Green Banana Ceviche Costa Rica

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Green bananas replace fish or shrimp in this traditional Costa Rican green banana ceviche recipe- a great vegan ceviche option.

About This Recipe

Ceviche in general is one of the most popular dishes in Costa Rica- it’s a street food, an appetizer, an accompaniment to a casado or gallo pinto.

There are all types of ceviche in Costa Rica, but the most common type is with some kind of seafood. Be that red snapper, tilapia, mahi mahi or shrimp, this dish is generally a pescatarian’s dream.

However, there are times where seafood is scarce, or when you might be craving ceviche and you are not able to get fresh seafood (or even frozen!) In that case, this banana ceviche is the perfect antidote to the craving.

You might also like: 10 Delicious Vegan Options in Costa Rica

Related post: 30+ Foods To Try In Costa Rica

Costa Rican Green Banana Ceviche Recipe

Printable recipe below

Ingredients

• green bananas (unripe)
• water
• salt
• red bell pepper
• yellow onion or white onion
• cilantro
• limes

Instructions

1. Peel the green bananas and discard the peel.
2. Slice bananas into 1″ pieces (or smaller if you find you like a smaller cut of banana)
3. Put the water and salt into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
4. Add bananas and allow to cook until al dente at most- they should not be soft, but you should be able to press a fork about 1/8 of an inch into the banana.
5. While bananas are cooking, finely chop the onion, bell pepper and cilantro.
6. Cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice into a separate container.
7. Once the ingredients are all chopped and squeezed, combine them into one large bowl.
8. Allow to rest for as little as 20 minutes and as long as several days.
9. This dish should be kept refrigerated.

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Related post: Costa Rican Fish Ceviche

Substitutions

Some people use red onion in place of white or yellow onion.

Some people use half orange juice and half lime juice.

You can use green plantains instead of banana for this recipe.

Variations

Ceviche is ceviche- and there are all kinds of variations. For example, you can use a mild white fish such as tilapia or red snapper. You can also use shrimp. Some people do a green plantain ceviche instead of this green banana ceviche. You really can’t go wrong as long as you keep the ingredients the same and just replace the main ingredient with those listed above.

Traditionally see people adding condiments to the dish after it’s made, but you can always add them before the bananas marinate.

You could add crushed or finely diced tomatoes to this dish as well.

You can add Tabasco sauce to make this spicy and more of a red color.

I have seen people make ceviche from the peel of banana or plantain, but you really have to marinate that a long time- and it sounds gross to me! 😂

Serving Suggestions

This dish is a traditional appetizer and so is served with many things, including:

• tortilla chips
• patacones (mashed green plantains)
• green salad
• some people add tabasco or other spicy sauce
• Salsa Lizano on top

Related post: Costa Rican Appetizers You’ll Love

You might also like these similar recipes:

• Costa Rican Fish Ceviche
• Costa Rican Fish Ceviche
• Avocado and Shrimp Ceviche Recipe
• Patacones Costa Rican Mashed Plantains
• 5 Fun Green Plantain Recipes