Pasteles de Masa | There are three things you must have on the table for a proper Puerto Rican Christmas pernil, arroz con gandules, and pasteles! This post is all about pasteles, the most magical treat wrapped in a banana leaf.
What are Pasteles?
If you’re not familiar with pasteles they can be a little hard to describe. Some people compare them to tamales except that they are nothing like tamales except that they are labor-intensive and wrapped.
The masa of pasteles can be a mixture of yautia (taro root), green plantain, green banana, and sometimes kabocha pumpkin. I like to make my masa using all of these.
Tips for Making Pasteles
I cannot tell a lie; pasteles are a project so a lot of times people will buy them by the dozen from someone who makes them.
However because I am in Tennessee and not Puerto Rico, it is difficult to find someone who makes and sells pasteles, I decided to make my own. Besides, it’s more fun to make them yourself.
- If you decided to take on this endeavor, it is best if done with some helping hands. It’s a tradition for the family to gather in the kitchen around a large pot of masa and make a pasteles assembly line.
- In order to make it easier it is best if the process is divided over 2 or 3 days. Trust me trying to make pasteles from start to finish all in one day is exhausting.
- Embrace the food processor. Before grating yautia and plantains had to be done by hand. Today we have food processors with shredding blades. Unfortunately, the process of peeling yautia, plantains, and green bananas are still up to us.
- If you have never peeled a plantain or green banana check out this tutorial on How to Peel a Plantain.
Masa vs Yuca
There are two versions of pasteles, pasteles de masa which is made with a mixture of green plantains, green bananas, kabocha pumpkin and yautia (malanga), and the other pasteles de yuca is made with a seasoned mixture of yuca root. They are both wrapped in banana leaves and boiled in water for 45 minutes.
Gathering around the table with family assembling pasteles is a bonding Christmas tradition. It’s a gathering of generations, with the older generation passing down culinary traditions to the younger. And, these traditions are some of the most important to pass on.
How to Assemble Pasteles
It is best to divide this project up over 2 days. You can do this one of two ways.You can choose to make the yuca and the achiote oil on day one and the filling and assembly on day two or you can do everything on day one and assembly on day two.
I prefer the second option, but whatever makes you happy. pasteles
How to Cook Frozen Pasteles
One of the best things about pasteles is cleaning out the freezer in June and finding a forgotten bundle in the back of the freezer. There is no need to defrost pasteles before cooking.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and carefully add the frozen pasteles to the boiling water. Simmer covered for an hour, until tender.
You can also cook them frozen in an Instant Pot with at high pressure for 30 minutes with 1 cup of water, quickly releasing the pressure.
I always joked that pasteles are the gift you unwrap on Christmas Eve. The moment I pull a pastel from the water and start to unwrap it my mouth begins to water.
I say with all the confidence in the world one taste of this recipe and your knees will buckle.
I know making pasteles can be hard work but Christmas only happens once a year. The time with family and the passing down of tradition is worth it all.
The best part of pasteles is the one that gets lost at the back of the freezer and you find it months later when you’re cleaning out the freezer. It’s like Christmas all over again!
Need more Puerto Rican recipes? Check out my full collection of Puerto Rican recipes!
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Pasteles de Masa con Cerdo (Puerto Rican Taro Root & Plantain Pork Pockets)
Pasteles are a delicious traditional dish served in Puerto Rican during Christmas. Pasteles are seasoned taro root and plantain "masa", filled with savory pork, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled.
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 lbs cubed pork
- 1/4 cup recaito
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1 envelope Sazon sin achiote
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup chopped Spanish olives with pimentos
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 14.5 oz can of garbanzos
Masa
- 2 plantains, peeled*
- 3 green bananas, peeled*
- 1 1/2 lbs of yautia (taro root), peeled
- 1/2 lb kabocha pumpkin, peeled
- 1/2 cup recaito
- 2 envelopes Sazon con culantro & achiote
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 beef bouillon cube
Achiote Oil
- 6 tablespoons achiote seeds (annatto)
- 2 cups of vegetable oil
Assembly
- 1 small jar of pimentos
- 12 - 14 oz banana leaves
- pasteles paper or parchment paper
- butchers twine
Instructions
DAY 1
Filling
- Combine all filling ingredients in a pressure cooker. Set to cook for 30 minutes. Let it come back to pressure naturally without releasing it.
