The food of Dominican Republic is a blend of many different cultural dishes all combined to make style of cooking that is unique to this island. With influences of Taino Indians, Spaniards, African Slaves and many other immigrants, the Dominican dishes have evolved to be some of the best tasting foods we have ever tasted.

This food is high in carbohydrates and starch. Though most recipes are not complicated, most are made from very natural and locally grown foods that are readily available in gardens, trees and from local vendors. Add a little locally raised meat or a fresh catch of fish, and some sazóne (spices) and you have a typical Dominican meal..

The typical Dominican lunch, called La Bandera Dominicana/the Dominican Flag, is beans and rice (arroz), meat, and a salad. The plate is filled with the most rice I have ever seen on a plate. Add some habichuelas/ juicy beans on top of the rice, along with some of the sauce from the meat. Eat this with a large spoon and a knife used for pushing the food onto the spoon. When the beans are made just right and the rice has the perfect amount of salt, along with a little concón/ crispy fried rice from the bottom of the pan, this meal is wonderful. I can see why most Dominicans eat this meal everyday of their lives. It is a joke among my Dominican friends, if they do not eat rice everyday they will not live. I do believe this is true.

If you like desserts and sweets you should try out a mixture of beans,  condensed milk and some other ingredients I don't know. Habichuelas con dulse, a traditional dessert during Easter. It's also made into an  ice cream that can be bought at Bon's Helados. I never thought of beans as a dessert and ice cream. This is a must taste for sure.

The fruits grown here are the best. You have never eaten a pineapple/ piña until you have tried one here. And the Mayans (season May thru September), of which there are two types, are wonderful and very messy. Don't let the juice get on your clothes, it stains. Papaya/ lechosa are unbelievably tasty. Then there are the fruits that you have never seen or heard of before. Some do look ugly but don't snub them because of the way they look. For example, the sweet oranges/china here are so sweet and juicy. You can buy a juice o the street fresh squeezed and many restaurants squeeze their juices fresh. There are a few different types of oranges. The china, which is the sweet, agria, which is mixed with sugar to make it sweet, then there is the bitter orange/ naranja sevillana that is used for cooking. The Guava/ guayaba, a pink colored, pear-shaped fruit with yellow skin is wonderful when made into juice or a greenish colored jelly (try it made into a paste and eaten with some cheese, I was shocked that this tastes so good) To learn more of the products grown in Dominican Republic go to our Grown in DR page here











