Super tasty gluten-free air fryer recipe
It’s Taco Tuesday! Cue the mariachi band!
I love tacos. Hard and soft shell, ground beef or shredded chicken or carnitas ~ give me allll the toppings and I’m in heaven. The only thing I love more than tacos are nachos, piled high with melted cheese and sour cream and lettuce black olives jalapenos tomatoes… OK now I’m hungry!
I know there is a definite dividing line between those who love corn tortillas and those who prefer flour tortillas. Being gluten free, I’m #teamcorn all the way. My sister will only eat soft flour tacos. My kids like anything that holds beef and cheese inside, and honestly who can blame them?
I decided to try a new recipe using the crispy tostones we love to make (tostones are twice fried plantains. Jazz hands please). I loaded them up with taco meat and served them nacho-style for taco Tuesday. Let me tell you, sometimes I am a genius. Nevermind that I first typed that word incorrectly. A food genius is different than a Steve Jobs genius if you feel me.
Let’s start with the tostones made in the air fryer. We use our Cuisinart air fryer every day, because it is also our toaster oven, broiler, and has a convection bake setting for roasting potatoes and veggies. It’s not like a regular air fryer, it’s a cool air fryer. Yes I’m quoting Mean Girls but honestly, it stays on the counter and is not an ugly appliance you are ashamed of people seeing. It is second as my favorite kitchen appliance only to my Instant Pot. Oh, and the coffee maker. So, top 3.
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Speaking of the Instant Pot, one way to make these loaded tostones crazy fast is to brown your taco meat in the IP. Turn it on to the sauté mode and it heats up quickly. Brown the ground beef, add a few tablespoons of water and taco seasoning, and you are ready to load up the nachos/ taco shells/ taco salad/ tostones in just a few minutes!
I use this recipe from Gimme Some Oven for homemade taco seasoning so that I control the flavors. This way you can also be sure there is no unnecessary sugar or added gluten in the mix! I usually quadruple the recipe ahead of time and store it in a mason jar for times just like today when I need a few tablespoons of taco seasoning.
Air Fryer Tostones
Tostones are green plantains that are fried twice. Which is not so good for the waistline or the cholesterol level. BUT when you cook them in the air fryer, you use much less oil and they still come out crispy and salty and delicious!
- Peel your plantains (this is honestly the hardest part of the entire recipe). Cut plantain into 1/2 inch slices. Try to keep the slices the same size so they all cook up evenly.
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of your air fryer tray with foil for easy clean up. Lightly spray the air fryer basket with coconut or olive oil to prevent sticking. Line up your plantain slices on the basket, and spray or brush these with oil as well.
- Cook at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, until you can easily pierce the plantains with a fork.
- Remove from the air fryer, and smash each plantain with the back of a glass. Put them back in the basket and lightly coat with oil. *Tip: Use parchment paper on the bottom of the glass to prevent sticking.
- Cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden.
- Take out the tray, flip each plantain slice and add another light coat of oil. Cook another 3 minutes until golden on this side.
- Remove from air fryer, place the plantains on a paper towel lined plate and salt generously while still hot. Serve warm or make into loaded tostones!
To Make Loaded Tostones
Arrange your hot crispy tostones on a large plate. Add your taco meat and cheese, and stick under the broiler setting in the air fryer for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese (*Feel free to omit cheese if you are dairy free). Then you can add any taco toppings you like!
I used diced tomatoes, shredded iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese and salsa because that is what we have on hand during this pandemic. You could also add chopped jalapenos, sliced black olives, avocado, sour cream, black beans, chopped red onion, corn… the possibilities are endless! Basically if you can put it in a taco you can pile it on your tostones. They hold up better than a chip and can handle a mountain of tasty toppings!
What are your favorite taco toppings? Let me know in a comment!
Loaded Gluten Free Tostones in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
Air Fryer Tostones
- 2 green plantains
- ¼ cup olive or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
Taco Meat
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 3 tbsp water
Optional Toppings (choose as many as you like)
- 1 diced tomato
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- ½ cup shredded lettuce
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ½ cup cooked corn
- ¼ cup canned black beans, rinsed
- finely diced jalapeno
- sliced black olives
- salsa or sour cream
Instructions
Air Fryer Tostones
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°. Line the sheet with foil and spray the basket with either coconut or olive oil.
- Peel plantains and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Try to keep the slices the same size so they all cook up evenly. Lightly spray or brush with oil and arrange on your basket.
- Cook at 350° for about 5 minutes, until you can easily pierce plantains with a fork.
- Remove from the air fryer, and smash each plantain with the back of a glass lined with parchment paper.
- Put them back in the basket and lightly coat with oil. Cook another 3-5 minutes until edges begin to turn golden.
- Take out the tray, flip each plantain slice and add another light coat of oil. Cook another 3 minutes until golden on this side.
- Remove from air fryer, place the plantains on a paper towel lined plate and salt generously while still hot.
Loaded Tostones
- Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned. Add taco seasoning and water and cook 5 minutes longer.
- Arrange your hot crispy tostones on a large plate. Add your taco meat and cheese, and stick under the broiler setting in the air fryer for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
- Add desired toppings and serve! Enjoy!
Cheers!
This was so good