These gluten free vegan black bean plantain fritters have a crispy golden coating and a flavorful savory filling. Learn how to cook plantains for this great appetizer recipe.
recipe originally published April 3, 2012
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Savory Plantain Fritters
Black bean plantain fritters are a fun to make savory snack recipe. Air fried or baked, the fritters have this great crispy crunch around a soft, chewy filling with layers of savory flavor. These gluten free plantain fritters are a delicious and unique option for the appetizer table. Make this an entree and serve alongside or on top of a crisp green salad.
How to prep and cook green plantains
The cooking instructions for this plantain fritter recipe include baking, and air frying.
Do you have an air fryer? See these vegan air fryer recipes.)
However, before making a fritter, we need to know how to cook a plantain.
- Scrub plantains (leave peel on).
- Cut each end from the plantain, leaving peel on.
- Cut each plantain into thirds, or pieces a few inches long.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add the plantain pieces to the boiling water.
- Boil the plantains for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender.
- Remove peel.
How to roast ripe plantains
Ripe plantains are yellow and usually have black spots, similar to a banana ripening. A very ripe, sweet plantain can be very dark, mostly black.
Black plantains are still good to eat, they will be very soft and sweet.
How to roast plantains:
- Preheat oven to 450 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Cut each end from the plantain.
- Carefully remove peel.
- Cut the plantain into slices, or at a slight angle for longer slices.
- Arrange plantain pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake at 450 °F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip each plantain over.
- Return to oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes.
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Black Bean Plantain Fritters
Crispy golden fritters make a tasty savory appetizer. Learn to cook plantains for this tasty recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 fresh plantains
- ¾ cup fine almond flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
- juice and zest of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 shallots, peeled and minced (or ½ yellow onion, peeled and minced)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ cup gluten free panko or more almond flour
Instructions
- Fill a Dutch oven or stock pot with water and 2 teaspoons sea salt. Bring to a boil.
- Scrub the plantains, laving the peel on.
- Slice both ends from each plantain, and cut each plantain into 2 inch pieces, leaving the peel on. (Alternatively, you can remove the peel before boiling, if the plantain is ripe and the peel is easily removed.)
- Add plantain pieces to boiling water. Reduce to simmer and cook until plantains are fork tender and a dark yellow color. This is generally 20-30 minutes, depending on ripeness of plantain.
- As the plantains cook, add the remaining plantain dough ingredients to a bowl: almond flour, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper. Set aside.
- In a second mixing bowl, make the filling: combine black beans, lime juice and zest, minced garlic, minced shallot, and smoked paprika. Mash and stir to combine completely. Set aside with a spoon.
- Once plantains are done, carefully remove with tongs and place on a towel lined plate. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 400 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Once plantains are cool enough to handle, remove peels.
- Add peeled plantain pieces to the seasoned almond flour. Mash to completely combine into a sticky dough.
- Add panko to shallow bowl or plate.
- Using your hands, scoop a golf ball size amount of plantain dough. Flatten dough into a 3 inch disc and spoon a small amount of bean mixture into center of dough. Wrap dough around filling, forming a ball.
- Roll ball through panko to coat. Place on parchment lined baking sheet or lined air fryer basket.
- To Bake: Bake in a 400 °F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- To Air Fry: Fry in air fryer at 390 °F for 9 minutes. All air fryers are different, so check if done; continue cooking as needed: 2 minutes at a time until hot and crispy.
Notes
More coating options
In place of gluten free panko, use:
- crushed corn flakes
- finely chopped nuts
- dried breadcrumbs
How to prep and cook green plantains
- Scrub plantains (leave peel on).
- Cut each end from the plantain, leaving peel on.
- Cut each plantain into thirds, or pieces a few inches long.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add the plantain pieces to the boiling water.
- Boil the plantains for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender.
- Remove peel.
How to roast ripe plantains
Ripe plantains are yellow and usually have black spots, similar to a banana ripening. A very ripe, sweet plantain can be very dark, mostly black.
Black plantains are still good to eat, they will be very soft and sweet.
How to roast plantains:
- Preheat oven to 450 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Cut each end from the plantain.
- Carefully remove peel.
- Cut the plantain into slices, or at a slight angle for longer slices.
- Arrange plantain pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake at 450 °F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip each plantain over.
- Return to oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 365Total Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 340mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 9gSugar: 13gProtein: 9g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more...
spabettie / Kristina Sloggett is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Nora @ Natural Noshing says
Those look amazing! I love black beans and I love plantains - YUM!
spabettie says
if you love both of those things, you NEED to make these, Nora! and if you're not a spicy fan, add whatever flavors you'd like! these are SO good!
Hally says
these look amazing too, I am so happy I discovered you in the newspaper!!
Cat ~ The Verdant Life says
These sound awesome. I love plantains! I wonder if they could be made in the oven instead of by frying.... Hmmmm...