Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips | www.floatingkitchen.net

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips

You know that avocado ripening trick that involves placing unripe avocados in a brown paper bag with bananas? Yes? Well, I had heard of this hack many times, but I had never actually done it myself, until about 2 weeks ago when I purchased eight rock-hard avocados that needed a quick fix. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I slipped them into a big brown grocery bag with two bananas, folded over the top and waited. And HOLY SH*T IT TOTALLY WORKED! Within two days, I had the most perfectly ripe avocados ever. My excitement runneth over.

I must admit that I was skeptical about the efficacy of this ripening trick. But now that I’ve seen it in action for myself, I’m fully on board with this procedure. It’s legit. If you’re not doing this yet, you need to start ASAP. And that’s my public service announcement for the week. You’re welcome.

Anyways. So I quickly went from having zero ripe avocados to having waaaaay too many ripe avocados. Hence today’s recipe for Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips. And…I have another avocado recipe planned for next week. It’s going to be an avocado party up in this place!

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips | www.floatingkitchen.net

I don’t think I’ve ever met a guacamole that I didn’t like. I have a pretty standard recipe that I make all the time for myself. And I use it on everything from toast to tacos. But today, I decided to spice things up a bit by adding in a whole diced jalapeño pepper. Does that sound scary to you? If so, just start with half a jalapeño pepper, then you can add in more if you want to after you taste it. But I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the level of spiciness. It’s balanced really well by the coolness from the lime juice, cilantro and goat cheese. Your mouth won’t be burning up. Trust me.

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips | www.floatingkitchen.net

You can certainly serve this guacamole with regular tortilla chips. But I thought baked plantain chips sounded like a fun (and slightly healthier) option. Look for plantains that are still green, which are firmer and more starchy than those that are fully ripe. These are important characteristics for successfully making baked plantain chips.

If you’ve ever tried to peel a green plantain before, you know it’s a labor of love. The peel is so stiff, that it can’t be removed by hand the way you would typically remove a banana peel. Instead, you have to cut the peel off with a knife. Well, I suck at doing this. I usually end up making a total mess out of things, wasting a lot of the plantain flesh in the process. So this time, I decided to try my trusty vegetable peeler in lieu of a knife and that worked great! You’ll have to go over each spot a couple of times to make sure you remove all of the peel and get down to the flesh. But I found it to be a much easier and more efficient method for me.

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips | www.floatingkitchen.net

Both the plantain chips and the guacamole are really best when served within a couple hours of preparation. So make sure you plan to make and eat everything on the same day. And heck, you might even want to try out my Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips at your Super Bowl party this year…if you’re into that sort of thing. And if you want more plantain inspiration, try these vegetarian plantain tacos!

Cheers,

Liz

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips

Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips

At a Glance:
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the Plantain Chips:

  • 4 green plantains
  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. sugar

For the Guacamole:

  • 2 ripe avocados, halved and seeded
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons goat cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
  2. Slice the ends off the plantains. Then use a vegetable peeled to remove the peel. Thinly slice the peeled plantains on the diagonal. Add the plantain slices to a bowl and drizzle them with the melted coconut oil. Then use your hands to toss the plantain slices in the coconut oil, making sure they are evenly coated. Spread the plantain slices out onto your prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt and sugar.
  3. Transfer the plantain slices to your pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until dry and crisp. They can burn easily, so start checking them around 18 minutes to make sure they aren’t getting too dark. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
  4. Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and add it to a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and salt, then mash lightly with a fork. Stir in the diced jalapeño pepper, goat cheese and cilantro.
  5. Serve the guacamole immediately with the baked plantain chips. Enjoy.

14 comments on “Jalapeño and Goat Cheese Guacamole with Baked Plantain Chips”

  1. I really didn’t think that guac could get any better but you’ve proved me wrong!

  2. Oooh guac and goat cheese, this sounds like a v v interesting combination. I bet the tang of the goat cheese is a perfect balance with the neutrality of the avocado <3

  3. Wow! Thanks so much for sharing that trick Liz! I absolutely love guacamole and it sounds perfect with the plantain chips! Nice extra heat with the jalapeños too.

  4. I’m just now getting into guac, so I’m ALL over this! Also, running to the store for plantains ASAP. xoxo

  5. You had me at jalapeño! Totally not scary. In fact, throw two in there.. I can take the heat! Love love love the avo trick! I had no idea, Liz.. I just usually wait patiently then hope I don’t wait to long and get the dreaded stringy avocado. I’m going to try it! I looove the idea of baked plantain chips and guac. I’ve never even had a plantain! OMGeee, I know!! I’ll have to give the veggie peeler a go, thank you my dear. <3 This looks sooo good, and I've gotta give it a go.. try my hand at peeling those pesky plantains!

    • We are soul sisters in the spice department then! I could definitely have made it even MORE spicy! I hope you get your hands on some plantains!

  6. It is my belief that you can never have too many avocado recipes! Sounds DELISH!

  7. Talk about an upgrade! This is the coolest and most creative version of guac I’ve ever laid eyes on. Definitely need to give this a try!

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