This Puerto Rican Carne Guisada is delicious and perfect as a weeknight dinner. My recipe will give you all the tips and tricks to make it perfect every single time. No oven needed!
This Puerto Rican Carne Guisada is super good, juicy, and fork-tender! Seasoned to perfection with a little salt, onion & garlic powder, and sazon.
I make carne guisada with many of the typical ingredients like carrots and potatoes. I also add some of the authentic sofrito recipe which has onions, peppers, garlic, and recao leaves. But also add beer!
Carne guisada is one of my favorite recipes. While in university I loved making a huge caldero of this dish on Sunday with a Puerto Rican style white rice and crispy tostones.
I would pack the beef stew leftovers for my weekly lunches and instead of tostones, I’ll take ripe plantains. Let me tell you that the leftovers always taste better the next day!
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Why This Recipe Works
- This is a one-pot comfort food recipe that is tasty and easy to make just like the one-pot Puerto Rican corned beef with plantains!
- Is the perfect recipe for a weekly meal prep that goes well with a simple rice on the side or even mashed potatoes.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chuck Roast- I use chuck roast or chuck steak. You can also use the pre-cut beef stew meat you find at your local grocery store. I find that the best cut to use in making carne guisada is a good chuck roast or even chuck steak.
- Veggies- I like to add the typical carrots and russet potatoes because both act as thickening agents in our stew.
- Oil- I use vegetable oil but you can use coconut, olive, or the oil you usually use for cooking. You can also use achiote oil to add color and a smokey flavor.
- Seasonings- You need salt, sazón, onion, and garlic powder. Not a lot of seasonings but when combined with the other ingredients all the flavors pop.
- Sofrito- This is a must-use ingredient for this recipe because it is one of the ingredients that give it that boricua flavor.
- Tomato Sauce- I always use tomato sauce but it can be substituted with half of the amount of tomato paste.
- Bay Leaf- I used 3 bay leaves, you can substitute them with fresh thyme.
- Vinegar- I used white vinegar to help the meat tenderize and for flavor.
- Beer- This is the secret to making my carne guisada so good. The beer I use is Corona or Modelo. This is simply because I like the taste of this brand. You can use any light-colored beer you like, as long as you like the flavor.
Additions
- Veggies: Not common but you can add yuca, Kent pumpkin, or peas. A great addition is a can of beans. You can add white, pink, or black beans.
How to make a Carne Guisada
- Photo 1: Peel the carrots and potatoes. Cut the carrots into ¼-inch thick pieces and the potatoes into about 1-inch thick. Cut and peel any other vegetable you would like to add.
- Photo 2: Cube the meat into about 1 ½ inch thick pieces. You don’t want to cut it too small or too big so it can get tender.
- Photo 3: Add oil to a large pan over high heat and sear the meat. This will leave caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan that adds flavor to the broth.
- Photo 4: Add sofrito, and tomato sauce and cook for 1 minute.
- Photo 5: Now add your beer and cook it for about 6 minutes. I cook the meat with the beer separately so the flavor penetrates better.
- Photo 6: Take the bay leaves and half of the vegetables and add them. These vegetables will break down by the time the dish is done.
- Photo 7: Add 6 cups of water and cook for 30 minutes. Stir a couple of times.
- Photo 8: Now add the seasonings, the rest of the water, and vinegar. Lower the heat to medium heat and cook for 30 min.
Recipe Tips
- The best way to thicken Carne Guisada is with starchy vegetables. Adding half of the vegetables at the beginning of the recipe helps by breaking down almost completely making your broth ticker. You can also simmer uncover longer to reduce the liquid.
- Storing- You can save it in your fridge for up to 4 days and in your freezer for 6 months. You just need to make sure it is stored in an airtight container. Make sure to cool the beef stew before storing it.
- Reheating- I always suggest adding half a cup of water and heating for about 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Make sure you stir a couple of times.
Frequently Asked Questions
The difference between Puerto Rican beef stew and the carne guisada made in Mexico and other Latin countries comes down to the seasonings. The first ingredient that makes the Puerto Rican recipe different is the use of sofrito also sazón seasoning. The Mexican version has flour to give the broth a gravy-like consistency. Sometimes chiles are added to make a base sauce.
The secret to always getting your meat tender is to cook it nice and slow. You want to start with high heat so you can get the perfect sear in your meat. But then you’ll want to lower your heat and cook for at least an hour. Remember that you can make a beef stew in 30 minutes but that doesn’t mean it will be rich and tender. But you can also leave it for 5 hours and it will be hard and chewy.
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Puerto Rican Carne Guisada (Beef Stew)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and the potatoes. Cut the carrots diagonally into ¼ of an inch thick. Cut the potatoes to about 1 inch thick.
- Cube the chuck roast to about 1 to 1 ½ inch thick pieces.
- In a large Dutch oven add the oil over high heat. Wait for the oil to be hot, add your meat and salt. Sear for 8 minutes. Flip the meat a couple of times. Then add tomato sauce and sofrito and cook for 1 minute.
- Now add the beer and cook for about 6 minutes. Add the bay leaves, 6 cups of water, half of the carrots, and half of the potatoes. Cook for 30 minutes with the lid on. Make sure to stir 2 or 3 times.
- Add 2 cups of water, sazón, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and the rest of the veggies. Lower the heat to medium-high. Stir and finish cooking for 30 minutes. Crack the lid just a bit and make sure to stir a couple of times.
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Recipe Notes
- Meat: For this recipe, you can use either a chuck roast or chuck steak and cut it into cubes. You can also use the stew meats that come pre-cut from the supermarket.
- Beer: I use Corona or Modelo beer. Use any light-colored beer you prefer. Make sure to let your beer come to room temperature before adding it so it doesn’t lower the temperature of your pan.
- Veggies: As far as vegetables you can add pumpkin (I like Kent/Jap or squash.) Any starchy vegetable will be a good addition. Sometimes I like to add a can of beans and is so delicious.
Sotirios says
Thank you very much for your delicious recipes.!
I like to know how to make rice Puerto Rico style
Stephenie says
Te leo y se me infla el pecho! Thank you for the visit and I’m really happy you like la carne guisada.
Anonymous says
Wow wow 😋 Congratulations the recipe is so easy to read and understand. I really like it!!
Thank you so much.
YO SOY BORICUA 🇵🇷 DE LA MATA!
Stephenie says
Hi Josette, I’m glad you liked it.
Josette Williams says
So delicious and the favor on point loved it
whoiscall says
Thanks
Stephenie says
Thank you for stopping by.