Alcapurrias are one of Puerto Rico's most popular fritters, with a crispy exterior, creamy plantain and yautía masa, and a savory beef picadillo filling. You'll find these delicious fritters at roadside kiosks, restaurants, festivals, and home kitchens throughout Puerto Rico. Making alcapurrias at home takes a little time, but the process is surprisingly easy, and I'll walk you through it with step-by-step photos.
- 🥟 What is it? Alcapurrias are Puerto Rican fritters made from a smooth yautía and green plantain dough stuffed with seasoned ground beef, then rolled into torpedo shapes and deep-fried until deep golden brown - a classic island street food.
- ❤️ Why you'll love it? Crispy outside, savory sofrito-and-olive beef filling inside, and naturally gluten-free since the dough uses no wheat flour at all - a hearty, nostalgic taste of Puerto Rican kiosko cooking.
- 👩🍳 How do you make it? Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, sofrito, olives, and spices, then purée yautía and green plantain into a smooth dough and chill for at least an hour. Flatten dough, fill with the beef mixture, roll into cylinders, and fry at 350°F for 6-7 minutes, flipping until dark golden brown throughout.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love These Alcapurrias
- Crispy outside with a soft, creamy center
- Filled with flavorful homemade beef picadillo
- Traditional plantain and yautía masa
- Naturally gluten-free
- Step-by-step photos make shaping them easier
- Can be prepared ahead and fried when you're ready to serve
- A delicious taste of Puerto Rican street food at home
What are alcapurrias?
Alcapurrias are traditional Puerto Rican fritters made from a masa of grated green plantains and yautía that's wrapped around a savory filling and deep-fried until crisp. Beef picadillo is a popular filling, although other versions may contain pork, crab, or other meats. Alcapurrias are especially popular as street food and are commonly found at roadside kiosks and festivals throughout Puerto Rico.
These are a close cousin to carimañolas, which are popular in Colombia and Panamá.
What is yautía?
Yautía is a starchy tropical root vegetable commonly used in Caribbean cooking. Depending on the country and variety, you may also see related roots labeled malanga in Latin and Caribbean markets. Yautía has rough brown skin and firm, starchy flesh that becomes creamy with a slightly nutty flavor when cooked. In alcapurrias, it combines with green plantain to create the smooth masa that surrounds the filling.
What is plantain?
Plantains are in the banana family but are quite different. If you don't look closely, you might mistake it for a banana, but they are a bit larger. They are usually sold individually and not clustered together in a bunch like bananas. However, these are usually darker green and have a much thicker skin. Unlike sweet bananas, green plantains are very starchy and are typically cooked before eating. Once cooked, they have a creamy, slightly sweet, and nutty flavor. They can be a bit tricky to peel, but I have easy steps below to show you how.
How to peel a Green plantain:
- Step 1: Cut the ends off of the plantains.
- Step 2: Use a small, thin-bladed knife and make a score lengthwise down the plantain. Just penetrate the skin only with the knife.
- Step 3: Lift the skin away with your thumb and peel off all the skin. If some bits of skin remain, you can scrape them gently with the side of a knife.
What is alcapurria masa made from?
Traditional alcapurria masa is made from starchy root vegetables and green plantains rather than wheat flour. For this recipe, I combine grated yautía and green plantain with sazón, olive oil, and salt. The mixture is blended into a smooth masa that's soft enough to shape around the picadillo but sturdy enough to hold together while frying.
How to make alcapurrias step by step
Make Beef Picadillo
- Step 1: Gather your ingredients and have them measured, chopped, and ready to go: yautia, plantain, ground beef, olives, olive oil, onion, salt, cumin, oregano, sofrito, sazòn and garlic.
- Step 2: Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat, then sauté the onion until translucent.
- Step 3: Add the ground beef, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, sofrito, sazón and chopped olives.
- Step 4: Simmer and stir fry the beef. Brown all the beef then set it aside to cool.
Prepare Alcapurria Masa
- Step 5: While the meat is cooling, peel the yaitua and plantain then shred them with the grater blade of your food processor.
- Step 6: Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to work in batches.
- Step 7: Change the food processor blade to the cutter blade to puree the shredded plantain and yautia.
- Step 8: Place the dough in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight is also fine.
Fill and shape the Alcapurrias
- Step 9: Scoop the dough using a standard ice cream scoop.
- Step 10: Place the dough ball on parchment paper then flatten into about a 3-4 inch circle. Take 1 tablespoon of the picadillo and place it into the center of the dough.
- Step 11: Lift one side of the parchment paper so the circle of dough forms a taco shape and continue rolling into a cigar shape.
- Step 12: Once it forms a cylinder press the ends together to close it off. You want all the meat encapsulated in the dough.
