Grilled Plantains Recipe: How to Grill Sweet Plantains

Grilled plantains are tender, ripened plantains glazed and grilled for a sweet, smoky flavor. Brown sugar and butter create a light caramel coating on the fruit, balanced by a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper. Plantains are a seedless berry in the banana family (part of the genus Musa) used in cuisines worldwide. The fruit can either be sweet when ripe or savory when unripe. While similar to bananas, treat plantains more like potatoes and cook them before consumption.

Follow these easy steps to make the best grilled plantains:

1. 1. Use ripe plantains. Typically, you can find both ripe and unripe plantains at grocery stores. Ripe yellow plantains are sweet, while unripe green plantains are savory. Black plantains mark peak ripeness. For grilling, you want sweet, ripe plantains that will caramelize with the sugar on the grill.
2. 2. Make the glaze. Halve plantains lengthwise and crosswise to create sections with large exposed surface area for maximum flavor. Toss the plantain pieces in a glaze of melted butter, brown sugar, a little salt, and cayenne pepper.
3. 3. Grill the plantains. Grill the plantains on both sides to cook them thoroughly and make them smoky and caramelized. Squeeze lime juice over the plantains before serving—the acidity in the lime will balance out the sweetness of the plantains.