Updated November 1, 2026 at 3:00 AM PST
Tigrillo is a hearty dish from Ecuador that can keep you full all day. With a third of the world's bananas exported from the South American nation, it's no surprise that this popular breakfast is centered around large green plantains: boiled soft, mashed up and fried.
For the past 45 years, Rosa Caza has been serving up all types of Ecuadorian breakfasts at her family's outdoor kitchen, in front of the capital's Iñaquito market. The bestseller? Tigrillo.
Caza adds eggs, cheese and plenty of seasonings — along with fried pork rinds or bacon.
"It's maybe like really tasty and delicious, but for me Tigrillo should be simple," Quito food blogger Gabriela Valarezo says.
The dish is named Tigrillo — "little tiger" — for its appearance: an orangish hue with flecks of black, like a tiger's stripes.
Santiago Rosero is a foodie, a journalist and a cook. With Valarezo and the ingredients gathered at his apartment — green plantains, eggs and fresh, salty cheese — he says the first step is to decide how to soften their verdes, the green bananas. It's either boiled or fried, and Rosero chooses boiled.
"I think it's healthier," he says.
A large pot of water heats up as Rosero peels away the thick green skins. He cuts the pale yellow flesh into chunks. It takes about 10 minutes on the stove to soften them up, but you shouldn't soften them too much, he warns.
"You don't have to get them to a puree, you don't want them to get too mushy," Rosero says.
The next step is to mash, which Rosero does with the bottom of a bottle.
Once the mash is cool, it's time to form small chunks of the softened plantain. Rosero heats some butter in a skillet, cracks a few eggs and starts stirring in the fresh cheese and chunks of plantain.
Some starchy water, reserved from boiling the plantains, helps form a creamier texture.
A little more cheese, more stirring, salt and pepper, and breakfast is served.
Rosero drizzles spicy aji sauce on his, and food blogger Valarezo approves.
"It tastes like home to me," Valarezo says.
Dhanika Pineda adapted this story for the web.
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