Plantain Tacos (30 Minutes!) – Connoisseurus Veg

Ready to take your taco game to the next level? You need to give my plantain tacos a try! They’re seriously easy to make and packed with the most delicious blend of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors. They’re vegan and gluten-free too, so everyone can enjoy them!

Plantains are one amazing produce item that you probably aren’t doing much cooking with, but you totally should be! They’re incredibly delicious, super cheap, and readily available. I love cooking with plantains myself, and have made them a part of some of my favorite dishes, like my plantain stew, plantain chili, and vegan sancocho. And today, I’m introducing you to a new favorite: my black bean plantain tacos!

Jump to:

To make these tacos you’ll be pan-frying some sliced up plantains, which is really easy — I’ll walk you through the process, so no worries! Your fried plantains will be paired up with a spicy mix of black bean and red onions, then served stuffed in warm tortillas. The combination of sweet and spicy flavors is everything!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Vegetable oil. You can use any high-heat oil suitable for frying. Plain old vegetable oil is fine, as is canola oil, corn oil, or peanut oil.
Plantains. Use ripe plantains. Look for plantains that are yellow, or yellow with brown spots, and not green. Don’t use green plantains, which are underripe. Plantains that are primarily yellow will be firmer and a bit easier to work with, whereas plantains with brown spots will cook up softer and sweeter.
Red onion.
Garlic.
Spices. You’ll need ground cumin and smoked paprika.
Black beans. We’re keeping things simple and using canned beans. No soaking needed!
Lime juice. We’re using this to flavor our beans, so it’s important to use freshly squeezed juice, and not bottled.
Fresh cilantro. You can leave this out if you don’t like it.
Salt and pepper.
Corn tortillas. Small flour tortillas will also work with this recipe.
Guacamole. I’m partial to my homemade guacamole (any flavor works with this recipe!), but feel free to go with store-bought if you’d like to make it easy on yourself.

How They’re Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Uncooked plantain slices just added to a skillet of oil.

Step 1: Heat some oil in a large nonstick skillet, getting a nice thick coating, then add plantain slices in an even layer. Let them cook for a few minutes, until they’re browned on the bottoms.

Plantain slices sizzling in oil in a skillet.

Step 2: Carefully flip the plantain slices and cook them for a few minutes on the opposite sides, until they’re nicely browned on both sides. Place them on a paper towel lined plate when they’re done.

Tip: Plantains tend to stick, so use a good nonstick cooking surface. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is my personal preference.

Step 3: Add sliced red onion to the skillet. Sauté the onion slices for a few minutes, until they’re very soft and lightly browned.

Sliced red onion, garlic, and spices cooking in a skillet.

Step 4: Add minced garlic to the skillet, along with ground cumin and smoked paprika. Cook the mixture briefly.

Black beans and red onion cooking in a skillet.

Step 5: Add the black beans and cook them with the onions, garlic, and spices for a minute or two. Just get them hot!

Black beans, red onion, and cilantro cooking in a skillet.

Step 6: Take your skillet off of heat and stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Dish of Plantain Tacos with a bunch of cilantro and napkin in the background.

Step 7: Time to assemble your plantain tacos! Start with a layer of guac, then top it with the bean mixture, then plantains.

Enjoy your tacos. They’re so good!

Leftovers & Storage

Store any leftover plantain slices and bean mixture in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Plantain slices are easiest to heat up in the microwave, by zapping in thirty second increments. The bean mixture can be microwaved or heated in a skillet over medium-high heat. I like to add a bit of water to them, as they tend to dry out in the fridge.

Variations

Add toppings. You can include any toppings you normally like to put on tacos in this recipe. Try shredded lettuce or cabbage, hot sauce, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, pico de gallo, or shredded vegan cheese.
Plantain taco salad. Serve the plantains and beans over a bed of greens, topped with one of your favorite vegan salad dressings.
Plantain burritos. Roll the fillings up in a big flour tortilla instead of serving them in small corn tortillas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these tacos hot?

Not at all! The filling is very mild. If you’d like some heat, add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce to the bean mixture.

Can I substitute another type of beans?

You sure can! Most types of canned beans will work. Try pinto beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, or lentils.

More Taco Recipes

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

Print
Pin

Plantain Tacos

Cuisine American, Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil, divided, or as needed
2 ripe plantains, sliced about ½-inch thick (Note 1)
½ medium red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 corn tortillas, warmed in a hot skillet
1 cup Guacamole, for serving

Instructions

Generously coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. You’ll want the oil to be about ⅛ inch deep. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add plantain slices in an even layer. Let the plantain slices cook for three to four minutes, until they’re browned on the bottoms. Use a spatula to gently loosen them from the skillet as they cook, as they have a tendency to stick.
Flip the plantain slices and cook them for another three to four minutes, until browned on both sides. Transfer them to a paper-towel lined plate when they’re done. Continue cooking the plantain slices in batches, adding oil to the skillet as needed.
Once all of the plantain slices are cooked, you can either wipe out the excess oil in the skillet if there’s a lot of it, or add some if it seems dry. You want a light coating on the bottom. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook the onion for about four minutes, stirring often, until softened and browned.
Add the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika to the skillet. Cook everything for about a minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
Stir in the beans. Continue cooking the mixture for another one to two minutes, just to heat up the beans.
Remove the skillet from heat. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Season the bean mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble the tacos, slather each tortilla with guacamole, then divide the bean mixture and plantain slices among the tortillas.
Serve.

Notes

When choosing ripe plantains, you can use ones that are mostly yellow, or ones with lots of brown spots. Yellow plantains will be firmer and starchier, while very ripe plantains showing lots of brown spots will be softer and sweeter. Yellow plantains also tend to be easier to work with.
This recipe makes eight tacos, with two tacos per serving.

Nutrition

Source link