Mangú is the national breakfast in the Dominican Republic, made by boiling and mashing green plantains and then topping them with red onions. This dish is creamy, briney, and so tasty! Try whipping it up for a unique and delicious Dominican Breakfast.
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The Dominican Republic is a beautiful and fun place to visit. The views are indescribable and the people are so easy to spend time around!
And don’t get me started on the food… Dominican Food, especially Dominican Breakfast Food, is hearty, flavorful, and nutritious.
If you want to get a taste of the Dominican Republic without visiting, you can try making this recipe for Mangú at home! Serve this for breakfast or a side dish during the day, and then serve this Yaroa Dominicana for a late night snack for a full day of Dominican eating!
Recipe Origins
There are two theories about where the name Mangú came from, both with their own interesting stories!
- African Origin: Mangú may have been invented when people from the Congo region of Africa were brought to the Dominican Republic during the slave trade. These Africans had a name for a popular dish, Mangusi, which actually referred to any boiled and mashed root vegetable. This boiled and mashed plantain fit the bill, and the name evolved into Mangú!
- Language Barrier: The other theory is more widely accepted, and it says that the name Mangú was invented around 1916 during the American occupation of the Dominican Republic. In this story, an American soldier tried the Dominican breakfast dish and exclaimed “Man, good!” or “Man, that’s good!”. The Dominicans may have heard this exclamation and named the dish after it, calling it mangu ever since!
Why Make This Recipe
- Affordable: This dish is inexpensive to make, which is probably why it originally became so popular in the country! Making mashed plantains really only uses four ingredients: plantains, vinegar, onion, and butter. You can make an incredibly cheap side dish or breakfast with just the ingredients listed.
- Variation of Flavor: This dish is beloved for many reasons, but my personal favorite is the dichotomy of flavors that exists in every bite. The plantains are mild, creamy, and a little salty, but when you get a bite of red onion, the flavors of brine and acid hit your tongue instead. This is an exciting dish for your taste buds to eat!
- Comfort Food: If you love Mashed Potatoes as your ultimate comfort food like I do, you’ll love this recipe! A big bowl of this mangu recipe will leave you feeling warm, cozy and happy!
Ingredients in this Recipe
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Red Onion: The red onion portion of this recipe is optional, and not a requirement to make Mangú, but I highly recommend it! The red onions are most traditionally cooked in vinegar, which gives the dish a delightful briney taste.
- Vinegar: I chose to use white vinegar to lightly pickle my red onions at the beginning of the recipe. As a shortcut, you can also saute store-bought pickled red onions instead.
- Plantains: For this recipe, make sure to use plantains that aren’t ripe yet. The riper the plantain, the sweeter it is! Typically, ripe plantains are reserved for desserts, while non-ripe plantains are for savory dishes. If you love plantains, try this Homemade Tostones recipe I love! Stick with green plantains instead of yellow ones!
- Salt: Use table salt. If you are going to use a larger-grained salt, you may need to add a bit more.
- Vegetable Oil: I like using a neutral flavored oil for this dish. You can also use avocado oil or sunflower oil for a similar flavor profile. Olive oil will work just fine, but you may be able to taste it a little more than usual!
- Butter or Margarine: This makes the plantain mash so much creamier and richer. Some recipes omit this or use oil instead, but I would recommend making the recipe with butter! It truly affects the taste in a positive way.
Tools You Need
- Large Pot: To boil the plantains
- Small Pot: To cook the onions
- Pilon/Mortar and Pestle/Bowl and Potato Masher: I just use a mixing bowl and a potato masher for this step!
How to Make Mangu Dominicano
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
In a small bowl, combine the red onion with the vinegar and ½ tsp salt. Then stir to combine. Allow this to sit for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the plantains.
Add the plantains into a large pot and cover fully with water. Add about 2 tsp of salt to the water.
Bring the water to a boil, and boil until the plantains soften up and become fork tender (about 20 minutes from the boiling point). When the plantains are soft, remove them from the pot, but reserve the water.
Step 2: Cook the Onions
Add the oil to a small pot, then add the onions and vinegar into the pot while the oil is still cool.
Saute for about 5 minutes until the onions become medium-soft.
Remove from the stove and set aside, keeping the onion sauce that formed as well.
Step 3: Mash
Place about ⅓ the plantains in a large bowl along with 2 tbsp of butter, about ¼ cup of the reserved water, and about 1 tbsp of the onion sauce. Mash until the plantains become rather smooth. Salt to taste
Repeat this two more times until all of the plantains are mashed. Feel free to adjust the liquid measurements based on your desired end texture. You want your plantains to look like creamy mashed potatoes. Season with salt to taste.
Serve, often with fried cheese, fried salami, and the onions on top. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Some Dominicans will season the water with Adobo before boiling the plantains for some extra flavor!
- Try to get your plantain mash as smooth as possible! To make this easy on yourself, check to ensure that the plantains are fork tender before draining the water.
- I cut the plantains into smaller pieces so that they cook faster when boiling. Feel free to cut them into smaller or large pieces, but keep in mind that the cook time will be affected.
- Mangú will thicken as it cools. If you aren’t serving your dish right away, make it a little thinner than you prefer so that by the time you eat, it is the perfect texture!
How to Peel a Plantain
To peel your plantains, use a small knife to cut the ends of the plantain off. Then carefully slice a slit through the peel from one end of the plantain to the other. Keep this slit shallow so that it cuts through the peel but not the flesh of the plantain. Repeat this on the other side.
Get one of your fingers underneath the peel at one end of the plantain, and run it along the length of the plantain between the flesh and peel, removing the peel as you go. Repeat with the other piece of the peel.
Then cut the plantain and serve! You do not need to remove the seeds before cooking.
