Puerto Rican Sofrito
Puerto Rican sofrito is easy to make at home! Vegetables and herbs are blended together to form the base for many Puerto Rican dishes. This is why Puerto Rican cuisine is so flavorful!
Puerto Rican Sofrito
In this post I'm going to show you how to make sofrito.
This is the foundation for many recipes like the popular Puerto Rican habichuelas, mom's famous Puerto Rican rice, ground beef picadillo (which is used as an empanada filling) and many more.
I like to think of it as a Puerto-Rican style pesto. Except I wouldn't eat this raw! It's always cooked.
So I guess it is more similar to the French mirepoix, which consists of onions, carrots and celery, or the Cajun "holy trinity" of onions, celery and bell pepper.
What does sofrito have in it?
Traditionally you need bell peppers, onion, aji dulce peppers, garlic, cilantro and recao.
This Puerto Rican sofrito recipe consists of (mostly) easy-to-find ingredients.
However, I'll talk about what to do when you can't find a certain ingredient.
Bell peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro are all common ingredients for me to find.
It has become increasingly difficult to find recao and nearly impossible to get aji dulce peppers.
I will be ordering some seeds to grow my own, but I know this isn't a possibility for everyone.
Recao also goes by the name culantro, long coriander and a variety of other titles.
It can be found in Hispanic and Asian markets. Asian stores may call it sawtooth coriander.
It is extremely fragrant and smells similar to cilantro, but deeper.
If you cannot find recao, increase the cilantro to two bunches.
Aji dulce are a small Caribbean pepper about the size of a habanero.
They are not spicy at all, but slightly sweet.
If you can't find them, make the sofrito without them or substitute one red bell pepper or cubanelle pepper.
Just note that using a red pepper may change the color of the sofrito, but that's ok.
Can I use recaito instead of sofrito?
Yes, recaito can be used instead of sofrito.
If you are buying pre-made from the store you will notice that recaito is a green, cilantro based puree and sofrito is a red puree due to the addition of tomato sauce.
Puerto Rican sofrito is typically green and we add the tomato sauce later when using the sofrito in a recipe.
This recipe will make approximately 4-6 cups of sofrito.
Usually you only need about 2 tablespoons of sofrito per recipe.
You can certainly par this recipe down, but I like to make a big batch while I have the ingredients and freeze it in ice cube trays for later use.
Each cube is about 1 tablespoon, and there's no need to thaw before using.
Just throw it in the recipe when it calls for sofrito.
Store the sofrito cubes in a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn and they should stay fresh for some time.
If you've never tried cooking with sofrito before, I highly recommend starting with my Puerto Rican Rice and Beans.
It is the most popular recipe on the blog...BY FAR. One bite and you'll know why!
Watch the video below to see how sofrito is used in a recipe.
Puerto Rican Sofrito
Recipe for how to make Puerto Rican sofrito which is used as the flavor base in Puerto Rican cuisine.
Ingredients
- 3 large green bell peppers
- 3 large Spanish onions
- 2 bags of aji dulce (about 10 peppers)) OR 1 red bell pepper
- 1 head of garlic, peeled
- 1 large bunch of cilantro
- ½ bunch of recao (about 15 leaves)
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers. Cut into quarters.
- Peel the onion and cut into quarters.
- Remove stems and seeds from aji dulce.
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until finely minced.
- Store in airtight container in refrigerator if using within a few weeks.
- Or, freeze in small portions (about 1-2 heaping tablespoons) for later use. Ice cube trays work well for this. After frozen, store sofrito cubes in an airtight freezer bag and use as needed. No need to thaw before cooking.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 32 Serving Size: 2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 11Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
If using dried culantro, how much would it be? I can't get fresh around me.
That's a good question! I'm hoping someone else can chime in, but I would start with a couple tablespoons and see how it tastes.
This is exactly the same recipe I grew up making at home with my mother. The only difference is we add a bit or oregano to ours. We make large batches and freeze it in plastic or glass containers. It's lasts quite a bit. Great recipe!
I made this and used the ice tray method for freezing it. So perfect! 4 trays were just enough for the sofrito I made. After freezing I put in a freezer bag like you said. It is so convenient to just be able to pull out a couple of sofrito cubes to use. I will do it this way always now! Thank you!
Hi Rebekah, I read that you might be getting the seeds to grow Ajices Dulce, can you tell me who sells the seeds. I love in Texas and they don't have them here. I would definitely appreciate it! Muchas Gracias!
I purchased on Amazon. They sprouted and bore fruit. This last time I brought seeds back with me from Puerto Rico. The plants are currently growing but no harvest yet. I will save the seeds this time!
My dear, We don't use bell peppers but the cubanelle and more garlic
Puerto Rican sofrito thank you
The recipe looks good but my wife and I despise the taste of peppers. Is there a substitute that I could use instead.
