Cuban Inspired Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain Lasagna

The resulting dish is sweet, salty, savory, and cheesy, all at once. In short, it’s like no other lasagna you’ve ever tried before!

If you’re Paleo or don’t eat diary, simply leave off the cheese. Depending on what level of Paleo you’re looking for, you may also want to leave out the capers and olives since they contain a lot of salt. The almonds we used were already the unsalted kind, so you’re good to go there! No matter how you choose to make it, I guarantee you haven’t experienced anything like the tropical flavors of this new favorite at our house. This post may include affiliate links, which means I may make a commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.

Plantain lasagne tips

If you’re used to making lasagne, you know that it’s pretty much always easier to make with help! This dish is easiest and fastest to put together with two people - one person can work on the plantains while the other cooks the beef or one person can cook the plantains while the other assembles the lasagna. We did the latter - we waited until the meat was almost ready to begin cooking the plantains, Papi Chulo fried them, and I assembled the lasagna as plantain slices became ready. It would have taken me forever to do by myself! If you have older kids who enjoy cooking in the kitchen, this would be a great dish for them to help out with. They can help scoop the meat mixture onto the plantain slices and spread it around. They can also help sprinkle the cheese!

How to tell if plantains are ripe

You do not want to use green plantains for this recipe! Instead, look for plantains that are a deep yellow with areas of black. See that green plantain in the background? Do not use plantains that look like that. The ones in front are ripe enough to use, though. They could be even darker and that would be okay, too.

As long as the plantain doesn’t look all weird and dried out (you’ll know what I mean if you see it - sometimes they get this dry, withered looking patches) or super moldy, then it’s good to use! As a “quick sidebar,” I’d like to take a moment to talk about high-quality cookware. Cooking is so much easier when you have the right tools for the job. This is especially true if you’re cooking with kids because, goodness knows, that introduces a whole new set of ways for things to mess up! You shouldn’t have to battle with crappy cookware, too. I am very thankful to have a family that knows how much I value kitchen tools that work and have been able to accumulate kitchen gear I love over the past few years. High-quality cookware and appliances can be an investment, but they can also last you for years and years. I think the most important thing to remember is that you should look for true quality, not just a brand name. For example, I have a wonderful set of Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad cookware and I used my 12" Tramontina skillet for this recipe. I’ve never worried if things I had weren’t high-profile brand name as long as they worked just as well!

How to store pastelon

This plantain lasagna keeps well in the refrigerator. Simply wait for it to cool completely, cover it tightly, and place in the fridge. I used to recommend covering this plantain lasagne with plastic wrap, but I’ve since become a lot more interested in reducing our waste. Please check out this post on aluminum foil alternatives to see great foil and plastic wrap alternatives food storage! The lasagne keeps at least four days, but I can’t speak for longer than that! It’s never managed to last longer than that in our house. I don’t image it wouldn’t freeze well, but I could be wrong. If you’ve tried freezing it, please leave a comment below. Weirdly enough, Papi Chulo likes to eat the lasagna with rice. That may seem strange, but the plantains are fairly sweet and he wanted something not sweet to balance the meal out. Now we simply eat small slices of the lasagna with some rice instead a big piece of lasagna!