How did I make these turkey mofonguitos healthier?

I’m definitely not saying mofonguitos are healthy, they’re deep-fried twice after all.  However, these are much healthier than a traditional mofonguito recipe. By using an extra lean protein and using mostly plant-based products, there is a balance. Usually, mofonguitos are made with pernil, pulled pork. They’re delicious but also extremely high in fat, cholesterol, and calories. To have a healthier balance, I used 2% fat lean ground turkey and plant-based products for the rest of the ingredients.

However, you easily have the option of having these turkey mofonguitos entirely vegan, simply swap out the turkey with my jackfruit chikin hack and they’re vegan!  

For my jackfruit chikin hack, I use green jackfruit. Simply prep the jackfruit by removing the core and seeds. What you are left with are pieces of jackfruit that resemble pulled pork. Rinse the jackfruit and saute with some olive oil, granulated garlic, a tiny bit of liquid smoke, onion powder, and oregano. No need to salt the jackfruit. The jackfruit is ready when all the juices dry up. Use this to substitute for the turkey. 

Or if you want to make it easier, simply use a meat-less ground meat alternative. 

Check out these recipes for healthier options to some of our favorite traditional recipes

Vegan chicharrón de pollo- Dominican fried chicken

Vegan mac and cheese

Tita Mae’s chicken macaroni salad with vegan option

Dominican ensalada de papa- potato salad

Sancocho

My homemade adobo recipe is used to season the turkey. Find my homemade adobo recipe HERE.

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Turkey mofonguitos with vegan option

hispanic-ish

Bite-sized fried plantain cups filled with turkey, slaw, pico de gallo, and garlic sauce! Perfect for appetizers, a cheeky snack, or have a few as a meal. Swap out the turkey for some plant-based "chikin" and the mofonguitos are vegan!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine caribbean, Latin

Servings 4 People

Equipment

• Medium skillet
• Pot for frying
• bowl shaped tostonera or any small bowl mold

Ingredients

  

Plantain cups

• 3-4 Green plantains (In between green and slightly ripe is best)
• PINCH Granulated garlic
• 2 CUPS Frying oil

Turkey (Check notes for vegan CHICKIN hack)

• 500 GRAMS Ground turkey (Lean & low-fat)
• ⅔ Spanish onion (Roughly chopped)
• 2 Garlic cloves (Peeled & chopped)
• 1 Tomato (Roughly chopped)
• 1 TSP Granulated garlic
• ½ TSP Ground cumin
• ½ TSP Oregano
• 1 TSP Adobo
• 1 TBSP Tomato paste

Slaw

• ½ Head of cabbage (Approx 415 grams & shredded)
• 1 LARGE Carrot (Shredded)
• ⅓ CUP Vegan Mayonaise
• ½ Lime
• ½ TSP Caster white sugar (granulated white sugar works well)

Pico de gallo

• 4 MEDIUM Tomatoes (Roughly chopped & mostly seeded) Check notes
• ⅓ MEDIUM Spanish onion (Finely chopped)
• 3 Garlic cloves (Finely chopped)
• ⅓ CUP Cilantro (Roughly chopped)
• ½ Lime
• 1 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil

Garlic sauce... Look at my "vegan garlic sauce" recipe also found in notes section

Instructions

 

• Start by making the slaw and pico de gallo first.

Slaw

• Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Don't squeeze the ½ lime through fully, a strong squeeze will do. Taste, add a pinch of salt to your liking if needed. Place in the refrigerator.
  

Pico de gallo

• Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Don't squeeze the ½ lime through fully, a strong squeeze will do. Taste, add a pinch of salt to your liking if needed. Place in the refrigerator.
  

Turkey

• In your skillet on medium heat, sauté onion and garlic until translucent. About 3 minutes.
• Add all of the spices into the skillet to warm up. About 1 minute. Mix.
• Add the tomato and tomato paste. Mix.
• Add the turkey and mix well. Add salt and pepper to your liking. As the turkey cooks, it will try to clump together, make sure to break up those clumps with your cooking utensil. Cook for about 15 minutes until cooked through. If the turkey becomes too dry, add a tablespoon of water.
• Taste, season with salt and pepper if needed. Toss in the cilantro, cook for about 1 more minute, mix, and set aside.

Plantain cups

• Heat frying oil in a pot to medium-low heat.
• Meanwhile, peel the plantain and cut into pieces approximately 2 ½ inches wide. Or the width of your mold.
• Fry the plantains until you can pass a butter knife through. Be careful not to break in half. Approx 8 minutes. Make sure the oil is covering the plantains fully.
• Once tender remove from heat and drain on paper towel.
• Quickly place into the bowl tostonera (or mold) and press through. Repeat until all pieces are molded. Check the notes section for some tips.
  
• Heat the oil to medium-high heat.
• Add the plantain cups to the oil and cook until crispy. Turing over to make sure all sides cook evenly. Approx 4 minutes. Make sure the oil is covering the plantain cups fully.
• Once crispy, drain on a paper towel. Quickly season each plantain cup with granulated garlic and salt. Be sure to do so while the oil is still on the plantain cup. Set aside and get ready to layer the mofonguitos.

Layering mofonguitos

• Layer the toppings into the plantain cups to your liking. My preference is: turkey, slaw, pico de gallo, and topped with garlic sauce (check the notes section for my garlic sauce recipe) ...AND DONE
  

Notes

Notes

• Start with the slaw and pico de gallo to give them time to marinate. If possible refrigerate for about 2 hours or more. 
• Before adding the slaw to the mofonguitos, give it a squeeze to remove any excess liquid.
• When it comes to dressing the slaw and pico de gallo, don't squeeze the ½ lime through fully, a strong squeeze will do.
• When seeding the tomatoes for the pico de gallo, leave some seeds but remove most. Too many seeds will cause the pico de gallo to be too wet, but we want to leave a tiny bit for flavor purposes. 
• Start warming up the oil for the plantain cups while working on the turkey meat. This way the oil is ready to use once the turkey is cooked. 
• Make sure there is enough oil in the pot to fully submerge the plantains. This ensures even cooking. 
• If the plantains stick to the tostonera, grease the tostonera or use some saran wrap.
• Mold the plantain pieces into cups as soon as you're able to touch them. If they cool down completely before you mold them, they will become hard and break into pieces. 
• You can find my vegan garlic sauce recipe HERE!

Keyword adobo, caribbean, Dominican, plant-based, plantain, vegan