Patacones also known as tostón is a popular dish in Latin America made with green plantains. Serve as a side dish or appetizer with your favorite topping sauce.
What are Patacones?
They are also known as Tostones are made with unripe green plantains. To make them you peel and cut cross-wise the plantains and fried them twice. They are popular in Latin American cuisine and Caribbean cuisine. They are versatile and absolutely delicious.
How to Serve Patacones
They are served in restaurants and homes all over Colombia as a side dish for fish dishes or as an appetizer with pink sauce, guacamole, hogao (tomato and onion sauce) or ají (hot salsa).
This fried green plantain recipe is the perfect side dish for any meal. Some of my favorite main dishes to serve with Patacones are fried whole fish, fish with creole sauce and braised beef.
Ingredients you'll Need
Plantains: You need green plantains to make this recipe.
Oil: I recommend using vegetable or canola oil to fry patacones.
Salt: For extra flavor.
How to Make Patacones
Peel the plantains and cut cross-wise into ½” slices.
In a medium heavy pot, add enough oil to cover the plantain slices and heat the oil over medium high heat.
Add the plantain slices to the heated oil in a single layer. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Carefully remove the plantains with a slotted spoon, and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Let the patacones cool for 3 minutes. Then, place the plantains on a piece of plastic wrap and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. With a flat pot cover, press well on the pieces of plantain, flattening them to ¼” thickness.
Dip each slice in salted water. Then using tongs add them back in the hot oil in a single layer (you may need to work in batches) and fry for an additional 3 minutes on each side. Be careful when you fry the soaked plantains, as droplets of water will cause the oil to splatter.
Remove the patacones with slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb oil and sprinkle with salt.
More Green Plantain Recipes
Fried Green Plantain Soup (Sopa de Patacones)
Green Plantain Arepas (Arepas de Plátano)
Patacones Recipe (Fried Green Plantains)
Ingredients
- 2 Large green plantains
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel the plantains and cut cross-wise into ½” slices
- In a medium heavy pot, add enough vegetable oil to cover the plantain slices and heat the oil over medium high heat.
- Add the plantain slices to the heated oil in a single layer. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Carefully remove the plantains with a slotted spoon, and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Let the patacones cool for 3 minutes. Then, place the plantains on a piece of plastic wrap and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. With a flat pot cover, press well on the pieces of plantain, flattening them to ¼” thickness.
- Dip each slice in salted water. Then using tongs add them back in the hot oil in a single layer (you may need to work in batches) and fry for an additional 3 minutes on each side. Be careful when you fry the soaked plantains, as droplets of water will cause the oil to splatter.
- Remove the patacones with slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb oil, sprinkle with salt, to taste, transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with guacamole, tomato sauce or salsa.
Sapuche
This looks delicious! I've had plantains before in Asia, but they were nothing like what you share here. What kind of fish dishes does this recipe go well with? And can you get the same kinds of plantains where you live now, or are they a different variety from what you had in Colombia? I've never heard of hogao or aji, though the latter is probably familiar to me. Thanks for sharing this!
Dave
Ecuatoriano Ceviche is perfect with them!
Mary
We had them in Panama City with grilled sea bass and a garlic and parsley olive oil and also with curried pickled vegetables, coconut rice, and another puréed vegetable sauce. They are very neutral in flavor. Delicious!
Erica
Thank you for your comment. This recipe can be served with many kinds of seafood: fish stew, fried fish, grilled fish, shrimp in coconut sauce and many more and you can find really good plantains in the United States too.
Slann Tonic
I always called patacones as flat fried bananas, since you can make it from bananas too, not necessarily plantains
redkathy
I love plantains. This Puerto Rican woman I knew years ago introduced me to them. She prepared them a bit different that you explain here. I'm going to try this sometime.
peachkins
I love plantains and this is an interetsing way of eating it..
roberto
Hi, my mom dips them in salted water as well but adds minced garlic to the water..
Erica
Hi Roberto,
Thank you very much for your comment!
That sounds delicious.
Luz Adriana
My mom in Medellin add garlic to the water too.
Jackie at PhamFatale.com
What a great, fast and easy dish? I'm replicating this dish for my next dinner party. Love the fact that you just need plantain, salt and pepper. Need to make a bunch side condiments and all is good
Jorge
Love it is great, i remember back in Colombia ace muchos anos los patacones con chorizo huevos para el desayuno en fines de semana sabados e domingos toda la familia. Good job u r great love your recipies.
Thanks
Jorge
ace car
make sure the water for dipping the plantin is warm and salt, minced garlic and cuming for the perfect taste.
Chris
Man I am loving your site Erica, I was just explaining how to make these in another post! LOL Fried twice, OMG I can't believe I didn't think of that! I knew something i was doing was wrong but didn't know what, I only remember watching my aunt make them never realized till now she fried them twice.
Peter
Erica,
We returned back to Sweden in september after having adopted a 4 year old girl from Cali, Colombia. We were in Colombia for six weeks and really liked the food culture and all the nice people we met. Back home we almost immidiately missed the patacones and the empanadas snacks, so we were really happy when we found your blog and all the fantastic recipies. Now we have a "colombian afterwork" every friday with patacones and aji - and our daugeter loves it!! This friday we will try the empanadas recipie for the first time - after finally finding the masarepa in our local special grocery store.
