Air Fried Plantains

I was this many years old when I found out that my air fryer would work amazingly for Air Fried Plantains and I’m never going back to skipping out on buying ripe plantains from the grocery store.

I didn’t have plantains growing up. The first time that I can recall trying them was a few years ago at a family owned Cuban restaurant near my house. They were served as a side item to the delicious well seasoned food that I had order. The savory Ropa Vieja with the sweet plantains made my taste buds do a happy dance and had me curious as to how I could recreate the flavors at home.

I have been using my air fryer for so many dishes lately, and I had bought two super ripe plantains with the intention of frying them, but I decided to give them a try in the air fryer instead. They worked out perfectly and with just a light spray of cooking spray rather than me having to fill up a pot of oil to deep fry.

I didn’t want tostones, which are crunchy plantains made from unripe plantains. I wanted a soft Air Fried Plantain that I could dip in sour cream and enjoy alongside a bowl of White Chicken Chili. These were exactly what I had in mind and will be the Air Fried Plantains that I continue to cook in the future.

I hope that you’ll try these Air Fried Plantians today and that you’ll leave a comment below. Also, for daily updates please follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe plantains
• cooking spray
• sour cream, optional
• plain Greek yogurt, optional

Directions:

Peel your very ripe plantains and slice them into 1/2 – 3/4 inch round pieces.

Heat the air fryer to 360 – 370 degrees Fahrenheit.  My model only goes to 360 degrees F so I used that temperature.

While the air fryer preheats, lightly spray both sides of the sliced plantains with cooking spray.

Cook the plantains for 4 – 5 minutes remove from the basket if desired and smash them flat using a measuring cup or a heavy glass.  Return them to the air fryer and cook for 3 – 4 more minutes.  My plantains were cooked in batches for 7 – 8 minutes.  Don’t stack them or let them touch so they cook evenly.

Remove the plantains to a plate and allow to cool and firm up slightly before serving.  They were soft and puffy when I removed them but after a few minutes of resting time they firmed up a bit.

I like to dip the plantains in a mixture of half sour cream and half plain Greek yogurt.

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