itself is still INCREDIBLE. I can't thank you enough for sharing.
Thank you Natalie. I'm always thrilled when my readers provide feedback (good or bad). Glad that this recipe impressed you, you are more than welcome!!
Vegan or not, this stew is Sooo tasty, I always love the taste of sweet and savory together in my mouth. We ate on this for 3 days!
Thanks for the feedback Jahmela
I can’t wait to make this!!! Just a quick question, for the plantain is it a soft yellow plantain or the green plantain?
Thank you!
Hi Summer. I'm excited for you because so many people have enjoyed this recipe. It's yellow plantain that you need. I've just updated the recipe card to reflect this
Hu Charla,
I just made this for my own Valentine's Day, cold rainy weekend. It tastes and smell like love. I'm currently looking over your site for a low sugar dessert.
May I make a suggestion. I use a lot of recipes and many of them have the ingredients listed in the order of use. It makes the recipe easier to follow, especially when there are a lot of ingredients.
Thanks for the constructive feedback, I will definitely keep that in mind for upcoming recipes.
For a low sugar dessert, I would recommend this Vegan Key Lime Pudding (Keto Option) one. I hope you enjoy the Plantain curry and Happy Valentine's day to you.
This is an awesome vegetarian dish! So much flavor and so hearty!! Can't wait to try it!
I hope you like it Tisha
I love that this dish is naturally vegan and so full of flavor! I hadn't cooked with plantains before, and was excited to give this recipe a try. Delish!
Thanks Alison, plantains are so easy to cook with I promise you won't regret it.
Finally made this and it was so yummy!! I never knew plantains could be made into curry.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the dish Sara
What a delicious and savory soup! Everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some!
Thank you so much Sara
Wow, I love the idea of plantains in a curry! Great way to add some sweetness into it.
Yes! It adds sweetness to the dish for sure!!
Absolutely loved this curry, I had never tried plantain before until giving this recipe a try...simply delicious !!!
Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe Gemma.