A sweet, creamy Haitian breakfast porridge made not from grain but from grated green plantains, simmered with coconut milk, evaporated milk and warm spices until thick and smooth like light grits. Comforting and naturally filling.
Labouyi bannann grew from the abundance of plantains in Haiti and the African and Caribbean tradition of nourishing morning porridges. It has fed generations of Haitian children before school, a warm bowl that stretches simple ingredients into something sustaining and lovingly sweet.
Smooth and pudding-like, gently sweet with the green, almost chestnut flavor of plantain rounded by coconut and warm spice. It's soothing, thick enough to coat a spoon, and tastes like a warm morning hug.
The high starch content of unripe green plantains gelatinizes as it heats in liquid, swelling and thickening the porridge into a creamy texture without any flour or grain.
Variations
made with ripe plantains for extra sweetness, with cornmeal added (labouyi mayi), with cloves
On the Palate
Where Labouyi Bannann sits in the Haitian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 110 min
Peel green plantains and grate them finely, or blend with a little water.
- 25 min
Bring water with a cinnamon stick and star anise to a simmer.
- 33 min
Whisk the grated plantain into the simmering liquid to avoid lumps.
Watch outWhisk the grated plantain into the liquid while it's only simmering, in a steady stream — tip it in all at once and it seizes into lumps.
- 45 min
Stir constantly as it thickens to keep it smooth.
Watch outStir constantly as it thickens — the plantain starch grabs the bottom of the pot fast and scorches if you stop moving.
- 52 min
Pour in coconut milk and evaporated milk.
- 62 min
Sweeten with sugar and add a pinch of salt and vanilla.
- 710 min
Cook gently until thick and creamy, about 10 more minutes.
Watch outCook gently until it's thick and creamy and coats the spoon — the starch has to fully swell or the porridge stays thin and raw-tasting.
- 83 min
Serve warm in bowls, dusted with extra nutmeg.
