puerto rican rice

Arroz con gandules - Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas. Seriously the best rice you've ever had!

Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice)

vegetable oil

sofrito

tomato sauce

(15 ounces) gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained

alcaparrado

Sazón

ham flavoring (I use Goya brand Jamón)

adobo

garlic powder

cumin

oregano

Salt and pepper

water

Rinse rice well in water and set aside.

In a medium caldero or large pot (about...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Creamy, hearty, and flavorful, this Vegan Arroz con Guandules is a classic Puerto Rican dish. Perfect as a side, but also delicious enough for a main! 

Vegan Arroz con Guandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)

tbsp Neutral Cooking Oil (can sub with Water

½ Yellow Onion, diced

¼ each Red, Yellow, Green Peppers

Garlic, minced

tbsp Tomato Paste

Vegan Chicken-Flavored Bouillon

tsp Capers

Bay Leaves

tsp Salt-Free Seasoning Blend*

tsp Cumin

½ tbsp Badia’s Sazon Tropical

tsp Goya’s Sazon con Azafran

tbsp Tamari

15.5 oz can Guandules Secos,

13.5 oz Can Full-Fat Coconut Milk

White Rice

Cilantro,

Black Pepper and Oregano, to taste (Optional)

First, add the cooking oil to a medium pot and raise to medium-high heat. Add the Onion, diced Bell Peppers, ½ of the bunch of chopped Cilantro, Bay Leaves, and Garlic to the pot. Sauté until the Onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to cook everything; plastic and metal affect the final flavor of the dish!

Add the Vegan Chicken-Flavored Bouillon and Tomato Paste to the pot and use the spoon to “mash” them into the Vegetables. Sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Then, add the Capers, entire can of Guandules Secos, Tamari, Cumin, and Sazon con Azafran. Sauté until the spices are fragrant and evenly distributed, about 3 minutes.

Add ½ of the remaining Cilantro to the pot along with the can of Coconut Milk and remaining spices, then bring everything to a simmer over high heat.

Rinse the Rice under cold water, then immediately add it to the simmering mixture. Once a few grains of rice start to float to the top of the mixture, add the rest of the Cilantro, mix well, and cover. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, serve, and enjoy! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

This looks so yummy!! If I may, Pigeon Peas in spanish is spelled GANDULES.
Going to try this recipe tomorrow. Thank you for posting it.

Your recipe sounds great! I should poinjt out that Debbie's is statement is correct; the only correct translation and hence spelling of pigeon peas in Spanish is GANDULES, no other variation. Thank=s for posting such a delicious recipe. I have made this many times; in  its original version from Puerto Rico.

@Jess, when the water starts to evaporate and it s at the same level as the rice (or slightly below) you cover it and put it on the lowest setting. Do not open the lid. The steam is what finishes the cooking. If you find it is still not done, leave the lid on another 5 minutes with the flame off. Glad you can please your Dominican MIL! My cousin who is a great cook and grew up in PR taught me how to make her arroz con gandules. Love it!

Hi! I’m actually puertorriqueña, norm and raised. I have always lived there. Anyway I have never seen any arroz con gandules with cilantro in Puerto Rico, so if you don’t like cilantro, you don’t have to use it baches el arroz con gandules típico doesn’t have it.

Hey Caitlin, This sounds like a great vegan alternative to our traditional Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Could I make a slight correction about Sofrito? It is not sautéed peppers and onions.  It is actually a blend made in a food processor of cilantro, culantro (two main herbs in the recipe), peppers (green, red, yellow, and/ or Puerto Rican sweet peppers aka Aji Dulce), onions, and fresh garlic cloves (some people add Parsley and Olive oil). It is then stored in a jar, sometimes frozen into ice cubes and then used as a base for many of our dishes.

Wow. Super impressed with this dish.  The flavor is unique, and you can easily swap veggies in/out.  Thank you!

After my illness, my life changed, I decided to switch to a vegetarian diet too, your recipes helped me a lot, thanks for the post!

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Top 2 puerto rican rice recipes from across the web

The most viewed puerto rican rice recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Ri...

Vegan Arroz con Guandules (Rice wit...

The most viewed puerto rican rice recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine