Best Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
on May 26, 2021
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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans are saucy, flavorful, and comforting. Delicious Goya pink beans are simmered in sofrito and tomato sauce with sazon seasoning! This Puerto Rican staple is also known as Habichuelas or stewed beans, and leftovers are perfect for meal prep.
This easy Puerto Rican rice and beans recipe is one of my favorite Caribbean food. It’s loaded with tender red beans and rice with ham and potatoes.
The potatoes and rice soak up all the delicious flavors and it’s incredbilbly delicious. Great for a quick weeknight dinner, and the leftovers are extremely flavorful too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Traditional Puerto Rican rice and beans are made with rice and stewed beans service over rice. The broth is flavored by sofrito, sazon, tomato sauce, adobo seasoning and other spices.
- Sofrito
- Canned Pink Beans
- Sazon Seasoning
- Oil
- Ham
- Tomato Sauce
- Chicken Stock
- Potatoes
- Adobo Seasoning
- Dried Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- Steamed Rice
How to Make Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
- Sautéing sofrito for about 2 minutes.
- Add ham and stir fry until slightly caramelized.
- Add tomato sauce, beans, chicken stock, and sazon seasoning.
- Add potatoes and season with oregano, adobo seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice and enjoy.
Tips & Tricks
- Add salt during the last minute of cooking. This is to make sure you’re seasoning your dish with the perfect amounts of salt.
- Simmer the beans with LOW heat, ideally using the lowest setting on your stove so that the sauce won’t dry out.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and they’ll last for 4 days. To reheat, simply add them to a skillet and make sure to add extra chicken stock.
What are the Best Beans to Use?
I recommend using Goya canned beans. You can use red beans, pink beans, or kidney beans. Make sure to drain the liquid first and rinse the beans gently.
What Kind of Rice Should I Use for This Recipe?
You can use any white rice such as basmati, jasmine, or long grain rice. Alternatively you can also use yellow rice, brown rice, or red rice.
Variations / Optional Additions
- You can add other meat like pork, chicken, or beacon.
- Use yellow rice and pigeon peas for Arroz Con Gandules.
- Carrots
- Green olives
How to Make Puerto Rican Sofrito from Scratch?
Homemade sofrito is delicious, flavorful, and so easy to make. Simply add bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, recao in a blender. Blend until finely minced. Season with salt and pepper, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If You Like This Recipe Try These Out
I hope you like this recipe. If you try it, please comment below and let me know how your Puerto Rican Rice and Beans turn out!
Puerto Rican Rice and Beans Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sofrito
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3/4 cup ham, cut in smaller pieces
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 cans Goya pink beans, (14 oz each can, drained and rinsed)
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ pound potatoes, cut into smaller chunks
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 packet sazon seasoning
- 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- salt and pepper, optional
- steamed rice
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil.
- Once hot, add sofrito and sauté for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add ham and stir fry until it starts to caramelize.
- Stir in tomato sauce, beans, chicken stock, and sazon seasoning.
- Add potatoes and season with oregano and adobo seasoning.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat (to the LOWEST setting) and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and completely cooked through.
- Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm over rice and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to add salt during the last minute of cooking. This is to make sure you’re seasoning your dish with the perfect amounts of salt.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
Yum! Just like my mother used to make. Thank you for the easy recipe.