- Uncover and set to brown/simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool and store in airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Masa
- Using the fine shredder blade on your food processor or a manual grater, grate the plantain, green bananas, yautia, and pumpkin. Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to work in batches.
- Change out the shredder blade for the chopping blade. Working in batches process the shredded vegetables until the fine and pasty.
- Add remaining masa ingredients and mix until well combined. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Achiote Oil
- Heat 1 1/2 - 2 cups of vegetable oil, add 6 tbs of annatto seeds to the oil. Allow the seeds to simmer until the oil reaches a bright red color.
- Strain the seeds from the oil and discard the seeds. Allow the oil to cool and store in a sealed container until ready to use.
DAY 2
Prep Banana Leaves
- Remove the ridge from the leaves. Cut the banana leaves into 12 x 12-inch squares and wash the banana leaves under warm running water.
- Working in batches microwave the banana leaves for 1.5 to 2 minutes, this helps make the leaf more flexible.
Assembly *see video above*
- Set up assembly station with masa mixture, filling, achiote oil, banana leaves, paper for pastels, and butchers twine.
- Stack the pastels paper and banana leaves, alternating them starting with the pastel paper. Spread 1 tsp of achiote oil on the banana leaf. Scoop 1/2 cup of the masa mixture onto the banana leave and spread out into a rectangle.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling down the center and top with pimentos if you like. Using the banana leaf fold the masa over the filling.
- Bring the leaf ends together. Fold over twice to create a tight seal. Tuck the ends under, if the banana leaf splits a little don't stress we are going to fold it again in the paper. Do the same wrap and fold with the paper. If you use only pastel paper I recommend double wrapping.
- Tie the pastel with butchers twine like a present. At this point, you can boil them right away, or you can freeze them until ready to use. When ready to cook bring a large pot of water to a boil, drop in pasteles and boil for 45 minutes for fresh and 1 hour for frozen. They can also be cooked in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes with 1 cup of water.
- Using a pair of tongs pick the pastel out of the water by the string and place on a paper towel. Cut the string and gently unwrap. Enjoy!
Notes
How to peel a plantain or green banana
Recaito is a very important part of seasoning the masa. Although it can be bought in many Latin and Asian grocery stores in the frozen section homemade is best. It can be made ahead of time and frozen for later use.
Many of the ingredients including the banana leaves can be found at your local Latin or Asian grocery store.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 325mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 5gSugar: 8gProtein: 12g
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Hi, It looks like the link to your recaito recipe is broken. Would you be able to post it back up? Thank you!!
This will be my first time doing pasteles! So excited! Can the masa be frozen until I can make it? Found the green bananas on sale and want to make sure they are still green when I begin the process.
I have never tried this. In theory, it should be ok. However, if you do freeze it I would freeze it flat in a resealable plastic bag. This will make it easier for defrosting.
Is there any particular part of the pork that should be used for this recipe?
Pork shoulder
Do you have any suggestions for how to tweak the recipe if you don’t have a pressure cooker?
Just follow the same process in a large heavy pot with a lid. Cook covered simmering until tender and then remove the lid and let it simmer to reduce the sauce. It will take longer but it’s possible.
Hi can you tell me why my pasteles came out slimy
Not sure what you mean by slimy but because pasteles are boiled in water they are wet when served.
Thank you for the recipe! I’m not a big fan of sweets and you have a lot of that in the recent posts but this one is just crazy good! We did it twice already and I have to admit that I kinda failed the first time and it still was really good. On my second try though – everyone was shocked, ha! I haven’t eaten any Puerto Rican food before so it was a new experience for me as well, and I have to say that it is really special and unusual. I’d really like to see more of this country’s food suggestions from you!
