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Turkey Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

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Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It’s that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Turkey Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

This plantain lasagna is very popular in many Latin countries! It’s delicious (and gluten-free!). Lasagnas are such a treat. If you’re looking for a more classic recipes try my go-to lasagna recipe, lasagna soup, this Noodle-less Butternut Squash Lasagna, or these Three Cheese Zucchini Stuffed Lasagna. And if you want a more savory plantain recipe using green bananas these Air Fryer Tostones are a must!

It’s Hispanic heritage month and in it’s honor I thought this delicious Puerto Rican comfort dish (made light of course) would be an excellent recipe to honor it. My Mom is from Colombia, so we grew up eating plantains a lot in my home.

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Plantains are like a cousin to the banana, and depending on the ripeness you’ll cook them in different ways. For this recipe, you’ll want them pretty ripe (they should be browned and soft). My plantains could have used a few more days to ripen, but I couldn’t wait, I needed to make this.

I spent many summers as a kid with Aunt and cousin who moved to paradise (Puerto Rico). Those were some of my best childhood memories and the food I ate their were some of my favorite meals. Pasteles, empanadillas, pernil – their food is like no other, and they cook with so much flavor, only sometimes they tend to be a little on the not-so-light side. But with a few tweaks I was able to make this dish lighter, I just used a little less oil to cook the plantain, and to further lighten it, I made the picadillo with turkey instead of beef, and part skim cheese and I think it’s just as good as the real deal – without the extra fat. To serve this, I sliced it into 9 slices and served it with a big salad on the side and my husband and I felt totally satisfied.

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!

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Turkey Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

4.60 from 5 votes
8
Cals:282
Protein:20
Carbs:30
Fat:9
Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Turkey Pastelón is a latin lasagna made of strips of sweet plantain layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes it taste SO good!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: 9 servings
Serving Size: 1 /9th slice

Ingredients

For the Turkey Picadillo:

  • 1.25 lb 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 to mato, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp cilantro
  • 4 oz 1/2 can tomato sauce
  •  kosher salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp alcaparrado, capers or green olives would work too

For the Pastelon:

  • cooking spray, I used my mister
  • 4 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced into thin strips
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 3 large egg whites, beaten
  • 2 tbsp fat free milk
  • 1 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

  • Brown the ground turkey on medium heat in large sauté pan and season with salt and pepper.
  • Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.
  • Add the chopped onions, garlic, pepper, tomato and cilantro and continue cooking on a low heat.
  • Add alcaparrado (or olives and capers) and about 2 tbsp of the brine (this adds great flavor) cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and more salt if needed.
  • Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of water and mix well.
  • Reduce heat to low and simmer covered about 15 minutes.
  • Preheat to oven to 350°F.
  • Lightly spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with oil.
  • Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium heat.
  • When hot spray with oil to lightly coat the bottom.
  • Cook plantains for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden; set aside.
  • Assemble by layering the plantains, then the cooked turkey picadillo, then about 1/4 cup of cheese and repeat.
  • You want to finish with a layer of plantains.
  • Beat the egg and egg whites with 2 tbsp of milk and pour over the pastelón to help bind everything, letting it sit for a minute or two to soak in.
  • Top off with the remaining cheese.
  • Cover tight with foil and bake in the oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until completely heated through.
  • Cut into 9 equal pieces and serve.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 /9th slice, Calories: 282 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 20 g, Fat: 9 g, Cholesterol: 21 mg, Sodium: 314 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 13 g

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