This Plátanos Calados or Plátanos en Tentación can be serve as a dessert, side dish or snack.
What are Plátanos Calados?
They are also known as Plátanos en Tentación in some Colombian regions. This dish is very popular in Latin America and it has different names depending on the country and every country has its own way to make this dish. Some of the names of this dish in Latin America are Plátano Pícaro, Dulce de Plátano and Plátano en Almibar.
This is my grandmother's Colombian Plátanos Calados recipe. This dish is basically ripe plantains cooked in a sweet, flavorful and thick syrup. Some cooks add vanilla extract, cloves, cinnamon and salt to the dish. They are many variations in every country and every family has its own recipe.
This ripe plantain recipe is simple, quick and easy to make. You don't need a lot of ingredients and it's delicious. In Colombia Plátanos Calados or Plátanos en Tentación are eaten as a side dish, snack or dessert with fresh white cheese on the side. This dish can be eaten cold or hot.
Plátanos Calados Ingredients
The printable recipe card is below with exact amounts and cooking directions.
Plantains: This recipe will only be as good as your plantains. So I highly recommend purchasing very ripe plantains or allowing them to fully ripen at home before using them to make this recipe. To more quickly ripen plantains at home, place them in a paper bag and leave at room temperature until ripe.
Sugar: Traditionally this recipe uses panela (unrefined cane sugar ), but if you don't find it use light brown sugar.
Cinnamon: I recommend using cinnamon sticks for this recipe, they add a delicious flavor to the syrup. If you don't have sticks, ground cinnamon will work.
Butter: I like use a good quality butter for this recipe.
Cloves: Some people add cloves to the syrup, but I don't like them. If you like cloves add 6 whole cloves to the syrup.
More Ripe Plantain Recipes
Ripe Plantain Cake with Guava Paste and Cheese
Ripe Plantains Stuffed with Cheese and Guava Paste
Ripe Plantain Fritters Stuffed with Cheese
Plátanos Calados (Plantains with Brown Sugar Syrup) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large very ripe plantains peeled and cut into 4 chunks each one
- ½ cup light brown sugar or grated panela
- 1 cup of water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ½ tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a small pot place all the ingredients, cover and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving plate and serve with white cheese.
Laura
Can I make this in a crockpot?
Jen
This brings back memories from when I was a kid! So delicious!
I didn't have any ripe plantains today but I did have ripe bananas so I used those instead and served it over vanilla ice cream. This was a hit with my husband and kids!