Thank you so much! I prepped everything yesterday and I told my husband I bet I can put them in my instant pot and it’d be faster so I googled and this came up! No more waiting for a pot of water to boil then boiling for what seems like forever!
I’ve never heard of kabocha pumpkin. If I can’t find it at my grocery store, what should I do? Ty!
You can substitute acorn squash
This is the year and this is the recipe that my husband and I (married 43 years) are taking on as our pastele – making challenge! We’ve helped our parents when we were kids and gladly accepted gifts of homemade pasteles from friends… even made a run to buy them from others (it’s like a crazy backstreet deal … like buying something that fell off a truck! Lol!) but we have not made them on our own so this is the year! I will let you know how we do…your images are making me hungry for them!!
Tiene alguna manera de pelar los guineos pues la cascara se pega y no sede fácil
Usualmente yo mondo los guineos bajo agua corriendo de la pluma.
HOW many dozens it come out this recipe
As the recipe indicates 1 dozen or 12 pasteles.
After I do all 3 steps I just mix the masa, stewed pork, and achote oil into one extra big aluminum tray and mix it all together and then place on the parchment paper and tie it up. The first four are always made for test tasting lol ?
Hi !! I have a question…What we can do if you cannot find banana leaves.? I leave in an area that is impossible to find any.. what else will you recommend?
Thank you.
You can use pasteles or tamale paper. I believe it can be purchased online.
Foil works just as good
I just found your website a couple of days ago. So far I’ve made the rice pudding recipe which everyone in my family loved (even without raisins since only my husband likes them – there’s a story there). My husband is NewYoRican or something like that but both parents born on the Island. We’ve been many times and I LOVE the food. Even when we stay in a resort we drive off to the local restaurants for a real meal. We’ve been know to inhale 2 loaves of Pan Sabao and 4 cups of coffee to start our day. I have looked at recipes for Pasteles (one of my husbands favorite foods) and always been a little nervous due to the root vegetables and sites that recommend building your own grating/mashing machine. I love this recipe since I do have a food processor – although I will buy a new peeler to make sure it gets through the Yautia skin. I’m also dying to try the pernil and coco de arepas. So many things to try – it’s like Christmas for a closet cook.
What a treasure to come across your recipe. I look forward to enjoying these for Christmas. I was wondering how long pasteles can be frozen.
I respectfully disagree that pasteles aren’t the most attractive dish, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and when I see pasteles I see a thing of beauty. My Grandmothers made them every year and of all the things I learned to cook, I was never able to actually be there when they were making pasteles. Since they never wrote anything down, their recipes are lost to me now that they’ve passed away. Thank you for your post, it brought back lots of lovely memories.
Totally agree!!
If I want to make 50-100 how many of each do I need????
Whenever increasing a recipe the formula is NEED/GIVEN. So in this case if you NEED 100 and the recipe GIVES you 12 you divided 100 by 12.
100/12 = 8.33
8.33 is your multiplier. So you then multiply each ingredient quantity by 8.33. For example 2 lbs pork X 8.33 = 16.66 lbs.
This will give you an estimate on your quantity needs.
OMG this recipe is soooo good! I actually don’t think it’s hard work. Preparing everything ahead as you explained is key. The actual process for me was under one hour -and I did not have an extra set of hands to help in wrapping them. Anyway, my question relates to the filling. Do you drain the liquid from the garbanzos or do you use it? I drained the aquafaba and actually saved it for another recipe, but I was not sure if I was supposed to use it… Thanks for this and all other recipes you post.
I always drain the liquid. Thanks for the sweet comment.
Awww I feel your pain. My mother took her recipe with her as well.
My mouth is watering! Abelard always put almonds in the fillings. It was a treat to get one in your pastel, like getting a little gift.