Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Bolón de Verde
A ball of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pan-crisped golden, the filling coastal breakfast of Ecuador.
Ecuadorian · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 20 min
~569 cal · 16g protein · 44g carbs · 38g fat · 3g fiber · 21g sugars · 15g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bolon de verde is the breakfast of coastal Ecuador, especially around Guayaquil, built on the green that is a cornerstone of the region's cooking. It is filling, savoury morning food made to power a working day.
Green are boiled or fried, then mashed and worked into a dense dough, often with a little pork crackling, and formed around a centre of cheese before being shaped into a ball and pan-crisped or baked. The outside firms up while the cheese melts within.
Served with coffee and sometimes a fried egg, it is a substantial, comforting start to the morning. Bolon de verde reflects a coastal Ecuadorian cuisine grounded in the , humble and deeply satisfying.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 green
1 cup fresh cheese (queso fresco), crumbled
Hard to find? mild feta rinsed under cold water, or ricotta salata - both crumble and soften without melting, the way queso fresco does; rinse the feta, which is far saltier
1/3 cup
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Peel the green plantains and cut into chunks, then fry in oil until golden and just tender, about 8 minutes.
2
Mash the hot plantain with a little salt and a spoon of the frying oil until it holds together.
3
Take a portion, press a well, fill with cheese, and mold the mash around it into a ball.
4
Pan-crisp the balls on all sides until golden and the cheese softens; serve hot with a fried egg and coffee.
Ecuadorian coastal home breakfast.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Pichincha (Andes). Ecuador's Andean Pichincha, around Quito, cooks highland food, hearty potato-and-cheese locro soup, hominy, and hornado roast pork. Altitude and Indigenous roots define its table.
🗺️
Ecuador. Ecuadorian food shifts from coast to Andes, bright ceviches and plantain on the coast, hearty potato and hominy soups in the highlands. Llapingachos, encebollado, and aji sauces define its regional variety.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Ecuador
LlapingachosGolden potato patties with melting cheese centers, griddled and served with peanut sauce and pickled onions.
EncebolladoA brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Higos con QuesoWhole figs slow-cooked in dark panela syrup and served with a slice of fresh cheese, an Ecuadorian classic.
Browse all Ecuador recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Mould or tin.
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Ecuador meal
Colada MoradaDrink
Higos con QuesoDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bolón de Verde?
A ball of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pan-crisped golden, the filling coastal breakfast of Ecuador.
Where does Bolón de Verde come from?
Bolón de Verde is a Ecuadorian dish from Pichincha (Andes), Ecuador.
Can Bolón de Verde be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bolón de Verde recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bolón de Verde safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bolón de Verde take to make?
About 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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