Habichuelas is what Dominicans (and Puerto Ricans) call beans, and they are an essential part of our gastronomic culture, and one of the staples of our daily meals. Here I share with your all our best habichuelas recipes, and my tips and secrets to cooking beans like a pro.
Why we ❤️ it
We serve them as habichuelas guisadas, in stews, as moro (rice and beans cooked together), and even as part of one of our most beloved dessert dishes, but there is some type of habichuela (or legume) on our table nearly every day, and beans are one of the components of La Bandera Dominicana (the Dominican Flag), the iconic traditional Dominican lunch meal.
Beans are inexpensive, versatile, flavorful, nutritious, and easy to find and store. And all these things are part of the reason why they are so popular in Latin America, and especially in our country. We're beans experts, I dare to say.
Popular habichuelas recipes
- Habichuelas Guisadas (Dominican Beans)
- Habichuelas con Dulce (Sweet Cream of Beans)
- Moro de Habichuelas (Rice with Beans)
- Sancocho de Habichuelas or Sopión (Sweet & Spicy Bean Stew)
- Chambre or Chapea (Beans, Rice and Meat Stew)
- Habichuelas (Frijoles) Negros (Stewed Black Beans)
- Moro-Locrio (Rice with Black Beans and Pork)
- Habichuelas Verdes Guisadas (Fresh Shell Beans and Pork Sausage Stew)
From our daily habichuela guisada (stewed beans) served over rice, to our flavorful moro (rice with beans), to our very special habichuelas con dulce (sweet beans dessert), there's so much we can do with habichuelas! We also cook them in stews (like sancocho de habichuelas, and chambre).
What's habichuelas?
Habichuelas are what Dominicans call some types of beans, and the most popular dish made with them (habichuelas guisadas). These are the most common types of beans used in the Dominican Republic by order of most to least popular (in my opinion).
- Habichuelas pintas (pinto beans)
- Habichuelas rosadas (pink beans or cranberry beans)
- Habichuelas rojas (red kidney beans)
- Habichuelas negras (black beans)
- Habichuelas blancas (white beans or cannellini)
- Habichuelas caritas (black eye peas)
We do not call green beans habichuelas but vainitas. Other Spanish names for beans are frijoles and porotos.
Habichuelas picture
How to cook habichuelas
Typically, Dominicans buy dry beans and boil them beforehand. If convenient and able to afford it, canned beans are sometimes used. If available, freshly shelled beans are much preferred. We then proceed with the preparation depending on the recipe and dish in question.
Habichuelas guisadas
Habichuelas guisadas are cooked by sauteeing sazón (Dominican sofrito), and cooking the beans with tomato sauce until they are like a thick stew. Habichuelas guisadas are typically made with pinto, pink or red kidney beans, but habichuelas negras and habichuelas blancas dominicanas are cooked in the same manner and are also popular.
Moro de habichuelas
Moro (shortened from "moros y cristianos") is what we call a dish of rice and beans cooked together. Generally speaking, if we say moro and don't specify the type of bean, it would be pinto, pink or red kidney beans. Other types of moro will specify the bean used in its name, like moro de habichuelas negras (rice with black beans).
Sancocho de habichuelas y chambre
These are two popular type of bean-based stews, sancocho de habichuelas is typically made with pinto, or red kidney beans, chambre combines guandules (pigeon peas), pinto or red kidney beans, vegetables, and rice.
Habichuelas con dulce
Habichuelas con dulce is an iconic and insanely popular Dominican Lenten dish made with beans, milk, coconut milk, sweet potato, and spices. It is made throughout the Lenten period and the Holy Week throughout the Dominican Republic.
Video
How to boil dry beans
To boil dry beans I strongly advise you to soak the beans in abundant water overnight. This will shorten the boiling time considerably. Once soaked, change the water in which they were soaked (mostly for hygienic reasons).
The beans are cooked when you can pressure one and the skin breaks easily and the inside is like mashed potatoes.
With pressure cooker
Many Dominican homes own a pressure cooker, which shortens the boiling time even more. If you do have one, add twice add the beans to the pot, and twice the volume of water. Boil for 20 minutes starting counting from the time the valve starts to rotate. Let it cool down, and check for doneness, repeat for another 10 minutes if necessary, adding another cup of water to maintain the initial level.
Regular pot
If you do not have a pressure cooker (or instant pot), boil over medium heat in a conventional pot, checking regularly to prevent it from drying and burning, and to maintain a stable level of liquid.
Calculating bean portions
| Use | To get |
|---|---|
| 1 cup dry beans | 2 cups boiled beans |
| 1 pound dry beans | 6 cups boiled beans |
| 1 can (15 ounces) | 1 ½ cups drained beans |
Habichuelas de lata
To cook canned beans, or habichuelas de lata, you may use the liquid it comes in, unless you are watching your sodium intake, in which case you should rinse them beforehand.
All our recipes start with beans boiled beforehand, so if you are using canned beans, you can use habichuelas enlatadas (canned beans) in the same way as you would boiled beans.
Habichuelas portions
Typically, we serve about a cup of habichuelas guisadas with rice, with other bean dishes portions will vary.
Habichuelas nutritional properties
The nutritional properties in habichuelas vary depending on the type, but generally speaking habichuelas are a good source of protein, iron, and carbohydrates. They are low in fat, and rich in magnesium, phosphorus, and Vitamin B6. 100 grams of beans contain approximately 347 calories.
FAQs
Published: Mar 23, 2022
