10 Traditional Noche Buena Foods in the Dominican Republic
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
Noche buena—the night before Christmas or Christmas eve—is traditionally a night of celebration for Dominicans. It’s when we gather with our family to enjoy delicious cultural foods and enjoy each other’s company for the Christmas holiday.
For many Latines, food is a way of showing love and connecting with our loved ones, and Dominicans are no exception. Noche buena is one of the best nights of the year for spreading love through traditional Dominican Christmas foods.
In this article, learn 10 traditional Dominican noche buena foods and their nutritional value, according to a Dominican dietitian.
Ensalada rusa
Ensalada rusa is essentially a Dominican potato salad that’s a common side dish for noche buena.
Typically, it has potatoes, carrots, peas, beets, onion, peas, and eggs. It also includes mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt for flavor and texture. The beets give Dominican potato salad a unique, vibrant pink color.
While the vegetables are traditionally boiled, you can also use canned veggies for a quicker, more convenient option.
All of the vegetables in this potato salad are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The mayonnaise adds heart-healthy fats that help you absorb vitamins A, D, and K from the veggies and eggs. Plus, the eggs add complete protein.
While this is traditionally a side dish, it’s a super well-rounded one nutritionally!
Learn how to make ensalada rusa from Dalina Soto MS, RD, LDN, founder of Your Latina Nutrition.
Flan
Flan is a caramel custard that Dominicans inherited from the Spanish. It’s not limited to noche buena, but you can find it on the dessert table at many noche buena gatherings.
It’s made with sugar, egg yolks, evaporated and condensed milks, and vanilla. The process of making it is somewhat involved, but the result is a delicious creamy, pudding-like custard dish.
Nutritionally, flan contains carbs, protein, and fat thanks to the milk and eggs. It’s a food many may label as “unhealthy” yet it can absolutely be a part of a well-rounded diet and most certainly deserves to be enjoyed! There’s still nutrition in this dish, and either way, your satisfaction matters.
Check out this recipe from Dominican Cooking to make your own flan.
Lechón asado
Lechón asado is a traditional noche buena food in the Dominican Republic. Those who want an extra special holiday may roast an entire suckling pig, whereas smaller gatherings may opt to roast just the pork hind leg (aka pierna) or the pork shoulder.
The pork is seasoned with traditional Dominican ingredients like onion, garlic, oregano, and olives, and roasted for hours until the meat is tender and the skin is crispy.
Lechón asado is a typical protein source for noche buena meals.
If you want to make it at home, we recommend this lechón asado recipe from Dominican Cooking.
Moro de guandules
Moro de guandules is rice and pigeon peas cooked in one pot. Sometimes, you’ll find it cooked with coconut, too. It’s enjoyed year-round but you’re sure to find it during a Dominican noche buena celebration.
As a registered dietitian with Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage, there’s nothing I love more than rice and beans. They’re such a satisfying and delicious combination, plus they’re packed with nutrition. You’ll often find moro de guandules cooked with green olives, capers, and garlic, too.
White rice is a great source of carbohydrates, and beans are rich in fiber, protein, and micronutrients like iron, potassium, and magnesium. A 2014 study in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism even found that eating more beans is linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes.
We suggest this recipe from Belqui’s Twist if you want inspiration for making this dish yourself.
Pasteles en hoja
Pasteles are similar to Mexican tamales. They’re not only popular during Christmas in the Dominican Republic, but also in Puerto Rico.
Wrapped in natural leaves, they’re typically made by grating plátanos and root vegetables. These ingredients are packed with resistant starch and fiber for blood sugar control and digestive health.
The starchy veggies are then mixed with oil to form a dough. Next, you fill the dough with a seasoned mixture of cooked meat and veggies like bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Finally, you boil the pasteles and voila! You have pasteles en hoja.
They’re fairly labor-intensive so they’re a special dish reserved for noche buena.
Almost all the ingredients in pasteles en hoja are packed with fiber which supports digestive, heart, and metabolic health. Plus, the meat filling adds complete protein for satiety and muscle repair. The cooking oil adds unsaturated fats which helps your body absorb certain vitamins present in this dish, and the starchy veggies ensure you have carbs for energy.
Learn how to make pasteles en hoja from this recipe from My Dominican Kitchen.
Pastelon
Pastelon is somewhat similar to lasagna but it uses plantains instead of pasta. You’ll find it at many noche buena celebrations.
It’s made by boiling ripe plantains and then mixing them with butter and mashing them. The filling consists of cooked ground beef flavored with ingredients like olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
In a baking dish, you place one layer of the plantain mixture, one layer of the beef, and a layer of shredded cheese until you’re out of ingredients. Then, you bake it until the top starts to brown.
This dish is another super nutritionally well-rounded one. The plantains provide carbs and fiber, the beef adds protein, and the butter and cheese add fat. This mix of ingredients is also packed with vitamins and minerals like iron, vitamin C, B-vitamins, and potassium.
We like this recipe from Dominican Cooking to learn how to make pastelon.
Ponche
Ponche navideño is essentially Dominican eggnog spiked with rum that’s popular during noche buena. Its flavor is somewhat similar to flan, but it’s drinkable and alcoholic.
The ingredients used to make Dominican Christmas ponche are condensed and evaporated milk, egg yolk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum. Believe it or not, it’s rich in protein, potassium, vitamin A, and calcium, per the USDA.
Make it yourself using this recipe from Cooking with Books.
Telera
Telera is a type of bread traditionally enjoyed by Dominicans at Christmastime. Many times, it’s used to make sandwiches with leftovers from noche buena, but you’ll also find it at noche buena feasts.
(Note: It’s distinct from Mexican telera bread which is enjoyed year round.)
This bread has a yellow color, usually due to food coloring. To make it, you need flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk, egg, and butter or lard. Making bread is a precise and somewhat involved process; if you want to have it without the stress of making it yourself, you can buy it from a Dominican bakery.
Té de jengibre
Té de jengibre (aka ginger tea) is a Dominican Christmas tradition. As the weather cools, a warm, comforting beverage just hits the spot. You may find it during noche buena, but it’s also a common beverage throughout the Christmas season.
It’s super simple to make this tea. Just boil fresh ginger root and cinnamon sticks in water, strain the mixture to remove the solids, and sweeten to your liking.
Ginger is believed to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and stomach-soothing properties.
While some studies support its benefits for fighting inflammation and relieving nausea, the research is somewhat mixed. We need more research to confirm its benefits, specifically to learn what doses are therapeutic and how much is too much, per the NIH’s Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Turrón
Turrón is a type of nougat that originally comes from Spain. It’s now a traditional Dominican noche buena food. It’s a sticky bark-like dessert made from egg whites, sugar, honey, and nuts (usually almonds).
You can find different versions of turrón; some are hard and some are soft. Growing up, I remember the hard version being more commonly enjoyed by my Dominican family.
Turron is a dessert that’s surprisingly well-rounded nutritionally. According to the USDA, ¼ bar (37.5 grams) has:
6 grams of protein
15 grams of carbs
2 grams of fiber (7% of the daily value)
14 grams of fat
Final Thoughts
Noche buena is a celebratory evening in Dominican households, and food is a central part of the celebration. There are some noche buena foods like moro de guandules that Dominicans enjoy year round, while others like ponche or pasteles en hoja are dishes reserved specifically for noche buena.
These foods help us connect with loved ones, and they also provide lots of nutrition.
If you’re struggling to make peace with your cultural foods, our 3-part Latina dietitian-led masterclass on intuitive eating is a great first step towards healing.
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