Baked Patacones with Mojo Sauce
Baked Patacones with Mojo Sauce, a baked version of classic fried Colombian patacones, or smashed plantains (or sometimes called tostones), served with spicy mojo herb sauce. Delicioso!
We discovered patacones during a trip to Colombia and couldn't wait to share our version with all of you! While traditional patacones (or tostones) are fried and require a lot of oil, we baked them to bring out the naturally sweet flavors of the plantains. Plus, it is more eco-friendly due to less wasted oil.
👉 Here are three reasons why you should make baked patacones:
- They're so easy to make. It's easier to bake patacones than it is to fry them. All you need is 30 minutes and a few simple ingredients. Plus, the Colombian-inspired mojo sauce comes together in just a few simple steps.
- They're delicious. Plantains have a naturally sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with the herbs in the mojo sauce.
- They're versatile. There are so many different ways that you can enjoy baked smashed plantains. You can make a lot at once to enjoy as appetizers or snacks all week long. Or, share them as a side dish alongside a Colombian-inspired meal. Pair them with our spicy mojo herb sauce or dip them in your favorite sauce!
Ready to learn how to baked plantains into patacones? Let's do it!
🤨 What are patacones (or tostones)?
Patacones, sometimes referred to as tostones, are smashed and fried plantains served with dipping sauce or as a side dish with soups. Patacones are found throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean in countries like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba, among others. In Colombia, they are usually served with aji (hot salsa) or a cream sauce, but we absolutely love spicy green herb sauces (see exhibit A: carrot top chimichurri, exhibit B: radish greens chimichurri, and exhibit C: beet greens chimichurri) so we paired them with Cuban garlic and herb mojo sauce. Delicious Colombian and Cuban fusion!
🍌 Ingredients
This baked patacones recipe packs a short list of simple ingredients that don't compromise on flavor. Here's what you'll need:
- Plantains: The key ingredient! This recipe comes together with 3 plantains, which are sliced, smashed, and combined with olive oil, salt, and pepper before being baked in the oven. Unripe, green plantains work the best.
- Oil: Adds flavor and helps add a crispy touch to the patacones. We suggest using olive oil or avocado oil for the best results.
- Salt and pepper: What we used for seasoning the patacones.
- Mojo Sauce: You'll need garlic cloves, cilantro, green onions, olive oil, salt, cumin, oregano, one lime, salt, and pepper to make this delicious sauce come together.
- Recommended tools: cookie sheets, lodge cast iron skillet, little sauce ramekins
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Preheat oven + prep plantains
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Then, slice the plantains into 1 inch (2.5 cm) sections before smashing them!
How to smash patacones: Patacones are essentially just sliced and smashed plantains, but there is a little trick to making them uniform. Choosing a bowl or large glass with a completely flat bottom (no ridges!) will ensure each patacon is uniformly smashed before baking. We chose a clear glass bowl with a smooth bottom so we could see the smashed plantains, but any smooth-bottomed bowl or glass will do.
2️⃣ Step Two: Bake smashed plantains in the oven
Next, place the smashed plantains on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Take them out of the oven, then flip the plantains and bake for about 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn!
If you'd like your patacones to be a bit crispier, heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and heat them until they start to harden, about 3 minutes on each side.
3️⃣ Step Three: Make the mojo sauce
While the plantains are baking, make the mojo sauce.
Place chopped garlic, cilantro, chopped green onions, and a bit of olive oil in a food processor and pulse until chopped but not blended.
Add the rest of the olive oil, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, oregano, lime juice, and lime zest. Pulse until integrated, but not smooth (about 5-6 pulses).
4️⃣ Step Four: Serve patacones + enjoy
Finally, it's time to eat the baked patacones!
Serve immediately with mojo sauce. You can drizzle the sauce over the patacones, or dip them into it.
❓ Recipe questions + quick tips
Plantains are a fruit that belongs to the banana family of plants. They are native to Southeast Asia and are grown in tropical regions around the world. Green plantains are starchy and typically enjoyed fried as chips or tostones. You can also fry or bake ripe plantains, which can be used similarly to regular bananas. They can be used for baking, making pancakes, mixed into salsa, or even as a topping for tacos.
Yes! If your local grocery store doesn't sell plantains, then regular bananas will do. However, we would suggest making sure they are not very ripe. A ripe banana will be too soft and may not hold its shape when mashed. Bananas are typically much sweeter and softer than plantains, so the finished patacones may not be as crispy and will taste a bit sweeter. But a sweet patacone with spicy mojo would be a delicious combination!
