This vegan plantain porridge recipe is the best thing since sliced bread. You won’t even believe it’s plant-based. The mushrooms combined with the plantain take this dish from 0 to 100. Trust me; you’ve got to try it.
Since transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, I have made it a mission to replicate many African dishes with a vegan twist. Given that most African dishes are meaty, I decided to put my cooking skills to the test by making our popular dishes plant-based.
I also decided to embark on this recipe journey because I wanted to cater to those who have chosen to go vegan for health reasons or societal concerns.
This vegan plantain porridge recipe is perfect for the vegan who loves plantain and just healthy meals.
For this recipe, I eliminated palm oil from the ingredients. Unlike my meaty plantain porridge recipe, which called for palm oil, this recipe doesn’t incorporate it, yet it tastes so good.
I would highly recommend you try this recipe because you will miss out on a lot of deliciousness if you don’t.
HOW TO PREPARE VEGAN PLANTAIN PORRIDGE
To prepare this recipe, thankfully, you will only need a few ingredients you can easily purchase at your local grocery store. You don’t need to go about searching for crayfish or palm oil. Here are the ingredients you need to prepare this fantastic dish.
- Red Bell Pepper: I used two large red bell peppers for this serving size.
- Scotch bonnet pepper: This is optional, but it gives this dish a spicy flavor. But feel free to eliminate it if you don’t want your plantain porridge spicy.
- Ripe plantain: I prefer ripe plantain to unripe plantain because I have a sweet tooth. But feel free to use unripe plantain if that is what you like.
- Red onion: One medium red onion is enough for this serving size.
- Cilantro: I love the flavor that cilantro gives this dish, and I highly recommend using it in place of spinach or any other leafy greens.
- Seasonings: To give this dish flavor and taste.
- Oyster mushrooms: I love the meaty texture of oyster mushrooms compared to other kinds of mushrooms, and thus I recommend it for this dish.
- vegetable broth: Since we aren’t using smoked turkey or meat in general for this dish, vegetable broth makes an excellent flavor replacement.
- vegetable oil: For sautéing the onions and mushrooms.
- Water: To cook the plantain.
Preparation
Before starting, blend your peppers in a food processor until you obtain a smooth consistency. Since this recipe doesn’t use palm oil, the peppers give this dish a lovely redness that makes your plate look tantalizing. The next step would be to sauté your mushrooms and onions in a bit of vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the mushrooms have become tender, proceed by adding the blended peppers and the rest of your ingredients and leave to cook until the plantain becomes tender.
And voila, your dish is now ready to be served.
Do you see how simple that is? It takes less than 45 minutes to prepare this dish. So if you want a quick dinner and have some plantains in your pantry, this will be the perfect opportunity to use them.
Let me know in the comments if you give this dish a try.
Vegan Plantain Porridge Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 plantains - ripe and diced into chunks
- 1 red onion - chopped
- 16 oz oyster mushrooms - chopped
- 2 tbsps oil
- 1½ cup vegetable stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper - chopped with seeds removed
- 1 bunch cilantro - chopped
- 2 red bell peppers
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp bouillon - vegan
- ½ tsp curry
- ½ tsp cumin
Instructions
Pepper Mixture
- Add your scotch bonnet and red bell peppers to a food processor and process until you obtain a smooth consistency. Then set aside.
Main Course (Vegan Plantain Porridge)
- Add your palm oil and red onions to a pot on medium heat. Fry until onion redness starts to fade
- Add in your oyster mushroom, salt, bouillon cube, cayenne pepper, curry, thyme, and cumin. Combine well.
- Add the blended mixture. Combine and fry for about 10-15 minutes.
- Add your diced plantain, cilantro, water, and vegetable stock. Cover and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Once plantain is tender, combine well and serve.
