These tostones rellenos stuffed with avocado and shrimp will surely raise the flavor level at your next gathering with these cute bites with all the great flavors we love. Tostones are a staple dish of Dominican cuisine; this is a way you can go the extra mile when serving them.
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- Last reviewed . Published Nov 30, 2011Why we ❤️ it
Tostones rellenos remind me that maybe we should get a slogan, and if we do, I have just the perfect one: Keeping spouses happy since 2001! Because these certainly have contributed to happy couples for many years.
Fried plantain cups are the perfect dish for snacking in front of the TV, watching our favorite show, or can be served as a delicious appetizer for a favorite televised sports event with family and friends, or home parties.
Stuffings
This is an easy and wonderful recipe and a very versatile dish. Aside from the tostones rellenos de camarones and avocado suggested in the recipe, you can go with the meat of your choice and even a vegan filling.
These are some of our favorite fillings and stuffings:
- Beef filling, which would go fabulously drizzled with mayo-ketchup sauce.
- Shredded chicken in tomato sauce, goes great combined with Cheddar cheese
- Vegan mince
- Vegan vegetable filling
- Creamy chicken filling
- Carne ripiada (Dominican shredded beef similar to Cuban ropa vieja)
- Lambí (Dominican stewed conch)
Green plantain and tostones rellenos.
Serving suggestions
Serve tostones rellenos as an appetizer, mid-afternoon snack, or – by increasing the serving size – even dinner. You can garnish them with some parsley or cilantro leaves.
If you are a fan of spicy-hot food, provide your favorite hot sauce to your guests.
Top tips
- Learn how to peel plantains.
- For this tostones rellenos recipe, you can use either unripe bananas or plantains. Plantains would be the more traditional choice (they are easier to work with and yield better-looking cups), but my experiment using green bananas turned out surprisingly delicious; the taste and texture are pretty different than if using plantains.
- And to make it worth your while, this recipe does not require a special plantain masher. You can do it with a tool you're likely to find in your kitchen already: a lemon squeezer, an idea that came to me when I wanted to make some without actually having to buy another type of tostonera (an idea I see now frequently around the internet. You're welcome. 😉 )
Variations
For this tostones rellenos recipe, you can use either unripe bananas or plantains. Plantains would be the more traditional choice (they are easier to work with and yield better-looking cups), but my experiment using green bananas turned out surprisingly delicious; the taste and texture are pretty different than if using plantains.
About this recipe
I must clarify that I did not come up with the idea of turning a tostón into a small cup; in fact, I've tried it in several restaurants around the Dominican Republic (shoutout to Típico Bonao for some awesome ones), usually with different fillings, like Chivo guisado, Crab meat, and on at least one occasion with just avocado and onions. This particular combination, however, is of my own making.
And to make it worth your while, this recipe does not require a special plantain masher. You can do it with a tool you're likely to find in your kitchen already: a lemon squeezer, an idea that came to me when I wanted to make some without actually having to buy another type of tostonera (an idea I see now frequently around the internet. You're welcome. 😉 )
Video
Recipe
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Tostones Rellenos [Recipe + Video] Plantain Cups 8 Ways
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 clove garlic, crushed into paste
- 2 dozen shrimp (large, uncooked and peeled)
- 2 teaspoons salt, (or more, to taste), cantidad dividida
- 1 teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), (or more, to taste), cantidad dividida
- 1½ cup oil for frying
- 4 plantain (green, unripe), (or unripe bananas), peeled, cut into 1" [2.5 cm slices]
- 1 avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- Cilantro, or parsley, for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
1. Cook the shrimp
- Heat the olive oil over very low heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink all over. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Fry the plantains
- Heat the frying oil over medium heat (175 ºC [350 ºF]) in a small bowl or saucepan.Fry each plantain slice until light golden brown (about 5 minutes). Press the slices with a lemon squeezer to form small cups.Once all the cups are formed, fry them again over medium-high heat until they turn golden brown.
3. Mash the avocado
- Peel the avocado and crush using a fork until it doesn't have any lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the lime juice.
4. Assembling
- Spoon about tablespoons of avocado mix into the cups.Top each with a shrimp and garnish with cilantro leaves.Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More plantain recipes
Whether you're looking for just green plantain recipes, or all our plantain recipes, you can be sure you'll find something you love. Of course, you can try our classic Tostones, or Air fryer tostones, as well as our Mangú recipe, and the tastiest Mofongo recipe.