La bandera dominicana

Name: La bandera dominicana
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 plates
Cuisine: Dominican
Ingredients: 1 kg Chicken, bone-in thighs and drumsticks, skin removed; 1 piece Lime, juiced, for washing the chicken; 2 tsp Oregano, dried; 4 clove Garlic, crushed; 1 tbsp Sugar; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 medium Onion, sliced; 1 medium Bell pepper, green, sliced; 100 ml Passata; 10 piece Olives, green, pitted; 1 handful Coriander, chopped; 400 g Kidney beans, cooked or tinned, with their liquid; 120 g Pumpkin, or butternut, peeled and diced small; 0.5 medium Onion, finely chopped; 2 clove Garlic, crushed; 60 ml Passata; 1 tsp Oregano; 1 handful Coriander; 1 tbsp Neutral oil; 400 g Rice, long grain; 650 ml Water; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 3 tsp Salt, divided across the three pots

White rice, stewed red beans and braised chicken — the Dominican flag on a plate, eaten at lunchtime across the country.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hr
Rest: None
Total: 1 hr 30 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

La bandera is the everyday Dominican lunch: a mound of white rice, a ladle of habichuelas guisadas (red beans stewed with sofrito, tomato and a little pumpkin or squash to thicken them) and pollo guisado, chicken browned in caramelised sugar and braised with onion, pepper, garlic, oregano and tomato until the sauce clings. The three parts are cooked separately and meet on the plate, with a simple salad or fried plantain on the side. This recipe gives all three. The chicken step with burnt sugar is the Dominican signature and worth doing properly: the sugar should be dark amber, not black.

What you'll need

23 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 23 ready

4 servings

Pollo guisado
Habichuelas guisadas
Arroz blanco
Ingredients

Ingredients

Servings

Pollo guisado

Chicken, bone-in thighs and drumsticks, skin removed1 kg
Lime, juiced, for washing the chicken1
Oregano, dried9.9 ml
Garlic, crushed4 clove
Sugar15 ml
Neutral oil30 ml
Onion, sliced1 medium
Bell pepper, green, sliced1 medium
Passata100 ml
Olives, green, pitted (optional)10
Coriander, chopped1 handful

Habichuelas guisadas

Kidney beans, cooked or tinned, with their liquid400 g
Pumpkin, or butternut, peeled and diced small120 g
Onion, finely chopped½ medium
Garlic, crushed2 clove
Passata60 ml
Oregano4.9 ml
Coriander1 handful
Neutral oil15 ml

Arroz blanco

Rice, long grain400 g
Water650 ml
Neutral oil30 ml

Ingredients

Salt, divided across the three pots15 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Rub the chicken with lime juice, rinse, and pat dry. Toss with oregano, crushed garlic and a teaspoon of salt. Leave 20 minutes while you start the rest.
5 min
Step 2
For the beans, soften the chopped onion and garlic in oil in a saucepan, add the passata, oregano and pumpkin, then the beans with their liquid and 200 ml water. Simmer 25 minutes until the pumpkin collapses and thickens the sauce. Mash a few beans against the side, season, and finish with coriander.
30 min
Step 3
For the rice, heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the rice, water and a teaspoon of salt, and boil uncovered until the water drops below the surface. Lower the heat, cover and cook 20 minutes. Leave the crust at the bottom, the concón, for whoever wants it.
25 min
Step 4
For the chicken, heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, sprinkle in the sugar and let it melt and darken to deep amber. Add the chicken pieces at once and turn them to coat and brown, 5 minutes.
7 min
Watch: Pull the sugar off the heat when it is amber. Black sugar is bitter and there is no saving it.
Step 5
Add the onion and pepper and cook 3 minutes. Add the passata, olives and 150 ml water. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, then uncover and reduce until the sauce coats the chicken. Finish with coriander.
30 min
Step 6
Serve a heap of rice, beans ladled beside it, and chicken with sauce on top. Sliced avocado or tostones on the side if you have them.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 921 kcal
Protein: 92.7 g
Carbs: 71.8 g
Fat: 27.7 g
Saturated fat: 4.7 g
Fibre: 11.7 g
Sugar: 9.4 g
Sodium: 2063 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.

Dairy-free
Gluten-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.

Substitutions

Chicken → Pork shoulder chunks or beef
Res guisada or cerdo guisado. Braise 20 minutes longer.

Tips

The beans are better with dried red beans soaked and cooked from scratch. Tinned works on a weekday.
Dominican cooks often use a spoon of sazón or a stock cube in the chicken. A good pinch of salt and more oregano gets you most of the way without it.
The whole plate is about proportion: more rice than beans, more beans than chicken.

History & culture

This is the meal most Dominicans eat around noon, the main meal of the day. Comedores sell it in styrofoam boxes, home cooks make it most days of the week, and the beans may change but the structure does not. The name comes from the colours of the flag: white rice, red beans, and the meat standing in for the blue.

Rice and beans as the daily plate came together over centuries of Spanish, African and Taíno cooking on Hispaniola. The caramelised-sugar braise for chicken is shared with Cuba and Puerto Rico and reflects the island's sugar economy. The flag name is 20th century, as national pride settled on an everyday meal.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does La bandera dominicana take?

1 hr 30 min all in — 30 min prep, 1 hr cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free.

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

7 more questions

What equipment do I need?

Dutch oven, Saucepan, Chef's knife.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 3 tsp (divided across the three pots).

How much sugar?

1 tbsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Chicken → Pork shoulder chunks or beef. Res guisada or cerdo guisado. Braise 20 minutes longer.

What should I watch for?

Pull the sugar off the heat when it is amber. Black sugar is bitter and there is no saving it.

Any tips from this recipe?

The beans are better with dried red beans soaked and cooked from scratch. Tinned works on a weekday. Dominican cooks often use a spoon of sazón or a stock cube in the chicken. A good pinch of salt and more oregano gets you most of the way without it. The whole plate is about proportion: more rice than beans, more beans than chicken.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.