Name: Easy Dominican Beans - Habichuelas Guisadas | Dominican Recipes | Chef Zee Cooks
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 2 cans of Roman Beans or Pinto Beans; ½ lb of Kabocha Diced *Pumpkin, or Butternut Squash; 1 Small Red or White Onion Diced; ¼ Green Bell Pepper Diced; 3 Garlic Cloves Diced; 2-3 Ajicitos (Aji Dulce) *optional; ¼ cup Cilantro or Culantro; 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme *optional; ½ tsp Red Wine or White Distilled Vinegar; ¼ tsp Sugar; 1 tbs Chicken Bouillon; ½ tsp Dominican Oregano; 2 tbsp Tomato Paste; 2 cups Water

Easy Dominican Beans that you can quickly make with canned beans and traditional Dominican flavors for those busy weeknights when you’re craving Dominican food in minutes!

Dominican Beans – Habichuelas Guisadas is one of the holy trinities to Dominican cooking! Growing up, my grandmother made this dish several times a week. There’s a saying that rice, beans, and Pollo Guisado is “La bandera Dominicana” (the Dominican flag). because it’s a dish we eat every single day! In fact, you can make Dominican beans in a variety of different ways. You can make Dominican Beans from Scratch, which takes hours! They’re insanely delicious and one of my preferred ways of making beans.

However, sometimes you’re in a rush, and you have to get dinner ready in minutes! This is why knowing how to make easy Dominican beans is essential! You can make an authentic Dominican recipe even at the last minute! This easy Dominican beans recipe allows you to quickly make beans with traditional Dominican flavors for those busy weeknights when you’re craving Dominican food!

What Do I Need to Make Dominican Beans?

Dominican beans all start by using the correct bean. Luckily, there’s a few that you can use:

Pinto Beans
Roman Beans (also called Cranberry Beans)
Red Kidney Beans

Additionally you’ll also need:

Onions
Green Peppers
Garlic
Dominican Orégano
Tomato Paste
Auyama – Kabocha Squash
Cilantro
Red Wine or White Distilled Vinegar
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt or Chicken Bouillon

How Are Dominican Beans Traditionally Prepared?

Dominican Beans are traditionally prepared with dry beans that you soften for hours on the stove. However, you can also speed up the process with a pressure cooker. Making Dominican Beans from Scratch is pretty simple, and I go through it all step-by-step. However, easy Dominican Beans – Habichuelas Guisadas are prepared with canned beans. With the right technique, these canned beans come out just as tasty as using dried beans!

To start, you can either rough chop your fresh veggies (onions and peppers) into large or small pieces. The choice is entirely up to you. If I know that I’m serving picky eaters, I’ll usually chop them bigger because they’re easier to take out at the end. Afterwards, I then saute the veggies in olive oil with a pinch of kosher salt. I then add the canned beans (Roman beans are my personal favorite) along with 2 cups of water. I also add Dominican orégano, tomato paste, fresh cilantro, chunks of kabocha squash (auyama) and fresh thyme.

I then let the beans simmer for 20-30 mins and finish them with a pinch of golden sugar or white sugar and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. That tiny bit of sugar and vinegar at the very end truly brings all of the authentic Dominican flavors together.

How Do I Thicken Dominican Beans?

Dominican beans are slowly simmered and stewed until they become deliciously thick! Just how thick you like them is a personal preference. There’s also a few ways to make your Habichuelas Guisadas go from watery to thick!

First, you can let the auyama (kabocha squash) do all of the work! The longer you simmer auyama, the softer it becomes. You can soften auyama to the point where it dissolves into the beans, thus making them super thick. You can also mash the auyama and add them back into the beans. If there’s one thing that I love in life is auyama! Not only does it add flavor, but it also gives the Dominican beans – habichuelas guisadas a gorgeous and natural orange – apricot color!

Another way of thickening Dominican beans is to mash about ½ cup of the beans themselves and adding them back into the stew. Similarly to when we make Habichuelas con Dulce, this will thicken the beans and enhance the overall bean flavor of the dish. I honestly like to do a combination of the two. I like to mash some auyama along with some beans in order to get the perfect thickness.

Dominican beans are special. They’re a mix of fresh veggies and aromatic herbs that are stewed together to make a dish that will make you weep from joy. This dish is my definition of comfort because of how often my grandmother made it. I loved eating it alongside Dominican Meatballs, Salami Guisado, and even Chofan! I’m half-Cuban and half-Dominican. Cuban black beans is another dish that instantly transports me back to my childhood! You can never go wrong with either of the two types of beans!

FAQs: How Do You Store Dominican Beans? Can I Freeze Them?

Dominican Beans are one of the easiest dishes to meal prep precisely because they store so easily! You can freeze Dominican beans whether you’ve simply softened the dry beans or if you’ve fully cooked and stewed them. If you’re storing Dominican Beans in the fridge, then I recommend that you eat them within 4-5 days. If you freeze them, then feel free to enjoy them within 6 months. Just remember to allow yourself enough time to thaw beforehand.

FAQs: Are There Any Substitutes for Auyama (Kabocha Squash)?

Dominican beans are truly special because of Kabocha Squash aka auyama. Kabocha squash gives the beans their subtle sweetness and adds to their vibrant color. However, it can be quite hard to find auyama if your supermarket doesn’t have Caribbean customers. Here a few tried and true substitutions along with other names for auyama – kabocha squash:

Jamaica Pumpkin
Calabaza (Pumpkin)
Butternut Squash (this actually works! I use this substitution all of the time)
Sweet Potato – if you’re in a pinch and this is all that you find, it will work and still be delicious!

Dominican Beans are multifaceted and dimensional. It’s a dish that’s packed with layers of flavors much like Dominican heritage. You can see and taste the African and Spanish influences all in one dish.