Puerto Rican Carne Guisada
This Puerto Rican Carne Guisada is the best beef stew! Savory chunks of beef are simmered in a sofrito gravy until melt-in-your-mouth tender. The potatoes and carrots soak up all the flavor...this is Puerto Rican comfort food at its best!
Puerto Rican Carne Guisada Recipe
As many of you know we're currently stationed in Japan with the Air Force.
Visits back to the States are rare, but I recently got to go home for a few weeks this year and Puerto Rican carne guisada is one of the first dishes I requested from mom!
I can't believe I've never shared this dish on the blog, but today that changes.
Nothing says comfort food like a steaming plate of beef simmered in a sofrito based gravy until tender!
Throw in some potatoes to thicken the stew, a little hint of sweetness from the carrots and a pop of salty flavor from green olives.
Serve with rice and avocado. The only thing that could have made this better would be a side of tostones.
Unfortunately, plantains are hard to come by in Japan. If anyone wants to send some I'll be your best friend forever. 😊
You could even eat this with tortillas and I won't judge!
I'm half Mexican, so growing up the two cultures were often intertwined.
We'd eat arroz con gandules with our tacos dorados and homemade flour tortillas with our Puerto Rican carne guisada!
I love being a part of so many cultures. ❤️
This post is specifically for Puerto Rican carne guisada. You can find my recipe for Mexican style carne guisada here.
What's the difference between Mexican and Puerto Rican carne guisada?
The main difference comes from sofrito.
Sofrito is a cooking base used in Puerto Rican cuisine. It's a blend of vegetables and herbs like garlic and recao that gives every dish a punch of distinctly Puerto Rican flavor.
It's best to make homemade sofrito if you can.
In Mexican guiso the main seasonings are cumin and onions.
Carne Guisada Puerto Rico
First, prepare the stew meat. I recommend any cut of beef chuck or beef round. Cheap meat works well here.
I like bite-sized pieces about ½ to 1 inch cubes. The smaller the pieces, the quicker it will cook.
I like to cook this in my caldero. It's essential for making Puerto Rican rice, but it also has a lot of other great uses.
Sear the meat over high heat until brown on all sides. Then add the remaining ingredients except the vegetables.
Cover with water and simmer until tender. This can take 1-2 hours depending on the cut of beef and size of the pieces.
Once the carne is tender, add the potatoes, carrots and olives.
I should also note that you can leave these out, or feel free to add other veggies such as yuca or calabaza.
Once again, make sure everything is covered with enough water and then simmer until the vegetables are fork tender (about 30 minutes).
At this point a luscious gravy will have developed. Give the broth a taste and add more adobo if necessary.
Enjoy with rice, aguacate and tostones if you're lucky enough to get them! Finish the meal off with a slice of flan de queso or flancocho.
Puerto Rican Carne Guisada
Puerto Rican Carne Guisada - tender chunks of beef in a succulent gravy flavored with sofrito. Add potatoes and carrots and serve with rice for a complete meal!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 ½-3 lbs beef stew meat, cubed
- 1 small onion, diced
- ½ cup sofrito
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon adobo
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 packet Sazón (optional)
- 1-2 cups water
- 1 lb potatoes (about 2), peeled and cubed
- ¼ lb carrots (about 2), peeled and cubed
- ½ cup Spanish green olives or alcaparrado
- White rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large 6-quart pot over high heat. Add the beef and brown on all sides.
- Add the sofrito and onion; saute for 2 minutes then stir in the tomato sauce, adobo, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and Sazón.
- Add just enough water to cover the meat, about 1-2 cups, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours, or until meat is tender (check after 1 hour).
- After meat is tender, add the potatoes, carrots and olives. Add additional water, if needed. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
- Taste the stew and season with additional adobo or salt if desired.
- Serve with rice.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 331mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 39g
Nutritional information provided is an estimate only. Please consult the labels of ingredients you use for more accurate results.
Love this recipe! For 1 lb of stew beef is the cooking time the same?
Yes, same time.
Hi I am in love with this recipe. I didn't grow up with my Puerto Rican side of my family so many of my personal recipes were self taught. I have to say this is even better than my mother's recipe. But don't tell her I told you lol. Thank you for sharing this with us! I hope who ever may read this that your doing well. Thank you again.
P.S I followed the recipe to a T and it was amazing didn't need more salt or extra anything for my liking.
LOVE your culture story!!! Sounds like a Winner Winner to me❤️
Hi, I’ve made this so many times and it always comes out super delicious!! Thank you ever so much for sharing this recipe…I do have a question??? Do you have a recipe for Puerto Rican Mondongo ??? Thx I look forward to your response.
Sorry I don't. My family always makes menudo (husband and I are half Mexican) so I'm no stranger to tripe but I've never cooked it myself!
@Millie, did you mean Mofongo? With the mashed fried plantain, crispy fried pork cracklings (chicharon) and tons of garlic? Usually made using a huge motar and pestle?? So good my fav!! Very good w large shrimp as well
@Rebekah,
@Rebekah ok thank you
@Shana, hi - no, lol…I know how to make mofongo…mondongo is with lots of ground food I.e. yuca, yautia, ñame, and list goes on…I’ve since this reply made mondongo cause i green up eating it so much and I love it 😍 thank you and God’s blessings to you.
Do you bring back to heat and simmer for the veggies and potatoes?
You can but I just pop the lid back on and let it do its thing. It should go back to a simmer pretty quickly.
Hello, what is a recommended brand for the tomato sauce? thanks!
Goya is my favorite. It's Spanish-style sauce and it tastes different than regular tomato sauce.
@Rebekah, thanks!
I like to cook the meat like 2 hours but then the potatoes get too soft. Also I like to add calabasa so what’s the best time to add the veggies ?
You could add the veggies 30 minutes before you're done cooking.
I’m vegan and change meat recipes to vegan at times. I couldn’t find vegan Beef tips; Can I use extra firm tofu in place of the beef?
Yes or maybe jackfruit would work too. My vegan family loves seitan but I've never tried it myself.
@Lisa, I make this vegan all the time using soy curls or vegan tvp beef that you rehydrate and I use the vegan beef broth for that and the vegan chicken broth for the soy cutely and it always comes out amazing!!
Make your own Goya products since the dried ones have msg and the liquid ones mostly contain bacon fat or some animal products.
Can you put the olive juice to
Sure that would be good.
My family loved it, thank you so much!! I use it all the time!!!
Would swapping out the olives for pigeon peas taste okay?
It'll be totally different flavor but still good. I love adding legumes to everything.
Can i use the same recipe but use chicken instead?
Yes, you can use chicken or even pork.
@Rebekah, the recipee and instru tuons for pollo guidado are a bit different and doesnt take 2 hours
This tasted more like a typical American-style beef stew than in does carne guisada.
Hmm maybe more sofrito needed.
Have ever tried this in an insta pot? Curious if you would add the veggies later on after the meat cooked for awhile.
I haven't tried it in my Instant Pot yet! I think I would add them all together and cook for 30 minutes with a natural release.
@Aprilgaultney,
Just made it in the Instapot, I cut the beef in smaller cubes and pressure cooked for 20 minutes. I added a cup of water, some sofrito, adobo and sazon, to make sure the beef cooked with some flavor. After that I set my Instapot to soup/stew and added the remaining let it cook until veggies were done and broth was nice and thick. Yummy!!!
Question I made this and loved it but it was a bit salty..what can be done for next time?
You can reduce the sodium by using less Sazon and/or less adobo. Different adobo brands have different sodium content, so check that out. They also make lower sodium adobo versions!