Tostones are fried plantains that are served all around Mexico, the Caribbean and many other places. We made these as a starchy side dish to accompany molé. They are made crispy by smashing them before cooking the second side.

Tostones are naturally gluten free and vegetarian.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Tostones.

The Ingredients

• Plantains
• Coconut Oil (or other oil)

Peeling Plantains

Plantains are notoriously difficult to peel. We took a cooking lesson with Miss Gloria, a Garifuna woman in Hopkins, Belize where she showed us how to do it. Cut the ends off and then run your knife down the length of the plantain, separating th skin from the fruit. At that point it is possible to work the peel off.

Cut Into Rounds

Once you have the peel off, cut the plantain into 1 inch rounds.

Cook the Plantains

Make a 1/8 inch deep pool of coconut oil in a large skillet. You can use any oil you like but I like the coconut flavor with this dish. Put the plantain rounds in the oil and cook the first side about 5 minutes, until it looks nice and browned, and you can see that it’s cooked about 1/3 of the way up the side.

Smash the Plantains

Turn the pieces over and cook the other side for 5 more minutes until they are cooked through. Remove to a cutting board. Using a serving spoon, smash the pieces so they spread out.

Cook Until Crispy

Return the tostones to the pan and cook until crispy, about 5 to 10 more minutes.

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Tostones are a great side dish with any of our molé recipes:

• Molé Colorado
• Molé Verde
• Molé Amarillo
• Classic Molé Rojo
• Easy Molé Rojo
• Molé Coloradito
• Molé Chuchilo Negro
• Molé Manchamanteles
• Molé Poblano
• Oaxacan Molé Negro
• Quick and Easy 30 Minute Molé

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