  • Ahuyama - type of yam (used in many soups to make the color)
  • Ají - pepper
  • Aji Verde - Green pepper
  • Albóndigas - meatballs        
  • Alcachofas - artichokes
  • Arbejas - peas
  • Arenque - stewed herring
  • Arepa - spicy baked pudding made of cornmeal and coconut        
  • Arepitas de Maíz - fried corn meal cakes resembles corn bread (get the recipe-new window)
  • Bacalaítos - cod fish fritters
  • Bacalao - cod fish
  • Barbacoa - barbecue
  • Batata Frita - sweet potato fritters
  • Batata - sweet potato
  • Batida - a blender drink made of fruit, milk(either Carnation milk or regular milk), ice, sugar
  • Berenjena - Eggplant
  • Biscocho - cake
  • Bisteck - thin sliced beef steak
  • Bondelic - prune cake
  • Cajuilitos Sulimanes - a small, red, pear-shaped fruit, mild flavor,crunchy texture
  • Cajuil - cashew, and the seed is the cashew NUT, and the cajuil is the orangish fruit that holds the seed.
  • Calabaza - West Indian type pumpkin
  • Calamares - squid
  • Camarones - shrimp
  • Cangrejo - crab
  • Carnesion - Carnation milk
  • Carne molida - Ground Beef
  • Casabe - cassava (more information - new window)
  • Cachú or Kachu - ketchup
  • Cerdo - pork
  • Cereza - The Barbados cherry this is the common cherry here in DR- it has 3 seeds inside
  • Champola - milk with guanábana
  • Chen Chen - pudding made with cornmeal
  • Chicharrone - Fried pork skins. One can usually purchase these in the streets carried on the shoulders of street vendors. Topped with a special vinegar sauce or límon these are very greasy, not that good for you. But they are sooo tasty that once you have tried them you won't be able to resist making the guy stop to sell you a little bit (un chin)
  • Chimichurri - hamburger Dominican style
  • China/ Jugo de China - Orange/Orange juice
  • Chinola - passion fruit. This fruit has a tart sweetness that is wonderful made into juice and ice cream. It  is also great eating this messy fruit fresh from the skin (easer if eaten with a spoon)
  • Cho-Cho or Tayota - little squash
  • Chofan - Dominican twist to the Chinese dish chow fan. This is a rice dish made with bacon,chicken and/or fried pork skin. Added in are egg, garlic, onions and other ingredients that are different according to the cook.(Would you like the recipe so you can make it for dinner this night?)
  • Chuleta ahumada - Smoked pork chop
  • Chuleta al Carbon - grilled pork chop
  • Chuletas de Res - Prime Rib
  • Churrasco - charcoal grilled meat
  • Ciruela- prune (Ciruela Seca-dry prune)
  • Coco Tierno - Coconut and milk sweetened to make a puddling like desert
  • Coliflor - cauliflower
  • Concón - burnt rice on the bottom of the pan, very good to eat (making concón opens in new window)
  • Cremor - cream of tartar
  • Crinchí - cream cheese
  • El Tocino - bacon
  • Empanizado - breaded (usually a breaded meat)
  • Entre Cote - boneless rib steak
  • Espaguetis - Spaghetti
  • Espárragos - asparagus
  • Espinacas - spinach
  • Frio Frio - shaved ice with flavors, snow cone
  • Granada - pomegranate
  • Grei-frú or toronja - grapefruit
  • Guanábana - Soursop, a tropical fruit with lots of creamy white pulp and green spiny skin. The texture is strange for a fruit but very tasty.

