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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

    by Stephenie Published: Oct 10, 2022 · Modified: Aug 22, 2024 . 29 Comments. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

    If you want to make the best side for any dish, try this Puerto Rican Rice and Beans. It is an easy recipe that everyone will love.

    2 bowls of puerto rican rice and beans or arroz guisado with a piece of thyme on the side.

    For Latinos, rice is a must, and in Puerto Rico, it is no different. One of the many classic rice recipes we have is Puerto Rican Rice and Beans. It is just as popular as the classic white rice.

    We call it arroz guisado con habichuelas while in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, it is called Moro, and they all taste different.

    In Puerto Rico, what gives our rice recipes that distinct flavor is the fresh sofrito, the classic sazón, the adobo spice seasoning, and the achiote seed oil.

    Once all the flavors combine and get cooked, what you get is rice that has an appetizing yellow color and loose, flavorful, and fluffy grains.

    This rice is so good that I can eat it by itself. But I like to serve it with fried Puerto Rican chuletas or Puerto Rican fried chicken drumsticks or a pollo al horno. If you want to add some sweetness, also make a few ripe fried plantains   

    Jump to:
    • Why This Recipe Works
    • Recipe Ingredients
    • How to Make Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
    • Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
    • Recipe Tips
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • More Puerto Rican Rice Recipes to Make
    • Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

    Why This Recipe Works

    • You can use the same recipe base to make Puerto Rican rice pasteles.
    • This is the perfect recipe for meal prep. You can use the leftovers as your work lunch.
    • All the ingredients you need are easy to find or make at home with the recipes here on the blog!

    Recipe Ingredients

    all the ingredients needed to make a puerto rican yellow rice with beans.
    • Oil- I use vegetable oil, but you can use your preferred cooking oil.
    • Spanish olives- While olives are optional, they bring a lot of flavor.
    • Sofrito- I use a homemade sofrito that has garlic, onion, peppers, and most importantly, recao/culantro. Read more on what is culantro. If you can’t find any sofrito, I have a good substitute for sofrito you can use.
    • Tomato sauce- I used tomato sauce, but you can use tomato paste.
    • Seasonings- This recipe uses sazón, adobo, and ham flavoring.
    • Beans- I added pink beans, but you can change it up and use a different one.
    • Water– I use water, no need for stock.
    • White rice- I used medium grain,n but you can also use long.

    How to Make Puerto Rican Rice and Beans


    collage on how to make puerto rican rice and beans on the left sauteing all the ingredients and on the right with water.
    • Photo 1: In a large caldero over high heat, add the oil, tomato sauce, sofrito, beans, and all the seasonings and sauté for 2 minutes.
    • Photo 2: Add your water and bring it to a boil. This can take anywhere from 5-8 minutes to boil.
    collage on hot to make a puerto rican yellow rice on the left adding the rice and on the right the rice after is dried.
    • Photo 3: Once the water is boiling, you want to add your rice, stir, and cover until all the water has evaporated. 
    • Photo 4: When the water evaporates, lower the heat to medium. Fluff your rice. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.

    Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

    • Hard rice- If your rice is still a little hard, you can always salvage it. because it only means that your rice is still a little raw. All you have to do is add 3 tablespoons of water and cook for another 5 minutes. The water will create more vapor to help cook your rice.
    • Burnt rice flavor- That burnt rice flavor in Puerto Rico, we call it ajumao, and it is super easy to fix. The trick to removing the burnt flavor in rice is to add a whole onion, chopped in half. Add the onion and cook for an extra 5-8 minutes, and the onion will absorb the smell.

    Recipe Tips

    • The caldero- Traditionally, all Puerto Rican rice is made in calderos. But the reality (controversial) is that you can make the rice in any pan as long as you have a lid. I even make this in a rice cooker! Even schools in Puerto Rico use huge industrial pans to make rice, not calderos, and believe me, that rice is delicious.
    • Storage– Let the rice cool and store it in the fridge in an airtight container and keep it for no more than 4 days. Freeze and keep no longer than 3 months. When you are ready to eat, you can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop. If reheating from the freezer, just make sure you thaw the rice before.
    close up of a bowl with rice and beans or arroz guisao.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What type of rice can I use for rice and beans?

    I have always used medium-grain rice. This is the most popular type of rice in Puerto Rican recipes. But a lot of people like to use long-grain rice like jasmine or basmati.

    What types of beans can I use to make rice with beans?

    The type of bean I always use is savory canned beans. The reason for this is really out of convenience because dry beans take a little more work. You have to leave them in water to soften. In this recipe, pink beans are used, but you can use any type of beans you like. You can use white, black, pink, white, and pinto beans.

    What can I do with leftover rice and beans?

    You can make fried rice balls. Take a scoop of rice, bread it, and fry for the ultimate crispy rice balls. You can make a rice Burrito or even a copycat Chipotle bowl.

    Is Puerto Rican Rice and Beans the same as yellow rice?

    The short answer is no. While Puerto Rican rice and beans are sometimes referred to as yellow rice or even Spanish rice by some people, they are not the same. Yellow rice is made with turmeric, which is the ingredient responsible for its color. In comparison, Puerto Rican yellow rice is completely savory, made with tomato sauce and sazón, which are the ingredients responsible for that yellowish, kind of orangy color.

