In this article
- Plantains fiber by ripeness and cooking method
- Why green plantains act like a starchy vegetable
- Resistant starch and plantain nutrition
- Carb and fiber: reading plantains on a plate
- Plantains next to other starchy sides
- One plantain dinner, built two ways
- What about plantain chips?
- Potassium, vitamin C and other nutrients
- A plantain fiber checklist for the kitchen
- The catch with ripe plantains
- Plantain fiber questions people ask
- Sources
A single raw green plantain weighs about 267 grams and carries close to 6 grams of fiber, almost twice what you get from a medium banana. It also packs about 85 grams of starch, which tells you plantains behave more like a potato than a fruit bowl snack.
That starch is the real story behind plantains fiber. As the peel turns from green to yellow to black, the fiber barely moves, but much of the starch converts to sugar, changing how the plantain cooks, tastes and digests.
Plantains fiber by ripeness and cooking method
USDA FoodData Central has separate entries for green and yellow plantains, raw and cooked:
| Plantain and serving | Calories | Fiber | Total sugars | Starch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green, raw, 1 whole (267 g) | 406 | 5.9 g | 6.1 g | 85 g |
| Green, boiled, 1 cup (137 g) | 166 | 3.6 g | 3.1 g | not listed |
| Green, fried, 1 cup (118 g) | 365 | 4.1 g | 4.3 g | not listed |
| Yellow, raw, 1 cup sliced (148 g) | 181 | 2.5 g | 25.9 g | 17.8 g |
| Yellow, baked, 1 cup (139 g) | 215 | 3.1 g | 29.6 g | not listed |
With the FDA’s fiber Daily Value at 28 grams, a cup of boiled green plantain covers about 13%. A whole raw green plantain would cover about 21%, though you’d cook it first.
The fiber column stays in a fairly narrow band of 2.5 to 4 grams per cup. The sugar column is where ripeness shows up, jumping from about 3 grams in green plantain to roughly 26 to 30 grams once it turns yellow.
Why green plantains act like a starchy vegetable
Per 100 grams, raw green plantain holds about 32 grams of starch and just 2.3 grams of sugar. Raw yellow plantain flips that balance to about 12 grams of starch and 17.5 grams of sugar.
That shift explains the kitchen difference. Green plantains are firm and savory, which is why they’re boiled, mashed or fried as tostones, while yellow and black ones turn soft and sweet when baked or fried as maduros.
For your fiber intake, either stage works. The green stage simply keeps more of its carbohydrate as starch rather than free sugar, which matters for the next section.
Resistant starch and plantain nutrition
Some starch escapes digestion in your small intestine and travels to the large intestine, where it feeds gut bacteria. Cleveland Clinic calls this resistant starch and describes it as similar to fiber, though not identical.
Cleveland Clinic lists unripe bananas as a source of Type 2 resistant starch. Green plantains are starchy, unripe members of the same banana family, but USDA doesn’t measure resistant starch, so no label will tell you exactly how much a serving holds.
Cooking and cooling matters too. Cleveland Clinic explains that Type 3 resistant starch forms when starchy foods are cooked and then cooled, using rice, potatoes and pasta as examples, so a chilled boiled plantain salad follows the same principle.
The main benefit Cleveland Clinic names is a healthier digestive tract. It also notes that foods with resistant starch can help you feel full for longer, and that it may help with blood sugar.
Most people in the U.S. get only about 5 grams of resistant starch a day, according to Cleveland Clinic, which suggests aiming for at least 6 grams per meal. Green plantains, beans and whole grains are practical ways to move toward that.
If you’re working resistant starch into your meals for gut health, our guides explain how to build the habit gradually.
Carb and fiber: reading plantains on a plate
Plantains are a high carbohydrate food, so it helps to see the fiber next to the total carbs. A cup of boiled green plantain has about 40 grams of carbohydrate and 3.6 grams of fiber, which leaves roughly 36 grams of net carbs.
A cup of raw sliced yellow plantain has about 47 grams of carbohydrate and 2.5 grams of fiber. That puts fiber at around 5% of the carbs in ripe plantain versus about 9% in boiled green plantain.
Neither is a low carb food. If you’re tracking carbs, plantains fit best as a measured side, around half a cup to a cup, rather than the main part of the meal.
Plantains next to other starchy sides
Since plantains usually replace potatoes, rice or other starches, that’s the fairest comparison. USDA and Dietary Guidelines figures line up like this:
| Food and serving | Calories | Fiber | Fiber per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet potato, cooked, 1 cup | 190 | 6.3 g | 3.3 g |
| Corn, 1 cup | 134 | 4.0 g | 3.0 g |
| Potato, baked with skin, 1 medium | 161 | 3.9 g | 2.4 g |
| Green plantain, boiled, 1 cup | 166 | 3.6 g | 2.2 g |
| Banana, 1 medium | 112 | 3.2 g | 2.9 g |
| Yellow plantain, baked, 1 cup | 215 | 3.1 g | 1.4 g |
| Green plantain, fried, 1 cup | 365 | 4.1 g | 1.1 g |
Boiled green plantain lands close to a baked potato with skin, with nearly the same fiber and calories. Sweet potato is the stronger choice if fiber is your only goal.