Thanks / Peter
DINA
Patacones are my favorite! I am from Colombia too, but at home my mom usually dips the slices in garlic salted water. That makes the patacones taste much better!
Wendy
Hello:
I love your recipes, thank you. I live in AZ, my mom (colombian) lives in NY and my abuelita lives in Colombia, so I don't have anyone out here to show me the recipes I love and remember, so thank you!
I do remember my mom making patacones and instead of dipping them in salted water, she would smash them on garlic salt and fry them, it definitely avoids the oil splatter. Thank you.
Anonymous
good
Chip
I am from the USA but live in Barranquilla Colombia. Here the most common cooking method does not include dipping in salted water. We just do the first deep fry, flatten, second deep fry, then salt, let the excess oil get soaked up, and eat. They are delicious!
chela
Erica. What is the purpose if dipping the Patacones in salted water? My mom makes patacones all the time but she never dips them in salted water. My mom is from Colombia. By the way I love your website.
Claudia
I love patacones. Moreover, I love this website! I've been looking for Colombian recipes for so long. Miss my moms cooking. Your at a blessing. Thank you.
Lianna
Hi! Very late to this party but this sounds so wonderful!
I am catering a wedding next month with "heavy apps". I these are the perfect thing to serve.
So question: How far in advance can they be made? Can they be frozen?
Thank you so much. Love your site.
Kathy
These patacones were crispy and delicious. Very easy to make.
Heather
I started to make these after a recent trip to Colombia, but I stupidly covered the pot while I was cooling and pressing the plantains, and when I lifted the cover I wound up starting a grease fire. Word to the wise: DO NOT LEAVE THE GREASE COOKING, and DO NOT COVER! I know this may seem obvious, but I didn't know better and had a very close call.
Car
Thank you Erika, I forgot how to do it and today I goggle your receipe. Now, I won't forget.
delicious.
Ana
I did not hear anyone mention that you can microwave the green plantain for 4 minutes to make it easier to peel. Make a cut longways before you place it in the microwave..
Peel it real quick , slice and mash..........
George Castano
Hi Erika -
Below is a step I learned from my sister Myriam which voids the double frying step and uses a lot less oil. The first step is done with the microwave.
1) Cut the end tips of the green plantain about I' from the ends.
2) Cut the skin of the green plantain about 1/4" deep lengthwise.
3) Place one plantain at a time in small brown paper bag and Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes depending on the size of the plantain.
5) Remove from the microwave with a pot holder to prevent from burning the hands.
6) After letting the plantain cool off for a few minutes remove the skin and cut cross-wise into 1/2" slices.
7) Place the plantains on a piece of plastic wrap (I use Reynolds Wax Paper instead) and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. With a flat pot cover, press well on the pieces of plantain, flattening them to ¼” thickness.
8) In a medium heavy pot, add enough vegetable oil to cover the plantain slices and heat the oil over medium high heat.
9) Then using tongs add them back in the hot oil in a single layer (you may need to work in batches) and fry for an additional 3 minutes on each side.
10) Remove the patacones with slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb oil, sprinkle with Kosher or sea salt, to taste, while still oily on both sides, transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with guacamole, tomato sauce or salsa.
Lisa k
I cut ends and wrap in a wet dish towel, microwave 5minutes, let rest 5 minutes, then peel, slice , crush & fry.
Jacobo
Patacones is from maracaibo estado Zulia pa que sepáis that is nothing from Colombia, the original recipes is from VENEZUELA!!!!
Ines
I wonder if they can be made in an air fryer.
Quillero
Jacobito, porque sera que ustedes los venezolanos siempre reclaman como suyos los plato's tipicos Colombianos como la arepa y ahora los patacones? Esos son plato's de la costa norte de Colombia.No tienen mas que aportar a su "gastromania"? Estamos Felices que coman la nuestra pero, hasta ahi. Saludos papa!
Anonymous
Yes…air drier will technically work but I do not get the golden color from traditional frying.
VICTOR AUGUSTO.
Make yourself....
The KiNG PATACONE 1 - Fried the slices of plantain in half an inch thick , hot oil. 2- melt a portion of panela in boil water making a heavy sirup keeper in a glass jar keep warm. 3- In a plate put a bunch of greater cheese your preference . 4- using tongs grave the hot PATACONE and dipped in the PANELA sirop inmediatily put in the greater cheese both sides. Now enjoy the best PATACONE of your life. we
Miranda Weldon
Thanks for this recipe, we loved them! I made them for my family’s Encanto movie night. I just wrote a blog post in my family movie night series about our Encanto movie night and I shared a link to your recipe here: https://magpietayleetot.com/blogs/magpietayleetot-crafts-parties-and-more/encanto-family-movie-night
Chef Tony Gomez
Hi Erica,
I'm a retired chef, originally from Bogota, Colombia. I just want to mention how over the years I have used your recipes, especially since my mother has passed and she left no record of her recipes. Thank you for having Colombian recipes available that bring back memories of food during my youth and time in Colombia.