I'd say just leave them out then.
@Jeff, i use tomalitillo i just boil them until tender and use them instead
I will be honest I used to help my grandma make sofrito since I was a little girl. I make it her way as far as ingredients. My grandma grew a lot of her own spices and veggies and I grow mine whenever I can. Her recipe never had Bell green peppers only Cubanelle peppers & Red peppers. She used Culantro, Cilantro, Ajices Dulces, Garlic but not to much cause she always like to add some fresh and she never used Onions in her sofrito. She never made big batches just enough for the week so onions were a no no (mainly cause they tend to make the sofrito black and she felt it always made it spoil faster) She would always added some vinegar and salt plus some oil to keep it fresh in the fridge through the week. Mind you she would never use the blender to make it. It was always done with the pilon then placed in a jar in the fridge. I make it now in big batches and freeze it. I don't use a blender cause I like my sofito not looking like a smoothie drink. lol.. I use a Processor cause I like it kinda chunky. I don't use Bell peppers nor onions and find it better cause I like my onions fresh when I cook and feel Bell peppers are a bit bitter, but I do love and use the colorful ones but use them fresh. My sofrito is basically more of a concentrated one. Where I add all the main ingredients and freeze it in ice trays then add my onions and more peppers and garlic. I still use Achoite which I make with oil and store in a bottle. I don't mean that other ways people make it is wrong, I just mean this is how I make it and like it. I am sick now but I still cook a lot for the holidays and make big batches of sofrito for me and the family. I am old fashion in my ways. Yes, I am an old fart.. lol
The trick to finding recao for me has been that it's called Ngo Gai in Vietnamese. Southeast Asian cuisine seems to use a lot of it, and Asian stores with customers from that region usually carry it.
Hi Rebekah. Can you give me guidance on how you canned your sofrito successfully. This is what I would like to try but not finding much instruction on how to. Thank you!!!
I'm not a canning expert but I did the water bath method for about 10-15 minutes. If you look up instructions for how to can salsa that should give you more detail. Hope that helps!
@Lisa Paez, My godmother makes hers in big batches then freezes it/them (?) in ice cube trays. Once thoroughly frozen, she pops them into ziplocks & uses as needed.
@Rebekah, I wouldn't recommend water bath canning as sofrito is not high in acid. The reason why it's safe to water bath can tomato products like salsa is because they have a higher acid content, and even in those recipes you have to be careful with ratios because it's possible to lower the acidity to a unsafe level. For someone who likes to can, I recommend pressure canning the sofrito instead, if not, stick to freezing for preservation, to avoid botulism.
How do I make my sofrito less spicy if I added too much garlic or recao. HELP please
More onions and green pepper.
Is recao and cilantro the same thing? You have it twice on there....maybe it isn’t the same thing though.
No they are different. Cilantro has the short leaves and recao is long strips of leaves. Recao is also called culantro (with a U), sawtooth parsley or various other names in Asian countries. Confusing! If you can't find it you can use extra cilantro.
Hi, I just made my first Sofrito, and Mojo too. No doubt, both are flavorful, but way too spicy for my taste. I'm afraid they would overpower dishes, like Pernil or Arroz con Gandules. Any suggestions on how to bring down the heat? Thanks ahead of time, happy holidays!
They should not be spicy. Is it the garlic or did you add pepper? Just using a little bit should not overpower the dish. With arroz you can start with a little and add more if you feel it's not enough.
@Rebekah,
Thanks for your swift response! I found your recipe too late, and I made my attempt after watching a lot of YouTube videos. Guess I found out the hard way, that just because they're green, they're not always interchangeable; the cilantro wasn't looking too good, so I doubled with parsley. Oops! As much as I love garlic, I may have gone a little overboard on that too. At least my husband loves heat, as long as he can enjoy the flavor. I'm thinking of using very little in the arroz, marinade the pork in something else. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to answer me! May you and yours have a blessed year ahead.
@Jennifer M. Toro, I nor my family ever put sofrito to marinate our meats. Only used garlic, black pepper salt and just a pinch of oregano, vinegar and oil. I roasted whole pigs every year. The ajicitos sometimes have a little heat so use less of it and less garlic too. This is why I like to make it more of a concentrate of cilantro and culantro with some peppers and little garlic ( cause the cilantro and culantro go bad fast if kept fresh ) then add more garlic to taste, Oh and like I stated I love my onions sauted fresh.
I love your blog. I'm experimenting with growing both the Recao and Agua Dulce peppers in my garden this year. Do you know if your sofrito recipe can hold up to canning in mason jars? I'd like to make a big batch but I don't have much room in my freezer. Thanks!
Yes, I have canned it before!