Air Fryer Plantains (Fried Sweet Ripe Plantains)

Cooking the most delicious plantains has never been easier than in the air fryer! Quick and easy to cook and prep, they make for one tasty appetizer or serve up as a side with your favorite Caribbean dishes.

 

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
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You can find important tips/tricks in the
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Fried plantains have got to be one of my favorite sides, but I don’t cook them that often at home as they do require quite a lot of oil, but no more thanks to our trusty air fryer!

This recipe is perfect for breakfast, a quick snack, an appetizer, or a side dish. It only takes a few minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook. All you need is plantains and a small amount of oil.

I usually eat them for breakfast, sandwiching them between two slices of bread with a fried egg. Yum! Properly ripe plantains are sweeter than green plantains and perfect when accompanied by something salty.

Serve them alongside my Jamaican Jerk Chicken for one delicious meal!

Ingredients needed for plantains in the air fryer

• Ripe plantain – a sweet and savory type of banana. It can be fried, baked, or boiled. The riper the plantain, the softer and sweeter your fried plantain will be.
• High heat oil spray – A cooking oil with a high smoke point that is ideal for searing, frying, and other high-temperature cooking methods. I prefer to use avocado oil or olive oil.

How to make air fryer plantains

Peel and slice your plantains. You want to make sure the plantains you choose are ripe.

Place the plantain slices into the air fryer basket in a single layer and then spray with oil.

Cook on 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes, flipping and spraying halfway through.

Once 8 minutes are up, increase the temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Remove and enjoy.

How long do they keep?

These air fryer plantains are best enjoyed as soon as they are ready so that they have crispy outsides and are soft in the middle. If you do have leftovers, they will keep well for a couple of days in the fridge and are easily reheated. Reheat them in the air fryer basket at 380F for 2 to 3 minutes to crisp them back up again.

What plantains are best to use?

This recipe works best with ripe plantains, ones that are mostly black but still have a small amount of yellow on the skins. Ripe plantains are sweeter. Ones that are all black are overripe, and although they will still be good to eat, they will be very soft and will be trickier to cut nicely.

Green or mostly yellow plantains will have a firmer texture and they can be quite tricky to peel, they are also less sweet.

Are plantains healthy?

Plantains are technically fruits, but like tomatoes, are eaten and served as a vegetable. They are starchy and an amazing source of fiber and low in fat. They contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and because we air fry these plantains, you don’t need to add a lot of oil to get them nice and crispy. These are a great food to incorporate into a well-balanced diet. This recipe is also vegan and gluten-free.

Recipe Notes and Tips

• You’ll want to use ripe plantains for this recipe. I like to wait until the plantain has become mostly black, then slice and use.
• You can also cook store bought frozen plantains in the air fryer. For frozen plantains, I place frozen plantains in the air fryer basket and cook on 380 degrees for 12-14 minutes. I do not spray these with oil as most frozen plantains have been partially fried in oil.
• Preheat the air fryer before cooking the plantain slices. If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheat function, let it run at 380F while you peel and cut the plantains.
• Some air fryer models can run slightly differently, and depending on how thickly you cut the slices the cooking times may vary.

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Seasoned Air Fryer Turkey Wings
• Baked Air Fryer Apples
• Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant
• Air Fryer Granola