The dish is traditionally made with glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with various slices of sabá bananas, taro, ube, and sweet potato, among other ingredients.

Binignit is also called giná-tan in Bikolano, tabirák in Mindanao Cebuano, alpahor in Chavacano, wit-wit in Hiligaynon, ginettaán, tambo-tambong, and paradusdos in Ilokano, ginat-an (or ginat-ang lugaw) in Waray and Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, kamlo in western Iloilo, scramble in Tuguegarao City, linugaw in Bacolod, and eangkuga by Akeanons in Aklan.

This "thin" coconut milk extract is added to cubed kamote (sweet potato), gabi (taro) and ube (purple yam), sliced ripe sabá bananas, langka (jack fruit), and tapioca pearls.

[4] The people of the neighboring island of Leyte use ingredients such as landang[5] (palm flour jelly balls), jackfruit,[5] and anise, and thicken it with milled glutinous rice.

Among the Visayan people, the soup is also widely cooked and eaten for the Holy Week, especially during Good Friday when observant Catholics fast and avoid meat.