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    You are here: Home / Entrees / Sweet & Smoky Plantain Stew

    LAST UPDATED: September 28, 2020 • FIRST PUBLISHED: September 28, 2020

    Sweet & Smoky Plantain Stew

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Plantain Stew

    This sweet and savory plantain stew is loaded with flavor and incredibly easy to make! Packed with sweet plantains, smoky bell peppers, kidney beans, and juicy green olives in a coconut-tomato base, it's perfect with a slice of crusty bread and totally doable on a weeknight.

    Wooden Table Set with a Bowl of Plantain Stew, Drinking Glass, Blue Pot, and Bunch of Cilantro

    Plantains are one of my favorite ingredients that I don't cook with nearly often enough. They're delicious and so easy to work with!

    Have you cooked with plantains before? If they're new to you, putting them into a stew is a great place to start. I can be as simple as chopping them up and throwing them in a pot, like I did with this chili.

    This recipe is slightly more work than that — you'll be pan-frying the plantains before adding them to the stew, but trust me it's worth it. I got the idea from this chicken plantain stew, which was in turn inspired by a Puerto Rican dish called mofongo. My stew doesn't bear much resemblance to mofongo, but it's absolutely delicious.

    What You'll Need

    Bowl of Plantain Stew with Drinking Glass and Bunch of Cilantro in the Background
    • High-heat oil
    • Ripe plantains
    • Onion
    • Bell peppers (red and green!)
    • Spices (cumin, paprika, and cloves)
    • Canned diced tomatoes
    • Tomato paste
    • Vegetable broth
    • Coconut milk (the full-fat kind)
    • Kidney beans
    • Lime juice
    • Olives
    • Salt and pepper
    • Fresh cilantro

    Choosing Plantains

    Some recipes call for unripe plantains, while some call for ripe plantains. We'll be using ripe ones for this recipe.

    Two Ripe Plantains on a Wooden Surface

    Look for plantains that are yellow with lots of black spots. About a 50/50 mix of yellow and black is good. No green! 

    Ripe plantains will be sweet and soft — exactly what we're going for in this recipe.

    How go Make Plantain Stew

    Fry the Plantains

    Side By Side Images Showing Two Stages of Plantain Slices Frying in a Skillet

    You can either start with this step, or save time and do it while your stew simmers. Heat up some oil in a skillet, and add plantain slices in an even layer. Let them cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until they're soft with lots of browned spots.

    Tip: plantains tend to stick to pans, even good nonstick pans. Make sure to use plenty of oil, and after about a minute of cooking, use a spatula to loosen them from the pan. This will prevent them from adhering as they cook.

    Transfer the cooked plantains to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

    Prepare the Stew

    Collage Showing 4 Steps for Making Plantain Stew: Sweat Veggies, Add Liquid Ingredients and Simmer, Add Plantains, and Add Olives

    Heat up some oil in a large pot, then add your onion and peppers. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, then add your garlic and spices. Continue cooking everything for about a minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.

    Now add your tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, coconut milk, and beans. Bring the stew up to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for about 25 minutes, until it thickens up a bit. Stir in the plantains and let it cook for about five minutes more.

    Now add lime juice and olives, then season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.

    Pot of Plantain Stew with Wooden Spoon

    Top off your bowls with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

    Close Up of a Bowl of Plantain Stew with Spoon on a Wooden Surface

    Plantain Stew Tips & FAQ

    • Is this stew gluten-free? Yup!
    • Is this stew spicy? Nope! It's very mild. If you'd like a spicy stew, add some cayenne pepper to taste.
    • Leftovers & storage: Leftover stew will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
    • The plantains really need to be ripe for the right flavor balance in this stew! If you can't find them ripe, stick them in a paper bag with some apples or another fruit that gives off ethylene gas. This will speed up the ripening process a bit!

    Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!

    Wooden Table Set with a Bowl of Plantain Stew, Drinking Glass, Blue Pot, and Bunch of Cilantro
    4.56 from 9 votes
    Print

    Plantain Stew

    This sweet and savory plantain stew is loaded with flavor and incredibly easy to make! Packed with sweet plantains, smoky bell peppers, kidney beans, and juicy green olives in a coconut-tomato base, it's perfect with a slice of crusty bread and totally doable on a weeknight.

