Plantain Croutons

Plantain Croutons – These delicious plantain croutons are such a great addition to soups and salads, or you could snack on them straight from the pan. They are gluten-free, paleo, whole30, and AIP-friendly.

If you’re anything like me, you might not have tried cooking with plantains yet. This was my first time trying them, and they are easy to cook with and taste great!

What do plantains taste like?

I think that plantains taste a lot like potatoes when they are green. Once they turn yellow or black, they taste a little bit sweeter.

Are plantain croutons gluten-free?

Plantains are naturally gluten-free. They are also paleo, AIP, vegan and Whole30 friendly. They are technically a fruit, but taste more like a vegetable. They are related to the banana, and look like a banana. When they are green, they are harder to peel and taste like a potato when cooked, but when they turn yellow/black, they are sweeter, without the banana flavor.

Tips for making plantain croutons:

• Use green plantains – the yellow ones are sweeter and won’t work for this recipe
• To peel the plantains, I like to use a knife. The peel is tougher than a banana peel, so I find a knife is the easiest way to peel a plantain.
• Season them however you’d like! For this recipe, I just use salt to keep it simple, but you could use ranch seasoning, BBQ seasoning, or any spice blend you’d like.
• These are best eaten right away. They are not great if you let them sit too long after cooking – mine got chewy. But they are AMAZING right out of the pan!
• If you’d rather buy plantain croutons, I’ve heard great things about Trader Joe’s version (but I haven’t tried them myself yet!)