Fry Until Crispy
- Step 13: Place the alcapurrias in oil heated to 350°F until they are brown on one side then flip them over to fry the other side. You want them dark brown, not just golden brown, so the dough cooks all the way through. This should take 6 or 7 minutes and feel free to flip them a couple time for even browning. Work in batches of 3 or 4 depending on the size of your frying pan.
- Step 14: Place the fried alcapurrias on a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
Tips for the best alcapurrias
Keep the masa cold before shaping the alcapurrias because chilled masa is easier to handle. Don't overfill them-a tablespoon of picadillo is plenty and makes it easier to completely seal the filling inside. Parchment paper helps shape the soft masa without sticking to your hands. Keep the frying oil close to 350°F and fry only a few alcapurrias at a time so the oil temperature doesn't drop. Let them become deep brown rather than just golden so the plantain and yautía masa cooks completely through.
Frequently asked questions:
You can store these in the refrigerator for 4 days after they have been fried.
Reheat in the oven at 250°F for 10 minutes until warm in the center. I like to put them in my air fryer for 5 minutes at 250°F.
Yes, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in an air tight container before frying. Remove them from the freezer and allow to thaw for about 1 hour before frying.
Yes. The masa can be refrigerated overnight, and the picadillo can also be prepared in advance. Assemble the alcapurrias when you're ready to fry them.
The masa may be too warm, the fritters may be overfilled, or the oil may not be hot enough. Chill the masa before shaping, completely seal the filling inside, and maintain the frying oil around 350°F.
My local Walmart and Wegmans usually have these in the produce section. Most Latin markets will carry these as well. Goya offers this in a frozen version, so be sure to check the freezer case at your market. Amazon usually has yautía available to ship directly.
More Puerto Rican recipes to try
If you love alcapurrias, there are plenty of other Puerto Rican favorites to try. For more crispy street-food classics, make bacalaitos, savory codfish fritters, or sorullitos, crispy cornmeal sticks that are perfect for snacking. For a traditional meal, serve pernil with arroz con gandules or a comforting bowl of habichuelas guisadas. Plantain lovers should try mofongo, crispy tostones, or a jibarito, the famous Puerto Rican sandwich that uses fried plantains instead of bread. And for another hearty main dish, bistec encebollado combines tender steak with plenty of flavorful sautéed onions.
📖 Recipe
Puerto Rican Alcapurrias (Beef-Filled Fritters)
Ingredients
Dough - Masa
Instructions
Prepare the beef filling - Picadillo
- Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat then sauté the onion until translucent.
- Add the ground beef, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, sofrito, sazón and chopped olives.
- Simmer and stir fry the beef. Brown all the beef then set it aside to cool.
Prepare the dough - Masa
- While the meat is cooling, peel the yaitua and plantain then shred them with the grater blade of your food processor. Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to work in batches.
- Change the food processor blade to the cutter blade to puree the shredded plantain and yautia.
- Place the dough in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight is also fine.
Filling and Frying the Alcapurrias
- Scoop the dough using a standard ice cream scoop.
- Place the dough ball on parchment paper then flatten into about a 3-4 inch circle. Take 1 tablespoon of the picadillo and place it into the center of the dough.
- Lift one side of the parchment paper so the circle of dough forms a taco shape and continue rolling into a cigar shape using the paper.
- Once it forms a cylinder press the ends together to close it off. You want all the meat encapsulated in the dough.
- Place the alcapurrias in oil heated to 350°F until they are brown on one side then flip them over to fry the other side. You want them dark brown, not just golden brown so the dough cooks all the way through. This should take 6 or 7 minutes and feel free to flip them a couple time for even browning. Work in batches of 3 or 4 at a time depending on the size of your frying pan.
- Place the fried alcapurrias on a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can store these in the refrigerator for 4 days after frying.
Reheat in the oven at 250°F for 10 minutes until warm in the center. I like to put them in my air fryer for 5 minutes at 250°F.
Yes, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container before frying. Remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw for about 1 hour before frying.
Olmedo says
Another hit from Analida's Ethnic Spoon! My family loves this recipe!
Maria Elena de la Guardia says
Excellent recipe, very tasty
Alfredo Neuman says
Delicioso! ¡A mi familia le encanta tu receta!
Sylvia Ortiz says
Good afternoon!!
Happy Saturday! I hope your day is going well!!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe it was amazing!! ❤️. This is the first time I have made Alcapurrias and they came out delicious!! My husband loved them!! ❤️🙏🏼❤️
Do you have a Pasteles recipe that you can share!!
Analida says
Hi Sylvia! I am so glad you enjoyed the alcapurrias! I don't have a pasteles recipe but I am working on one.
Try the carimañolas from Panama, I think you will like those too.
Enjoy!