  • Guandules - look like peas and more common than the peas we are accustomed to
  • Guineo - banana (picture here-opens in new window)
  • Guisada - anything stewed(Rés guisada- stewed beef; pollo guisado-stewed chicken) (get the recipes-opens in new window)
  • Habas - white beans/ fava beans
  • Habichuelas - beans with liquid and mild spice. A Dominican staple (get the recipe- opens in new window)
  • Habichuelas con Dulce-Beans made in a sweet sauce closely resembles a pudding, Easter traditional food (get the recipe-opens in new window)
  • Helados - ice cream
  • Hongos - (word for fungus) mushrooms
  • Jonikaike - Johnny Cake
  • Jugo de avena - drink make with oatmeal and milk (get the recipe-opens in new window)
  • Kipes-quipes, Middle Eastern - type food adapted to the Dominican style.Made of bulger(cracked wheat), ground beef and fried. Can be purchased on the street and in Colmados in the morning. Very filling and flavorful.
  • La Bandera Dominicana - or la Bandera- (The Dominican Flag) typical Dominican lunch. Beans.rice.meat, and salad (get the recipe opens in new window)
  • Lambi - Conch
  • Langosta - Spiny lobster
  • Lechón Asado - roast suckling pig
  • Lechoza - papaya. This fruit can be quite large, unlike the little ones you could be accustomed to. Makes a great juice drink with milk (batida) (about papaya-opens in new window)
  • Limoncillos - (also known as Genip, Genipa, Mamoncillo and Spanish lime) a fruit, looks like a lime but grows in bunches. Inside fruit is cantaloupe colored and sweet.(more information with picture-opens in new window)
  • Locrio - typical Dominican home-style rice dish typically made with sausage (sometimes with shrimp or chicken mixed in). Very tasty
  • Longanesa - a Dominican home made sausage
  • Mabi - natural juice (more about Mabi-new window) ( Now available in USA. Refresco Mavi from Goya Foods. If you can't find it ask the store owner to order it )
  • Maíz - corn (picture of a maíz street vendor - opens in new window)
  • Mamajuana-A typical Dominican drink made with herbs and roots with rum,honey and vine added. Some may have animal parts added supposed to be good for men's potency. (more info on mamajuana-opens in new window)
  • Mamey - orange
  • Mandarina - tangerine, can be found January thru February and November thru December
  • Maní - peanut
  • Mandarino - mandarin orange
  • Mangú - typical Dominican food made with platanos, onion and oil mashed. Typically served at breakfast (get the recipe-opens in new window)
  • Marañon - Cashew nuts
  • Mariscos - sea food
  • Medio pollo - coffee with milk
  • Miel - honey
  • Mofongo - typical Dominican dish made with mashed fried green platanos/ plantains. These traditionally are mashed with chicharrones/fried pork skins. This is served with a broth on the side for dipping or moistening the dish. *there are other types of Monfongo that have different types of meats but this is the basic recipe ie: Camaronfongo/ shrimp monfongo)
  • Molondrones - Okra
  • Mondongo - tripe stew
  • Morisoñando - orange juice blended with Carnation milk
  • Moro de guandules - rice and peas
  • Moro - typical Dominican dish of rice and beans or corn mixed
  • Pan de Auga - Water Bread. These individual rolls are very flavorful. The outside is crusty and is good alone or made into a sandwich. Most Colmados sell them fresh made every morning.
  • Pancito - roll
  • Panceki - hotcakes, pancakes
  • Pasteles en Hoja - a type of tamale with a variety of fillings
  • Pavo - turkey
  • Pecao - fish
  • Pechuga de Pollo - Chicken Breast
  • Pejibaye - Heart of Palm
  • Pepinillos - Pickles
  • Pepino - Cucumber
  • Pera - pear
  • Pescado - fish
  • Petits Pois - peas
  • Pica-Pica - sardines
  • Pica-pollo - breaded fried chicken
  • Pichirri - the tail of the chicken
  • Platanos de Caldero or Maduro - Caramelized ripe plantains (recipe-opens in new window)
  • Pollo Frito - fried chicken
  • Pulpo - squid
  • Queque - cake
  • Queso - cheese
  • Queso Frito - Dominican fried, white cheese
  • Quipes - bulger roll usually with a little meat inside        
  • Rábanos - radishes
  • Remolachas - beets
  • Repollo - cabbage
  • Revuelitos - scrambled eggs
  • Salpicón - meat loaf
  • Sancocho - signature dish of the country. A thick stew-type dish made with vegetables and different types of meat(beef,pork,chicken,goat..) (get the recipe-opens in new window)
  • Pessi - Pepsi Cola
  • Siro - hotcake syrup
  • Tamarindo - tamarind (more information and picture-opens in new window)
  • Taro - spinach
  • Tayota (or) Cho-Cho - Little Squash
  • Té de Jengibre - ginger tea, a Christmas drink (Christmas traditions-new window) (get the recipe-new window)
  • Tipili - Bulger salad, tabouleh
  • Toronja (dominicanismo= grei-frú) - grapefruit
  • Tortilla de Huevos - Dominican style Spanish omelet
  • Tostones - fried plantains (get the recipe-opens in new window)
  • Uva - grape
  • Vainitas - Green beans        
  • Vegetales - vegetables
  • Verdura - fresh coriander
  • Verdura' (also 'verdurita') - fresh coriander (also called 'cilantro')
  • Vestida de Novia - not sure if it's considered food but it refers to a beer, the ice covering the bottle
  • Víveres - vegetables, fruits
  • Yuca - cassave, a long tuber vegetable.(more information - new window)
  • Yunyun (frio frio) - snow cone, shaved ice with flavored liquid
  • Zanahorias - carrots
  • Zapote - a fruit , very tangy and sweet, with a dull brown rind,sticky orange flesh, and large black seeds
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Food and Food Words
Food. This is just a little taste of some of the food (along with their translations) you will run across here in Dominican Republic. Any additions you have please let us know
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