Frying is what changes the picture. A cup of fried green plantain carries about 14 grams of fat and more than twice the calories of boiled, while adding only half a gram of fiber.
One plantain dinner, built two ways
Picture a dinner plate with a cup of fried green plantain slices on the side. That side alone brings about 365 calories, 14 grams of fat and 4.1 grams of fiber.
Now boil the same plantain instead and add half a cup of pinto beans. The plate gets about 11.3 grams of fiber from those two foods for roughly 289 calories, using USDA and Dietary Guidelines figures.
You end up with nearly three times the fiber and about 75 fewer calories. Mash the boiled plantain with a little garlic and it still feels like a treat.
Swap lentils for the beans and the numbers barely change: half a cup of lentils adds 7.8 grams of fiber for 115 calories. Half a cup of avocado adds another 5 grams if you want to go further.
What about plantain chips?
Packaged chips concentrate everything, fiber included. One brand in USDA’s database, Mayt Salted Plantains Chips, lists 9 grams of fiber in an 85 gram pack, made from green plantains, palm oil and salt.
The same pack also lists 460 calories and 27 grams of fat. A one ounce handful works out to about 3 grams of fiber and roughly 150 calories, so measuring a portion matters more than the fiber count.
Potassium, vitamin C and other nutrients
Plantains bring more than starch. Per USDA, a cup of raw sliced yellow plantain supplies:
- Potassium: about 721 mg, roughly 15% of the 4,700 mg Daily Value.
- Vitamin B6: about 0.36 mg, roughly 21% of the 1.7 mg Daily Value.
- Vitamin C: about 27 mg, roughly 30% of the 90 mg Daily Value.
- Vitamin A: about 83 micrograms, roughly 9% of the 900 microgram Daily Value.
Green plantains offer their own mix. A whole raw green plantain lists about 1,151 mg of potassium and 109 mg of magnesium, while a cup of boiled green plantain lists roughly 396 mg of potassium.
That magnesium works out to about 26% of the 420 mg Daily Value. The same whole green plantain also lists about 54 mg of vitamin C, roughly 60% of the Daily Value, though cooking lowers it: per 100 grams, USDA lists about 20 mg raw versus 9 mg boiled.
Want new ways to cook plantains beyond frying? Our recipe eBooks are full of high fiber sides and mains.
A plantain fiber checklist for the kitchen
- Choose green plantains for savory, starchy dishes with more starch and less sugar.
- Boil, steam or bake rather than deep fry to keep calories near potato levels.
- Cook extra green plantain and chill it for salads, following the cook and cool approach.
- Pair plantains with beans or lentils to raise the fiber of the whole meal.
- Count about 3.6 grams of fiber per cup of boiled green plantain when tracking your day.
- Treat plantain chips as a measured snack, around an ounce, not a fiber source.
Green plantains take a little technique to peel, since the skin is thick and stiff. Trim both ends, cut a shallow slit along each ridge, and pry the peel away in strips with your thumb or a spoon.
Not sure how a cup of plantain fits into your daily target? Our fiber calculator gives you a personal number in seconds.
The catch with ripe plantains
Yellow and black plantains taste wonderful baked or fried, but they’re the least fiber dense form on the list. A cup of baked yellow plantain carries almost 30 grams of sugar next to about 3 grams of fiber, so plan it as a sweet side rather than a fiber boost.
The ripening that makes them so good is the same process that trades starch for sugar. If fiber and resistant starch are what you’re after, buy plantains green and cook them before the peel starts to yellow.
Plantain fiber questions people ask
How much fiber is in a plantain?
A whole raw green plantain of about 267 grams has roughly 5.9 grams of fiber. A cup of boiled green plantain has about 3.6 grams.
Do green plantains have more fiber than ripe ones?
Slightly. Raw green plantain lists 2.2 grams of fiber per 100 grams versus 1.7 grams for raw yellow, but the bigger difference is starch versus sugar.
Are plantains high in resistant starch?
Green plantains are starchy and unripe, and Cleveland Clinic lists unripe bananas as a resistant starch source. USDA doesn’t publish resistant starch values, so exact amounts vary.
Are plantains healthier than potatoes?
They’re similar. A cup of boiled green plantain has about 3.6 grams of fiber and 166 calories, close to a medium baked potato with skin at 3.9 grams and 161 calories.
Are plantains low carb?
No. A cup of boiled green plantain has about 40 grams of carbohydrate, with about 36 grams of net carbs.
Do fried plantains have fiber?
Yes, about 4.1 grams per cup of fried green plantain. Frying adds roughly 14 grams of fat and doubles the calories compared with boiling.
Do plantain chips count as a fiber food?
Partly. One brand lists 9 grams of fiber per 85 gram pack, but also 460 calories and 27 grams of fat.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. “Plantains, green, raw (168215); Plantains, green, boiled (168216); Plantains, green, fried (168199); Plantains, yellow, raw (169130); Plantains, yellow, baked (169131); Mayt Salted Plantains Chips (2607295).” FoodData Central. 2026. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. www.fda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Food Sources of Dietary Fiber.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025. www.dietaryguidelines.gov
- Cleveland Clinic. “What Is Resistant Starch? Foods and Benefits.” 2025. health.clevelandclinic.org
