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🇵🇷 Puerto Rican
Mofongo con Camarones al Ajillo
⏱ 45 min
🍞 ~38g (traditional 1/2 cup portion) / ~25g (kid-sized 1/3 cup with extra protein)
🍽 4 servings
⭐ 4/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Mofongo is Puerto Rican soul food — fried green plantains mashed with garlic, olive oil, and chicharrón (or bacon) in a pilón (wooden mortar). It's the dish abuelo orders without looking at the menu. Stuffed with shrimp, chicken, or pernil, it's a whole meal in a mound. This is a higher-carb dish so we're treating it like the special-occasion plate it is — and giving you the math both ways.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- This is a legacy dish that we're carb-counting honestly, not pretending it's something it's not — green plantains are starch, and that's okay when you know the number
- The garlic, olive oil, and protein (chicharrón or chicken) slow digestion meaningfully — pair with a protein-rich topping like shrimp al ajillo or pollo guisado and the curve is much steadier than carbs alone
Ingredients
- 3 large green plantains (~125g carbs total / ~31g per serving for the plantain alone)
- 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
- 6 cloves garlic, minced (~3g carbs)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup chicharrón (pork rinds), crushed (~0g carbs) — or 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup warm chicken broth (~0g carbs)
- Optional fillings: shredded pernil, pollo guisado, or sautéed shrimp
Directions
- Peel and slice plantains into 1-inch rounds (same prep as tostones).
- Heat vegetable oil to 350°F. Fry plantain rounds for 7-8 minutes until golden and tender. Drain on paper towels.
- While they cool, mash garlic and salt into a paste in a pilón (or mortar). Stir in olive oil.
- Add the fried plantains to the pilón in batches. Mash with the garlic-oil mixture and crushed chicharrón until you have a chunky, cohesive mash. Drizzle in warm broth if it feels dry.
- Pack the mofongo into a small bowl or measuring cup, then invert onto a plate to form a mound.
- Top with your protein of choice (shrimp al ajillo is the classic — about 5oz shrimp adds ~30g protein and 0g extra carbs).
- Drizzle any pan juices from the protein over the mofongo.
- Serve immediately — mofongo waits for no one.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash says: 1/3 cup portion (about the size of a tennis ball) is plenty for a kid — mofongo is dense and filling, you don't need a mountain
- Load the top with extra protein (shrimp, chicken, or pernil) — the more protein, the gentler the spike, and kids love the "treasure hidden in the mound" presentation
- This is a special-occasion dish, not a weekday rotation — save it for when grandparents visit and you've got the time to do it right