Inspired by Skinnytaste.com

Vegan friendly, Gluten-free

These tostones are baked instead of fried. They are also known as platacones, depending on the country you are visiting or from. They are the Latin equivalent to French fries but a healthier version. They end up looking like a mini crunchy pancake. They are high in carbohydrates so not keto friendly, unless you’re including a carb-loading day. They are about 38 grams of carbs for approximately 1/4th of this recipe. They go well with beans and rice or as a side dish to almost any meal. I enjoy dipping them in a sauce like guacamole or a spicy lime. I include a sauce below. Even if you don’t have time to make a sauce, an extra sprinkle of sea salt and fresh twist of lime juice can be perfect.

Ingredients

Tostones:

  • 3 medium green plantains
  • 2 tsp coconut oil or avocado oil. If you live in a cool climate then melt the coconut oil.
  • Sea salt
  • Coconut oil or avocado oil spray (I avoid cooking with olive oil because it doesn’t have a high heat tolerance and becomes unhealthy when cooked.)

Mojo Garlic Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/3 cup sour orange juice, or 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice + 1 tbsp lime juice OR just use 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 tsp coconut or avocado oil
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • pinch oregano
  • pinch salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

Instructions

Tostones:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Peel plantains and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. If they are too difficult to peel, as some green plantains can be, then slice them them into 1/2 inch slices and cut the peel off, around the sliced plantain. 
  3. Place in a bowl and toss with oil and salt.
  4. Arrange slices on the baking sheet. Lightly coat with a little more oil spray on top and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly brown on the bottom. Remove from oven.
  5. Using a tostonera (a press), slightly mash each piece to about a quarter of an inch thick. If a tostonera is not available, insert the pieces between a folded piece of brown-paper and press down using a saucer or the bottom of a glass jar.
  6. Lightly re-spray the baking sheet and place the plantains brown side up onto the baking sheet.
  7. Lightly spray the top and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

For the Mojo Sauce:

  1. Heat a small sauce pan on low flame. When hot, add oil.
  2. Saute garlic on low for about 2 minutes, do not brown.
  3. Add sour orange and or lime juice; then the oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and let it come to a boil.
  4. Shut off and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Buen Provecho!

Nutritional Information:

Serving size: 1/4 of recipe

  • Calories: 184kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 38.2g
  • Protein: 1.1g
  • Fat: 4.8g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.6g
  • Sodium: 6.6mg
  • Fiber: 2.7g
  • Sugar: 17