Plantain Flour

Content… Making It Without a Dehydrator Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions How to Use It More Naturally Gluten-Free Recipes to Try Watch How to Make It

Making Homemade Plantain Flour Without a Dehydrator

By the way, you can make it without cranking up your oven or using a high-priced dehydrator! Can’t afford or have room for another gadget? Let sunshine do all the work for you. ❤️

Recipe Ingredients

• All you need to make plantain flour is fresh green plantains. Ripe plantains won’t make the cut because they’re too soft and have a stronger flavor. Green plantains don’t have a banana taste for neutral-flavored gluten-free flour.

How to Make Plantain Flour

• Prep Plantains – Peel and slice them thinly. Use a mandolin if possible because it’s faster. I prepped 10 plantains in 15 minutes or less. Easy, eh, and 2-3 plantains make about a cup of flour.
• Dehydrate – Arrange plantains in a single layer on a cookie sheet or any object with a flat surface that you can leave outside. Leave them outside for about 3-5 days to really dry well.
• Note: Layering is my least favorite part, so I bribe my sous chef (my son) extra computer time to spread it out. He loves doing it, plus he gets extra computer time. It’s a win-win for both of us.
• Grind – When plantains have reached the desired dryness, blend in a food processor or coffee grinder. I like the coffee grinder because it does a better job. However, I can only do a little at a time with a coffee grinder.
• Store your plantain flour in an airtight container and start cooking. Enjoy!!!

Recipe Variations

1. Green bananas also make good flour. The only challenge is finding them because most stores sell them partially or completely ripe. A Latin or Asian market may sell hard green bananas.
2. Yams (Dioscorea, not sweet potatoes) also make good flour if peeled, sliced, and dried the same way. Equally good for making instant fufu.
3. Skip dehydrating. For a simple plantain flour pancake, peel and slice one green plantain. Then, put it in a blender with an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla, a pinch of salt, and a spoonful of brown sugar or honey. Puree until smooth, adding just enough milk or buttermilk to create a pancake consistency. If it’s too thin, add a ¼ cup ground flax seed. Heat a griddle with a pat or two of butter, and make your pancakes as usual as soon as the butter sizzles.

Tips and Tricks

1. Please do not eat green plantains, cassava, or yams raw. They definitely need to be cooked before eating.
2. A dehydrator is almost a must to make plantain flour if you live in a humid climate. It takes 10-16 hours (depending on slice thickness and humidity) at 135℉ (60℃).
3. You could also dehydrate plantain slices at a low temperature in the oven (180-200℉/80-95℃) for 3-4 hours.
4. Sift the flour after grinding for smoother results.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

I like making a big batch of plantain flour because it takes almost as much work to make a small batch. And it lasts a good six months on the shelf if stored correctly.

Label your airtight container with the name and date so you remember what you have and when you made it. Keep it away from heat and the sun, and it should last six months. If you want it to last longer, keep it in the freezer.

How to Use Plantain Flour

Plantain flour is an ideal gluten-free soup and stew thickener. You can include it in gluten-free breading for fried chicken legs, catfish, squash, etc. You can also make easy plantain fufu flour.

More Naturally Gluten-Free Recipes to Try

1. Grilled Potato Wedges
2. Oven-Baked Salmon
3. Hot Corn Dip
4. Braised Chicken Thighs
5. Stuffed Pork Chops
6. Cassava Cake

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video