Mojo sauce is a blanket term used for sauces that include olive oil, herbs like cilantro/coriander, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and other spices. While green herb mojo sauce is more popular, some cultures use red versions made with red peppers and paprika. Most people associate mojo sauce with Cuba but many Caribbean cultures have their own take on the sauce, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Canary Islands. Mojo sauce, and all green herb sauces, are very simple to make: chop herbs and garlic and add all spices to a food processor with oil and pulse until well blended. That's it! A super simple way to kick any recipe up a notch.
🌿 How to serve
The possibilities are endless for how you can serve baked patacones. Here are some of our suggestions:
- As a side dish. The flavors with patacones pair perfectly with just about any dish. We love serving them alongside other Caribbean recipes. Try them with Colombian Vegetable Arepas!
- With soup. One of the traditional ways to eat patacones is as a side with soups, like our Colombian Ajiaco.
- Dip into sauce. While we paired our baked patacones with a green mojo sauce, you can dip them in whatever you like! Hot salsa, cream sauces, and red mojo sauce are all delicious options.
- Use mojo sauce with meats, vegetables, and in soups. If you have extra mojo sauce, use the leftovers to add flavor to other dishes!
🧊 How to store
Patacones and mojo sauce are easy to store — the patacones will soften over time, but you can heat them over a pan to make them crispy again.
- Refrigerator storage: Keep patacones in an airtight dish in the refrigerator for up to a week. The mojo sauce can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Freezer storage (if applicable): We do not recommend storing patacones in the freezer.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
We care about reducing food waste here at Fork in the Road, and we know you do too! Here are some ways that you can take your sustainable lifestyle to the next level with this recipe:
Choose Fair Trade plantains. Tropical fruits like plantains are often grown on plantations in countries where fair living wages are not commonly paid to farmworkers. To ensure your fruit is ethically harvested, choose those that have a Fair Trade certification (see a list of all our recommended trustworthy food certifications).
Compost the plantain peels. Plantain peels are not edible, but they are a great addition to your compost pile! The earth (and the soil!) will thank you later.
Make this recipe as a treat. Unless you live in a tropical location, it is likely that plantains have traveled far to get to you. That doesn't mean you can never eat them! Instead, it means that plantains should be viewed as a treat and should be savored. So make sure to enjoy these baked plantains and make the most out of their delicious flavors!
🇨🇴 More Colombian-inspired recipes
Loving these patacones? Bring a little Colombia to your plate with these recipes:
Baked Patacones with Mojo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Patacones
- 3 whole plantains
- ½ teaspoon oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Mojo Sauce
- 3 whole garlic cloves, chopped
- ⅓ cup cilantro
- 2 whole green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon oregano
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, from about 1 lime
- 1 Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Patacones
- Prep oven + cut plantains: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Slice plantains into 1 inch (2.5 cm) sections. Place in a bowl and toss with oil, salt, and pepper.
- Smash + bake plantains: Using a smooth-bottomed bowl or glass, smash each plantain (see photo above for example). Place smashed plantains on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes, then flip and bake about 5 minutes more (don't burn!).
- Make plantains crispier: If you'd like the patacones to be a bit crispier, heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and heat them until they start to harden, about 3 minutes each side. Serve immediately with mojo sauce.
Mojo Sauce
- Chop sauce ingredients: Place chopped garlic, cilantro, chopped green onions, and 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a food processor and pulse until chopped but not blended.
- Add oil + spices: Add the rest of the olive oil, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, oregano, lime juice, and lime zest. Pulse until integrated, but not smooth (about 5-6 pulses).
Notes
- Recommended tools: cookie sheets, lodge cast iron skillet, little sauce ramekins
- Recipe notes: For crispier baked plantains, you can bake for longer to achieve the desired crispy texture that you'd like, but we have found that baking can sometimes make them harder by drying them out. That's why if you're looking for a really crispy outside, then we suggest the final step of cooking them in a pan for a few minutes to get the crispy outsides while still having a soft inside.
- Leftovers + storage: Patacones can be kept in a airtight dish in the refrigerator for up to a week, but will soften over time. Heat over a pan to make them crispy again. Mojo sauce can be kept in refrigerator for 4-5 days and used over meats, vegetables, and in soups.
- Nutrition notes: Nutrition information was calculated with the additional mojo dipping sauce. This recipe uses only plant-based and gluten-free ingredients.
Nutrition Information
UPDATE: This recipe was originally published January 2018 and was updated for clarity in November 2021.
Looks delicious!
Thank you, one of my favorite recent travel recipe inspirations.
I’ve never heard of these before but they look FANTASTIC! I’m going to have to keep an eye out for plantains so I can make them too! 😉
They’re so simple, almost like a thicker chip. Great for Superbowl? I don’t know what my family would think if I told them no potato chips, it’s all about the plantains, haha.