Variations of this Recipe
There are a few different variations of this recipe that, with a few slight changes, transform the dish into something completely different!
- Los Tres Golpes: This recipe name means “the three hits”. This dish is an even more common breakfast in the Dominican Republic, and it is made by topping Mangú with fried eggs, fried cheese, and Dominican salami. You can also add some avocado, though this was not part of the original dish.
- Mazamorra: If you replace the green plantains in this recipe with squash, you get another Dominican dish, Mazamorra!
How to Use Your Instant Pot to Make Mangu Dominicano
If you want a faster version of this recipe, you can use your Instant Pot to cook your plantains!
To do this, peel your plantains and cut them into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Place them in the Instant Pot with the water and secure the lid.
Turn the cooking pressure to HIGH for 8 minutes. When the cook time has completed, perform a Quick Release.
Follow the rest of the steps of the recipe as is!
Recipe FAQs
Mofongo and Mangú are very familiar to one another. They are both made with mashed plantains and are popular dishes in the Caribbean! Mofongo is a popular dish in Puerto Rico, whereas Mangú is more likely found in the Dominican Republic.
A large difference between the two is that the plantains are boiled in mangú, but are fried in mofongo! The plantains in Mofongo are also usually mashed with chicharrones (which are also in my recipe for Chifrijo). It is also served with beef broth, and has a savory flavor, whereas Mangú is served with vinegar and has a sour flavor.
You can reheat mangú very easily by covering your bowl of leftovers with a wet paper towel and putting it in the microwave until warmed through! You might need to add a splash of water to make sure that the mangu thins as it warms up!
You can keep leftover mangú in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Did you like this recipe for Instant Pot Mangú? If so, don’t forget to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Plantain Chips from The Bahamas
- Oil Down from Grenada
- Red Beans and Plantains from Burundi
- Haitian Griot Recipe
Mangu Recipe (Mashed Plantains) A Dominican Breakfast
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Small Pot
- Pilon/Mortar and Pestle/Bowl and Potato Masher
Ingredients
- ½ red onion, cut into thin rounds
- 6 Tbsp White Vinegar
- 4 Green plantains, peeled and cut into about 6 pieces each
- 2 ½ tsp salt, divided + more to taste
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil
- 4-5 Tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, softened
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine ½ a sliced red onion with 6 tbsp vinegar and ½ tsp salt. Then stir to combine. Allow this to sit for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the plantains.
- Add the 4 sliced plantains into a large pot and cover fully with water. Add about 2 tsp of salt into the water. Bring the water to a boil, and boil until the plantains soften up and become fork tender (about 20 minutes from the boiling point). When the plantains are soft, remove them from the pot, but reserve the water.
- Add ¼ cup oil to a small pot, then add the onions and vinegar into the pot while the oil is still cool. Saute for about 5 minutes until the onions become medium-soft. Remove from the stove and set aside, keeping the onion sauce that formed as well.
- Place about ⅓ the plantains in a large bowl along with 2 tbsp of butter, about ¼ cup of the reserved water, and about 1 tbsp of the onion sauce. Mash until the plantains become rather smooth. Salt to taste
- Repeat this again two more times until all of the plantains are mashed. Feel free to adjust the liquid measurements based on your desired end texture. You want your plantains to look like creamy mashed potatoes. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve, often with fried cheese, fried salami, and the onions on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Red Onion: The red onion portion of this recipe is optional, and not a requirement to make Mangú, but I highly recommend it! The red onions are most traditionally cooked in vinegar, which gives the dish a delightful briney taste.
- Vinegar: I chose to use white vinegar to lightly pickle my red onions at the beginning of the recipe. As a shortcut, you can also saute store bought pickled red onions instead.
- Plantains: For this recipe, make sure to use plantains that aren’t ripe yet. The riper the plantain, the sweeter it is! Typically, ripe plantains are reserved for desserts, while non-ripe plantains are for savory dishes. If you love plantains, try this Homemade Tostones recipe I love! Stick with green plantains instead of yellow ones!
- Salt: Use table salt. If you are going to use a larger-grained salt, you may need to add a bit more.
- Vegetable Oil: I like using a neutral flavored oil for this dish. You can also use avocado oil or sunflower oil for a similar flavor profile. Olive oil will work just fine, but you may be able to taste it a little more than usual!
- Butter or Margarine: This makes the plantain mash so much creamier and richer. Some recipes omit this or use oil instead, but I would recommend making the recipe with the butter! It truly affects the taste in a positive way.
- Some Dominicans will season the water with Adobo before boiling the plantains for some extra flavor!
- Try to get your plantain mash as smooth as possible! To make this easy on yourself, check to ensure that the plantains are fork tender before draining the water.
- I cut the plantains into smaller pieces so that they cook faster when boiling. Feel free to cut them into smaller or large pieces, but keep in mind that the cook time will be affected.
- Mangú will thicken as it cools. If you aren’t serving your dish right away, make it a little thinner than you prefer so that by the time you eat, it is the perfect texture!
Amanda says
This was fantastic! I also added some A2 milk for creaminess when mashing. I also sprinkled some Badia Complete, cayenne, and paprika before topping with the sautéed onions. Soooo good! This will become a staple dish for us. Thank you!
The Foreign Fork says
I’m so glad you loved the recipe Amanda! Your spice additions sound wonderful 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review!
Joel says
Los tres golpea amigo. Mucha gracias para eso.
Karalee says
Thank you for pioneering plantains in the Instant Pot. I added some ginger root water I previously made in the Instant Pot, and set it on “steam”, natural release. Nice flavors.
The Foreign Fork says
Wow that sounds like a delicious addition!! I’m going to need to try that 🙂 Thanks for the addition!