    Course Entree
    Cuisine Puerto Rican-Inspired
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 35 minutes
    Total Time 55 minutes
    Servings 6
    Calories 377 kcal
    Author Alissa Saenz

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
    • 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    • 2 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans diced tomatoes
    • 1 cup vegetable broth
    • 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can kidney beans
    • 2 ripe plantains, sliced (about ½ inch thick)
    • 2 tablespoons lime juice
    • ½ cup pimento-stuffed green olives
    • Salt and pepper, to taste
    • Fresh cilantro, for serving
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.

    2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and both bell peppers. Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes, until softened a bit, stirring occasionally.

    3. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and cloves. Continue cooking for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.

    4. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, coconut milk, tomato paste, and kidney beans.

    5. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, until thickened slightly. Stir the pot occasionally.

    6. While the stew simmers, coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and place it over medium heat.

    7. When the oil is hot, add the plantain slices in an even layer. Work in batches if you can't fit them all at once.

    8. Cook the plantain slices for about 5 minutes on each side, until softened and browned.

    9. Remove the cooked plantains from the skillet and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate.

    10. After the stew has simmered for 25 minutes, gently stir in the cooked plantains. Let the stew simmer for 5 minutes more.

    11. Remove the stew from heat, then stir in the lime juice and olives. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.

    12. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Serve.

    Nutrition Facts
    Plantain Stew
    Amount Per Serving (1.5 cups)
    Calories 377 Calories from Fat 188
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 20.9g32%
    Saturated Fat 9.7g49%
    Sodium 854mg36%
    Potassium 1007mg29%
    Carbohydrates 42.8g14%
    Fiber 8.9g36%
    Sugar 17.3g19%
    Protein 8.3g17%
    Calcium 54mg5%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    « How to Roast Garlic
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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Heath says

      October 03, 2020 at 8:33 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this for the family. Amazing. Really great ballance of flavors! Added some marinated tofu and cubed sweet potato. Thanks for posting this gem. It will be added to our vegitarian rotation!

      Reply
    2. Suzanne Perron says

      October 12, 2020 at 8:39 pm

      5 stars
      This dish was a home run! I am not a fan of cloves in my food, but I did not miss it. We love beans so we added 2 cans of black beans (helped with color as well). We baked the plantains to cut down on fat. Served over brown jasmine rice. Going into our rotation! Thank you!

      Reply
    3. Steph K says

      January 06, 2021 at 5:40 pm

      5 stars
      Super super tasty! Really love the sweet and savory combination, and the lime juice added the perfect final touch. I added a few handfuls of spinach at the end since I had some to use up, and it tasted yummy with the extra wilted greens. This is going to be a winter time staple, so cozy and delicious. Thank you!

      Reply
    4. Michele says

      January 09, 2021 at 9:45 pm

      5 stars
      Good as hell. You got a cook book girl? Bc damn.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        January 10, 2021 at 6:01 pm

        Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I don't currently have a book, but I hope to publish one in the future.

        Reply
    5. Siddy H says

      January 10, 2021 at 7:28 pm

      3 stars
      I had every single ingredient and made exactly by the recipe for my family. One person thought it was magnificent but the rest thought it was just average. No one could taste the coconut milk at all so that was a waste. The tomato overpowers everything and it tastes like chili. I would prefer the plantains cooked as is. I did enjoy making an inspired from Puerto Rico dish. I’ll try others as we cook around the world during quarantine.

      Reply
    6. Carlos Vargas says

      January 14, 2021 at 7:11 pm

      5 stars
      It was great. Plantains never disappoint me. The ripe plantains peel should be yellow with a little black, otherwise they will be too sweet. The person that baked them, took half of the fun of having plantains. I also.tried with.green plantains and it was even better to me, but I have always favored green over ripe.

      Reply
    7. Bean says

      January 29, 2021 at 9:09 pm

      3 stars
      It was okay. The olives seemed a little random for the recipe, and it was very heavy on the tomatoes. If I were to make it again, I would do a lot more spices, less tomatoes, and skip the olives. The plantains were yummy.

      Reply
    8. Robert says

      February 23, 2022 at 1:13 pm

      5 stars
      I made this following directions and then added sliced Beyond Meat sausages at the end as a whim. OMG....this will be a repeat. Thank you so much!!!!!!

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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