Honduran Baked Bananas

Bananas & plantains (otherwise known as cooking bananas) are an absolute staple in a lot of Honduran recipes, as they are grown in the country and are easily accessible.

Plantains come from the banana family and have three different mature stages to choose from. The more mature the plantain is the sweeter the dish will be. When using green one, it will be rather bitter, if using yellow one the dish will be slightly sweet, brown/black plantain will be very, very sweet. This is because the starch converts to natural sugar in the fruit as it ripens.

A lot of recipes from Honduras call for plantain/banana in specific stage of ripeness, some recipes specifically ask for black plantain, while others want to make sure it is green. Everything depends on what flavor and sweetness that the cook is trying to accomplish.

Honduran Baked Bananas

Honduran Baked Bananas represent a delicious Honduran dessert consisting of halves of bananas, baked in butter with sugar and milk. Lime juice and rum may sometimes be poured on top of them while baking, thus increasing its aroma. The dish is baked until the milk completely evaporates. When they are done, bananas get a golden brown color. This dessert is sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg, and garnished with hot chocolate or vanilla cream. Honduran Baked Bananas can be served hot or chilled but always accompanied by a spoon of ice cream.

Oven Baked Sweet Plantains

Platanos maduros (sweet plantains) are very effortless to cook. They need to be extremely ripe plantains – the black ones, as these have softer texture and contain more sugar. It takes about 20 minutes to peel, slice and bake them. Sweet plantains or sweet bananas as they are sometimes called are a yummy and effortless side dish.

Platano Frito/ Tajadas (Fried Sweet Plantain Chips)

This Honduran dish is super easy and only uses 2 ingredients – plantains and oil. Tajadas are considered part of the meal and consumed like any other side dish, they are not eaten as a dessert.