    More Puerto Rican Rice Recipes to Make

    • a plate of puerto rican arroz chino and a plate of tostones on the side.
      Arroz Chino (Puerto Rican Style Fried Rice)
    • a spoonful of yellow rice with corn over a plate with rice.
      Puerto Rican Yellow Rice with Corn
    • top view of 2 white bowl with arroz con gandules over a banana leaf.
      Arroz con Gandules
    • close up of a plate of rice with vegetables.
      Arroz A La Jardinera (Garden Rice)

    💬 If you enjoyed this Puerto Rican Rice and Beans recipe, give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment, or question below. 

    If you rather watch how to make a recipe you can follow us on YouTube and our Facebook Page. Or keep up with us on Instagram and Pinterest.

    Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

    One of the best meals to make on any dinner night. It is easy to make a packed with flavors.
    By: Stephenie
    4.71 from 17 votes
    Print Pin Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep :5 minutes mins
    Cook :30 minutes mins
    Time :35 minutes mins
    servings :8

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 ½ cups water
    • 4 cups white rice
    • ¼ cup oil
    • 1 can pink beans 15.5 oz can
    • ½ cup tomato sauce
    • ½ cup sofrito
    • 1 teaspoon ham flavor concentrate
    • 1 ½ teaspoons sazón
    • 1 ½ tablespoons adobo
    • ¼ cup manzanilla olives about 12
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • In a large caldero over high heat add the oil, tomato sauce, sofrito, olives, beans, ham flavoring, sazón, and adobo. Mix it well and let this cook for about 2 minutes.
    • Then add the water, stir and wait for it to boil. Rinse your rice and add it to the pot once the water is starting to boil. Cover the pot and let all the water dry. This can take about 8 minutes so it is best to keep an eye on it.
    • Once all your water is evaporated you want to lower your heat to medium. Now you want to stir your rice. Cover with your lid and cook for 20 minutes. Serve and Enjoy.

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    Recipe Notes

    1. Traditionally this rice is made in a caldero but you can use any pot as long as you have a lid.
    2. This recipe uses pink beans but you can use pinto, white, or any canned bean as long as it is savory. 
    3. Even if you don’t eat olives it is a good idea to add them because they add a very nice flavor. Once your rice is cooked you can take them out.
    Note: The seasoning in this recipe is all to my liking. I have a trick for knowing whether the recipe is too salty for you. When making the recipe add half of the adobo, and mix it in. Once all the ingredients are in the pot make sure to taste your water. If you taste it and you know it still needs seasoning then add the rest.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Sodium: 910mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg
    Course :Dinner | lunch
    Cuisine :puertorican
    Tried this Recipe? Leave A Comment Below!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.71 from 17 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Stephenie says

      January 22, 2024 at 11:17 pm

      Thank you for visiting, I am glad you liked it 😊.

    2. T Williams says

      January 22, 2024 at 10:34 pm

      5 stars
      Perfect authentic recipe! Came out perfect!

    3. Stephenie says

      January 03, 2024 at 11:18 pm

      Hola Evelyn, adding a little water to microwave sounds like a good tip. Thank you for trying the recipe and commenting!

    4. Evelyn Alessi says

      January 01, 2024 at 1:34 pm

      5 stars
      I have made this several times. It is delicious. I make the full recipe and then freeze it in smaller containers. It works so well on those evenings when you don’t have time to cook. Thaw, add a little water, microwave it. Yum!

    5. Stephenie says

      September 07, 2023 at 11:08 am

      Hi Skye, you can definitely half the recipe. In fact most of the time, I only make 2 cups of rice unless I am making more to have leftovers for lunch on the next day. Just keep in mind that the can of beans have about 1/2 cup of liquid. So make sure you make up for that when you half the recipe. Thank you for the visit and I am very glad your family enjoys it.

    6. Skye says

      September 07, 2023 at 10:58 am

      5 stars
      I love this recipe I’ve made it a few times now and my whole family loves it, it’s definitely a keeper! I was wondering would it still work if I half it?

    7. Stephenie says

      August 30, 2023 at 8:51 pm

      Thank you Kanita for visiting and trying out the recipe. Let me know how it went.

    8. Kanita says

      August 30, 2023 at 8:41 pm

      5 stars
      I am only at the stage of waiting on the water to boil and its absolutely delicious 😋 ..i used red and green sofrito before actuallyreading through the comments and its already taking my back to my childhood with my PuertoRican friends !! This will be on repeat!

    9. Msjudi B says

      August 30, 2023 at 11:54 am

      Hello there, I was wondering what type of measuring cup ur using for this recipe, my cup doesn’t have these measurements.

    10. Stephenie says

      August 17, 2023 at 12:57 pm

      Hi Gloria, thank you for coming back! Goya recaito and green sofrito are very similar. The only difference is that sofrito contains recao(culantro) which is very flavorful and very fragrant. But the goya recaito is still a good substitude and the rice will taste very good.

    11. Gloria says

      August 16, 2023 at 9:39 pm

      5 stars
      Hi! Is the Goya recaito the same thing as green sofrito? I made it last time with the red and it was delicious !! I want to try it with the green like you said but I wasn’t sure if it will taste the same if I use the recaito.

    12. Stephenie says

      July 27, 2023 at 8:32 am

      Thank you so much for the comment. It is always nice when we eat something that reminds us of home.

    13. T says

      July 26, 2023 at 4:27 pm

      Tasted like my moms I almost cried

    14. Stephenie says

      July 16, 2023 at 10:50 am

      Thank you Maria for visiting us. I am glad you found us. Stick around for more rice recipes.

    « Older Comments

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