Tostones Rellenos (Avocado & Shrimp Plantain Cups & 7 Versions)

En Español Recipe ↆ Video ↆ

Why 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.

What's tostones rellenos?

Mofonguitos or tostones rellenos are simply a bowl-shaped version of regular tostones (twice-fried plantains) stuffed with whatever your heart desires.

These are also a fantastic, easier alternative to traditional mofongo. I can't convey to you just how tasty these are.

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. 😉 )

Buen provecho!