Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
I host a podcast where each guest shares a recipe that connects to their culture, life, and memories. I cook, photograph, and share the dish with you. Listen to Quiara’s story in How to Give Without Regrets and learn to make Quiara’s Plantain Cups!
This playful Haitian appetizer from podcast guest Quiara Pinchina quickly became a family favorite. Fried plantain cups are not only flavorful but fun to make and serve.
One useful tip from this recipe: soak the plantain pieces in salted water with a splash of vinegar. That extra step brightens the plantain flavor and works well for other fried plantain recipes too.
What Quiara Says About This Fun Haitian Party Food
My life is about cross-cultural living and this recipe fits that mix. My husband’s favorite American food is probably BBQ sauce. These cute plantain bowls always remind me of big shindigs at our yellow house in Port‑au‑Prince. The table is loaded with little bits of many dishes: cake, pizza, rice and beans, fried chicken, fried plantains with pikliz, a spicy pasta or gratin, and maybe a salad. These bowls are a cool addition because they’re so cute and you can pull bits from other dishes to fill them. My favorite party was a surprise my husband planned in September — I was blindfolded at the gate and about 50 people sang happy birthday on the porch. It was humbling because I came here as a stranger in a difficult time, and his circle of family and friends welcomed me in a way I’ll never forget.
-Quiara Pinchina
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What to Serve with Fried Plantain Cups
If you want simple Haitian appetizers, these plantain cups are perfect. Changing the filling transforms them into different flavors. Quiara suggests:
- Chunky guacamole
- Pineapple slices (great added to meat or served plain)
- BBQ pork or chicken
- Pikliz (spicy pickled cabbage — the recipe is included below)
- Mango salsa
- Tomato or cucumber salsa
They’re versatile — tell me in the comments if you invent a filling!
Equipment List
- Lemon or key lime squeezer (used to shape the bowls)
- Large skillet or deep fryer
- Mixing bowl
More Caribbean Recipes
- Jamaican Curry Goat: Flavor Packed Authentic Recipe
- Coconut Corn on the Cob Boiled in Milk with Spicy Butter
- Pollo Frito: Puerto Rican Fried Chicken (Without Flour)
- Fried Plantain Cups (Plus Lots of Fun & Easy Filling Ideas!)
Recipe
Fried Plantain Cups (Plus Lots of Fun and Easy Filling Ideas!)
5 Stars
5 from 3 reviews
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 18 servings
Description
These fried plantain cups can be filled with many easy, delicious options — including pikliz. They’re ideal for a Caribbean-style party.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Bowls
- Green plantains
- Salt
- 1 tsp vinegar
- Oil for frying
- Lime squeezer/press (to shape bowls)
For the Pikliz
- 1 small carrot, finely shredded
- ¼ cup sliced onion
- ¼ cup sliced bell pepper
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely diced (add gradually to control heat)
- ½ tsp chicken bouillon powder (Maggi)
- Salt to taste
- Vinegar to taste
- ½ head cabbage, finely grated
- Juice of 1–2 Key limes
Filling Ideas
- BBQ sauce with beef or shredded pork
- Pineapple slivers added to the meat mixture
- Mango salsa or cucumber/tomato salsa
- Avocado or chunky guacamole
- Onion or cabbage pikliz
Instructions
Cue Up The Episode!
Listen to Quiara Pinchina on The Storied Recipe Podcast, From Port‑au‑Prince: How To Give Without Regrets with Quiara Pinchina, while you make her Fried Plantain Cups.
Make The Recipe
For the Bowls
- Peel the plantains and cut into roughly 3-inch chunks. Adjust the length to fit your lime squeezer.
- Prepare a small bowl of water with 1 tsp vinegar and enough salt to make it very salty.
- Note: some cooks soak plantain chunks for an hour before the first fry; Quiara suggests soaking after the first fry. Either approach adds flavor.
- Deep-fry the plantains until they change color and the outside becomes crispy.
- As soon as you remove them from the oil, press each piece with the lime squeezer to form a small bowl shape.
- Dip each shaped bowl briefly in the salt-vinegar water, then fry again until crisp. Be careful—the oil will sizzle because of the moisture.
- When they’re golden and crispy, remove from the oil and drain; they’re ready to fill.
For the Pikliz
- Combine the finely sliced vegetables with chicken bouillon, salt, lime juice, and vinegar.
- Add the Scotch bonnet pepper a little at a time to reach the desired heat. The goal is spicy and sour with a hint of bouillon.
- Let the pikliz sit briefly so the flavors meld before serving.
Notes
Make sure to listen to Quiara Pinchina on The Storied Recipe Podcast, From Port‑au‑Prince: How To Give Without Regrets with Quiara Pinchina, while you make her Fried Plantain Cups.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizers, Snack
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Nutrition
- Calories: 9
- Sugar: 1
- Sodium: 20
- Fat: 0.1
- Saturated Fat: 0.01
- Carbohydrates: 2
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 0.4
- Cholesterol: 0.01