Baked Patacones will be a first and I cannot wait! These look incredible especially with the Mojo sauce!
I loved them on our recent trip to Colombia but hoped they would be just as delicious baked instead of fried, and I was pleasantly surprised! Plus they’re super easy, which is always THE deciding factor in this house.
Yum! Feeling inspired… I don’t think I’ve done anything with plantains since cinco de mayo! Going to have to add them to the grocery list 🙂
These patacones were so easy to make and now I’m searching for more recipes I can use them in. Suggestions are welcome!
I LOVE patacones!! I don’t see recipes for them too often though- how fun!!
They were one of my absolute favorite discoveries when I was in Colombia recently, I knew I’d be making my own version as soon as I got home. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow this looks so creative! I have never tried a plantain before but they look delicious.. I have a party this weekend to attend and this looks like the perfect appy to bring 😉
Thanks! Plantains are like a less sweet and not ripe banana, so much more firm. Which makes them a great choice for savory dishes like this. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness…these look absolutely amazing! So delicious + incredibly nutritious! That mojo sauce sounds like the cherry to top off these mouth-watering patacones!
I can’t get enough of spicy herb sauces lately, I think this mojo sauce deserves a post of its own!
I have not eaten plaintains in years!! My grandma use to make some – mostly deep fried and we loved it. This is so creative. Must look for them in the supermarket soon.
I love that! I only recently starting eating them and fell in love with savory plantains on our recent trip to Colombia. Most versions we tried were fried but I tested these baked and they were still delicious. They will definitely be making an appearance on our meal plan more often!
love tostones and this healthier version is making me drool! i will give it a try very soon.
Great! I enjoyed them while traveling in Colombia and couldn’t wait to try out a healthier version when I got home.
Tostones were a staple at my house growing up, although I must admit, they were always deep fried! I’m excited to try this B
baked version of a childhood favorite!
Oh, the traditional version is delicious but I wanted to try a baked healthier version without the extra oil. It worked!
I forgot how much I love plantains until seeing this! Such a treat with the crispy and savory outside. I love mine with a sprinkle of salt. Your baked version looks phenomenal and a much healthier option. Can’t wait to give that mojo sauce a try!
Yes, they were perfect with a little salt and the spicy mojo sauce. And were great heated up the next day as well.
Wow, these sound amazing! I’ve only tried plantains a couple of times yet loved them each time. And that mojo sauce! I’ll bet that would be great with so many things!
Plantains are great because they’re not as sweet as bananas so they can go either sweet or savory. And the mojo sauce! Trust me, it’s going on EVERYTHING from now on.
I’m going to have to bake a batch of these! I love patacones but have never had them baked. And the mojo sauce…yummm…I think that sauce could go on quite a few things!
I had only had them friend during my travels to South America but they ended up crispy if baked and then finished off in a hot pan quickly right before serving. And the mojo sauce is my new favorite thing!
What a unique recipe…I’ve never heard of anything like these but they look and sound delish! I’m all about making new recipes so this one is going on the list to make! Thanks for sharing!
I was inspired by my travels! I love discovering new-to-me foods and experimenting to make them my own. Let me know if you try them!
I love love love tostones! Can’t wait to try out this recipe and your yummy sauce!
They’re so delicious and a healthy snack when baked. And the sauce! It’s going on everything from now on.
These look and sound fantastic! WAAAAAAY better than those hard, dry banana chips. And with a sauce? I’m loving everything about this dish!
I’ll ditch the hard chips for a slightly crisp patacone any day. And the sauce is now my favorite topping for everything from veggies to seafood to meat.
okay. these look super easy and I liked how they are not fried. yasss.
You know I had to work in a nutrition angle somehow! 😉
i have never eaten this but sound really yummy and healthy!
They’re my new favorite snack–and so easy!
I ended up trying this… I smashed the first one and it fell apart. I think they were to thick. So instead of smashing I put them in the oven first for about 20 minutes. I then removed them and smashed them and they kept together. I put oil on them and then put them in the oven for about 20 minutes but they didn’t get as crispy or cooked as when I put them in oil. After about 10 more minutes I gave up and put them in oil 🙂
I’ll try them again but only make them 1 inch thick. I ended up eating them with Cuban beef picadillo. Yummy!!
Hi there, I’m so glad you tried the baked patacones but I’m sorry to hear they didn’t work for you. Were they too ripe? They plantains I used were not very ripe so they were a bit harder, maybe that made a difference. And because they’re baked they definitely do not crisp the way they would if they were fried but they did not a nice crunch from baking. Let me know if you try them again, I’d be interested to know how they turn out. Thanks for commenting!