You haven’t had rice that blows you away until you try Puerto Rican Rice (Arroz con Gandules)! This rice with pigeon peas is a must-have with every meal, party or BBQ!

Puerto Rican Rice Recipe

Well here we are. The holy grail of Puerto Rican cuisine: Puerto Rican Rice.

Every cook has their own special recipe for Puerto Rican Rice that seems to define them as a chef.

This is my mom’s recipe and we devour it as a meal unto itself.

If you’ve never had Puerto Rican rice before, you are missing out! Big time.

My personal favorite dish is Puerto Rice and Beans, but no meal is complete without arroz con gandules.

There’s no such thing as party or cookout where someone doesn’t bring a huge pot of rice.

I don’t even know how to describe the flavors except to say this is not your average rice. It’s very flavorful.

There is sofrito (click for info on where to find or make sofrito), tomato sauce and a medley of spices, but it doesn’t taste like any one ingredient.

Not to mention being dotted with gandules (pigeon peas) and alcaparrado (a salty brined mix of olive and capers). 

It’s cooked in a cast aluminum pan called a caldero.

If you don’t have one a large pot will do, however, a caldero will help achieve a crispy crust of rice at the bottom of the pot.

This is called pegao and it’s not scorched rice meant to be thrown away–it’s gold at the end of a rainbow! Yum yum.

This is a recipe that takes some practice to attain the perfect taste and texture so let’s get down to it.

First, start by rinsing your rice in cold water. This will remove some of the starch which will help it be less sticky.

Then you cook all the ingredients except the rice.

This is your flavor base and it’s important to taste and readjust the seasonings, as necessary.

The seasonings should be strong and salty since this will flavor the entire dish.

Next, add the rice. You may have to add more water depending on your pot. A good rule of thumb is that the water should cover the rice by 1 inch.

Then, you’ll gently boil out most of the liquid, top the rice with a foil cap and cover with the lid.

You’ll need to stir the rice a couple times as it cooks, but be careful not to scrape the bottom and disturb the pegao that’s forming!

If your rice doesn’t turn out the first time, never fear! It takes practice to get it just right.

If you’ve tasted Puerto Rican rice before, I guarantee it didn’t turn out perfectly amazing the first time they tried making it either.

Like I said before, this is served often, so there is lot’s of opportunity for practice.

We eat it with everything from a Jibarito sandwich at lunch, to pork chops for dinner and as a side dish for every holiday, party or get together.

When I think of grilling out, Puerto Rican Rice comes to mind just as much as potato salad.

Pin this to your Puerto rican food board!

Puerto Rican Rice Pot

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