Cinnamon Baked Plantains

Wednesday being what it is, I decided Disney music is necessary to get me through the day. What of it? Are you telling me that your frown doesn’t automatically invert when you hear “Be Our Guest”? Or want to bust into song at the top of your voice to sing “A Whole New World”? Your heart is made of stone. I’m kidding. I’m sorry. I just got the most aggravating phone call and decided step away from work to use my lunch break to talk about these cinnamon baked plantains.

Plantains! What is there to say? Not much, other than they’re delicious. However, their deliciousness does depend on proper preparation. A blank slate, they are only as good as how you season them. Otherwise, the potential for them to taste like cardboard, I think, is high.

Admittedly often forgotten on my trips down the veggie aisle, these starchy beasts are used a vegetable in many recipes throughout Latin America and Africa. While upon first glance they appear to be just wonky bananas, they are actually quite different.  Starchy, not sweet. Veggies, not fruits. Green, not yellow.  So, not ideal candidates for banana bread.

My favorites are from my favorite restaurant in Chicago, Carnivale. Have you been? The best mojitos around. And ropa vieja. And plantains. The best all of the food. If you live in Chicago, you should go (and take me with you) so we can eat my favorite plantains.

Today’s recipe is so easy. Like, the easiest. And fast. In under 30 minutes, you have the tastiest snack.

I went with sweet for my seasonings, but check out this recipe for a savory version.

Cinnamon Baked Plantains

January 28, 2015

Servings: 4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 20 min

Total: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

Print This

Cinnamon baked plantains give this often forgotten fruit a sweet finish, baked rather than fried to perfection.

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

• 3 large plantains
• 3 TB coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 TB light brown sugar

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat the oven to 450F and line two cookie trays with parchment paper.
• Step 2 Whisk all the ingredients, except the plantains, in a large bowl.
• Step 3 Peel the plantains and slice diagonally about ½ inch thick.
• Step 4 Toss the plantain slices in the sugar mixture until completely coated.
• Step 5 Place in a single layer on the baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.
• Step 6 Flip the plantains and bake another 10 minutes until crispy and brown and the sugar is sort of caramelized. Yummy.