Dominican Recipes
16 recipesDominican food mixes Taíno, Spanish and West African cooking, with a Middle Eastern note from immigrant families. Most savory dishes begin with sofrito, a blend of onion, sweet peppers, garlic, cilantro and oregano, often with a spoonful of tomato paste. Rice is served at lunch almost every day with stewed beans and a meat stew, a plate called la bandera, which means the flag. Starchy foods matter: green plantains, yuca, yautía, ñame and squash go into sancocho and onto breakfast plates as mangú. Coconut turns up along the north coast, especially in fish dishes from Samaná. Heat is mild, and flavor comes from herbs, sour orange and lime. A classic breakfast is mangú with fried cheese, salami and eggs. Sweets include coconut candies, cornmeal pudding and the sweet bean dessert made for Holy Week. Street snacks range from fried green plantains to quipe, the local take on fried bulgur croquettes.
Staple ingredients
- rice
- red beans
- green plantains
- yuca and root vegetables
- sofrito herbs and peppers
- coconut
- pigeon peas (guandules)
- sour orange and lime
Breakfast
Soups
Main Dishes
Chicharrón de Pollo (Dominican Fried Chicken Bites)DO40 minEasy
Chimi (Dominican Street Burger with Cabbage Slaw)DO40 minEasy
Pastelón de Plátano Maduro (Dominican Sweet Plantain and Beef Casserole)DO1 h 55 minMedium
Pollo Guisado (Dominican Stewed Chicken)DO1 h 10 minEasy
Pescado con Coco (Dominican Fish in Coconut Sauce)DO45 minEasy
Side Dishes
Fritos Verdes (Dominican Twice-Fried Green Plantains)DO35 minEasy
Habichuelas Guisadas (Dominican Stewed Red Beans)DO2 h 10 minEasy
Moro de Guandules con Coco (Dominican Pigeon Pea and Coconut Rice)DO1 hEasy
Arroz Blanco con Concón (Dominican White Rice with Crispy Bottom)DO40 minEasy
Desserts
Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Pineapple Meringue Cake)DO1 h 35 minChallenging
Habichuelas con Dulce (Dominican Sweet Creamed Beans)DO2 h 30 minMedium
Majarete (Dominican Cornmeal Pudding)DO40 minEasy
Snacks
Drinks
Common questions
What is Dominican food known for?
Rice and beans with stewed meat (la bandera), mangú (mashed plantain), sancocho (a stew of roots and meats), fried green plantains and sweets like habichuelas con dulce.
What is the national dish of the Dominican Republic?
La bandera, a plate of white rice, stewed red beans and stewed meat, usually with a small salad and fried plantain. It is the everyday lunch across the country, and the name means the flag.
Is Dominican food spicy?
No. Dishes are well seasoned with herbs, garlic, sweet peppers and sour orange, but they rarely carry heat. Some cooks drop a whole hot pepper into a pot for aroma without cutting it.