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Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters)
A golden, achiote-tinted masa of grated green banana and yautía wrapped round a savory beef picadillo with olives and deep-fried until crisp outside and soft within.
Puerto Rican · advanced · serves 6
prep 60 min · cook 40 min · plus 3 h hands-off time
~493 cal · 21g protein · 22g carbs · 36g fat · 3g fiber · 11g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Alcapurrias are Puerto Rico's great fritura, the fried snack of the beach kiosks. The kiosks of Piñones, in Loíza just east of San Juan, are famous for them, and they are eaten hot from a paper napkin with a cold beer at beach kiosks and street stands all around the island, as well as at parties and at Christmas.
The is the island's own: and yautía, a starchy tropical root, grated and blended into a thick, sticky paste, coloured orange-gold with () oil and seasoned with salt. It is chilled for a few hours so it firms up enough to shape. The classic filling is picadillo, ground beef cooked with sofrito, tomato sauce and chopped olives; corned beef, crab, shrimp and other fillings are just as traditional in different places.
Shaping takes practice. A spoonful of is spread on a piece of banana leaf or oiled paper, the filling goes down the middle, more goes over the top, and the leaf is used to roll it into a long, closed torpedo that slides straight into the hot oil. Families make them by the dozen and freeze them raw, ready to fry when guests arrive.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, 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 6
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (for the oil)
- 1 tbsp () seeds
- 450 g (about 4) very green (unripe) bananas
- 450 g yautía (malanga), peeled, taro works if you cannot find yautía
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (for the )
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro or culantro (recao), chopped
- 450 g (1 lb) ground beef
- 3 tbsp tomato sauce (passata)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
- to taste salt and black pepper (for the filling)
- 1 l vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 or 3 banana leaf pieces or parchment paper, for shaping
Instructions
- 1Make the achiote oil: warm the 1/4 cup of oil with the annatto seeds over low heat for about 5 minutes, until deep orange-red, without letting it smoke. Strain and discard the seeds.
- 2Peel the green bananas (score the skin lengthwise and prise it off) and cut them and the yautía into chunks. Grate them finely or blend them in batches in a food processor, adding 2 tablespoons of the achiote oil and the salt, until you have a smooth, thick, orange paste. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight.✎ Chef’s noteThe chilling is not optional. Warm masa is too soft to hold its shape round the filling.
- 3Make the picadillo: heat the olive oil in a frying pan and soften the onion, pepper and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano, olives, cilantro, salt and pepper and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until thick and fairly dry. Let it cool.
- 4Brush a piece of banana leaf or parchment with a little achiote oil. Spread about 1/3 cup of masa on it in an oval, lay 2 tablespoons of picadillo down the middle, and cover with another spoonful of masa. Use the leaf to fold and roll it into a closed torpedo, smoothing over any gaps so no filling shows.
- 5Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 180 to 190C (350 to 375F). Slide the alcapurrias straight off the leaf into the oil, a few at a time, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes a side until deep golden and crisp. Drain on paper and serve hot.
Puerto Rican tradition (Piñones kiosks and home kitchens).
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
San Juan. San Juan pounds green plantain with garlic and pork crackling into mofongo, packed into a bowl and filled with stew or seafood. Puerto Rican cooking is built on sofrito and adobo, in arroz con gandules, slow-roasted pernil, and fried alcapurria snacks.
🗺️
Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican cooking is built on sofrito and the starchy magic of mofongo (mashed fried plantain), plus slow-roast pork and rice with pigeon peas. Spanish, African, and Taíno roots define its bold, comforting plate.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Puerto Rico
MofongoFried green plantains mashed with garlic and crackling pork, mounded and filled with garlicky shrimp or stew.
MallorcaA soft, buttery coiled sweet bread, pressed warm and snowed with powdered sugar, the pride of Puerto Rican panaderías at breakfast.
Arroz con GandulesRice cooked with pigeon peas, sofrito, and pork in one pot, forming a prized crust, Puerto Rico's national dish.
Browse all Puerto Rico recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Skillet or frying pan, Blender, Food processor.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Puerto Rico meal
CoquitoDrink
TemblequeDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters)?
A golden, achiote-tinted masa of grated green banana and yautía wrapped round a savory beef picadillo with olives and deep-fried until crisp outside and soft within.
Where does Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) come from?
Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) is a Puerto Rican dish from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Can Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Stuffed Fritters) take to make?
About 4 h 40 min in all: 60 minutes prep and 40 minutes cooking, plus 3 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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