Puerto Rican Rice
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!
Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice)
Arroz con gandules - Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas. Seriously the best rice you've ever had!
Ingredients
- 3 cups medium or long grain white rice, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 heaping tablespoons sofrito
- 4 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 can (15 ounces) gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained
- 2 heaping tablespoons alcaparrado
- 1 packet Sazón with Achiote (I use Goya brand)
- ½ packet ham flavoring (I use Goya brand Jamón)
- 1 teaspoon adobo
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste (start off with 2 teaspoons of salt)
- 4-6 cups hot water
Instructions
- Rinse rice well in water and set aside.
- In a medium caldero or large pot (about 6 quarts or so), heat oil and sauté sofrito until softened. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Stir in gandules, alcaparrado, all of the spices and 4 cups of water. Taste and readjust seasonings, adding additional salt 1 teaspoon at a time. Broth should be heavily seasoned and on the salty side.
- Bring to a rapid boil, then add rice and stir. You may need to add more water to ensure rice is covered by 1 inch of water. Reduce heat to a soft boil and let most of the liquid absorb and evaporate, stirring occasionally, very gently, so rice does not turn gummy.
- Carefully mound rice towards center of pot, top with foil and cover with lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir by folding rice from the bottom up, but do not disturb bottom of pan. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, testing after 20 to see if rice is tender and cooked through.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 426mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g
Nutritional information provided is an estimate only. Please consult the labels of ingredients you use for more accurate results.
Puerto Rican Rice Pot
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Can I make this ahead of time and store it? What's the best way to reheat?
We reheat in the microwave covered with a damp paper towel.
I grew up on PR Rice but never made it. So the recipe...right on time! The only thing I have to work on is (my favorite part) The Pegao. I used a Heavy-Duty Stainless Steele Pot. I know its easier to get the Pegao in the Caldero...unfortunately I don't have one.
Came out fantastic! Had some leftover pork ribs seasoned with adobo and added it to the sofrito stage. Out of this world!
I made it a few months ago & it came out perfect. No caldera just regular revere ware. I used less rice I think. About to make it again & hopefully I will make note of what I did differently... Thanks for this delicious dish reminding me of the years I lived near Aguadilla PR.
Yes it can definitely be done without a caldero and still get pegao.
I cooked the rice in a rice cooker and the rest of the ingredients I combined on stove with little water and then added the rice. It came out perfect!
Glad it turned out!
i’m making this for my boyfriend this weekend for our anniversary and this is the same way my mom makes it. i’m really hoping it turns out good. i’m so nervous
You can do it!
Do I have to use olives
No, not at all.
@Judy, I do
Came out too watery. I followed your directions to have water an inch deep on top of rice. Not good.
@Lola,
1:1 ratio, let it simmer until a fork stands in it or the shallow (average depth) serving spoon rests on top of the rice and is almost submerged in the water
Cover immediately and don’t uncover or stir until it’s ready (at least that’s how I do it as I don’t like mushy rice)
Is there a way to make the rice taste like it has Sofrito if you can't find it in the store and can't get all the ingredients to make it in the time you have to make the rice?
Do you have any of the basic ingredients like green bell pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro? Just use what you have. Without the sofrito it will be more like arroz amarillo, also very delicious.
@Alexis,
Sofrito is at Walmart in the Hispanic sections or Fred Meyers.
@Alexis, you can make a sofrito ahead of time by freezing it in an ice cube tray. Release and place in a freezer bag. Then you have it ready to put in your rice.
@Alexis, I'm a 70 yr old 100% full blooded puertorican. If you want your rice to have the sofrito taste try using short grain which absorbs the flavors much more. This was a staple in our cuisine. We never used Cumin and bell peppers on our sofrito. Instead we used Cubanelle peppers, culantro, cilantro, ajicitos, oregano, garlic and onions.
@Mari, do you also add pork in while cooking or any other meats? I don't remember exactly but my friend's Moms rice I believe had chunks of meat inside. It was amazing!
Yes, it's very common to add pieces of pork!
@Mari, how do you get the rice chewy and with the crispy bottom? Thanx
@Rebekah, this is how I always make it. Yum!
Tomato sauce or paste ?
Sauce, but you could also use a lesser amount of paste since it's concentrated. A lot of times I don't use any tomato and I like how it turns out.
@Rebekah,
I made it today with the sauce and it came out great my first time making and will continue to use this recipe !! It was the closest I’ve had to my grandma thanks so much and sharing this for everybody ☺️
@Bella, either one
Thank you so much for your recipe. I grew up eating this because my former stepdad was Puerto Rican and his mom made it. This was the first recipe that tasted like hers. The only difference was she often added whole chicken pieces. I didn’t bother with the chicken. I followed your directions to a T and used my IMUSA caldero. It came out perfect. It took 5 cups of water to make the inch above the rice. When I was searching for this recipe, as soon as I saw the foil on top of the rice I knew it was the one. Hers always had the foil too. I’m so happy I found your post. Thanks, Jen
Is the ham flavoring necessary? Sometimes pork flavoring makes me sick because I don't eat actual pork.
No it's not necessary.
How much salt did everyone use in order to make it make it flavourful but not overly salty in taste?
Hi, if I wanted to add spam to the recipe would any of the measurements change?
Nope. I love spam, sounds delicious!
Could I use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil instead of vegetable oil?
Yes you can, any type of vegetable oil will work. Although I guess olives and avocado are really fruit! 🙂