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.
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
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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
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
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
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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
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
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.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*The nutrition information is automatically calculated, so this is only an approximation.
Maria says
Thank you so much. Had not made rice and beans that actually came out perfect. I am so happy I found this recipe. Thank you so much from me and my family 😊
Stephenie says
Well, this depends on where you live. If you are in the US I can guarantee that almost every Latin supermarket or bodega will have both. They will guide you on where to find it if they don’t have it. As for big supermarkets, I know that ShopRite, Save Alot and Ctown will have both. Some brands that carry ham flavoring are Goya, Badia, and Better than Bouillon. Brands for Sofrito are Goya and La Reyna. But if after going to a Latin supermarket you can’t find green sofrito then go ahead and use the red one. Thank you for visiting Maureen, I hope this helps.
Maureen Bode says
Where do you find ham flavor concentrate and where do I find green sofrito I’ve only seen the red one.
Thank you,
Maureen
Anonymous says
5 star’s
Anonymous says
3 star’s
Stephenie says
Hi Donna, the recipe calls for green sofrito. All the recipes here will use the green sofrito. Now the difference between the green and red ones usually depends on the brand. The red sofrito (usually Goya brand) has tomatoes in it. Other brands that make red sofrito can also be that it has achiote. You can read the post about what is achiote that I have here in the blog to learn more about it. Now the reason why I don’t use red sofrito is that in my recipes I add tomato sauce or paste already and don’t need the extra tomatoes. If you have any more questions please let me know, I am happy to help.
Donna R. Rodriguez says
Im.new at this what kind of sofrito green or red? What’s the difference?
Stephenie says
Yes, the aquafaba goes in. If you don’t want to add it in you can substitute the same amount for water. But I always add it to the rice. If you want to watch how I made it here is the link to the video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGRp68_XrJ0&t=31s. Let me know how it went.
Skye says
I’m prepping to make this tonight but I’m wondering do I use the aquafaba from the beans or drain them?
Stephenie says
Yes, you can! You can substitute for chicken or vegetable bouillon. Trust me that it will still be delicious. Thank you for visiting.
Anonymous says
Can I skip the ham flavor concentrate I don’t eat pork or beef
Stephenie says
I am very honored by this. Sometimes a good meal can bring back so many memories and is wonderful. Thank you so much for visiting!
Ariel says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My husband recently lost his mom, who used to make Puerto Rican rice and beans for him growing up. I never got a chance to learn her recipes, but he said that yours reminds him of her. It’s absolutely delicious! I’m so happy that I can make this for him.
Stephenie says
Hi Sandy, I am so glad your family loved it. Nothing better than a steamy bowl of rice!
Sandy says
I made this rice and it was excellent. My family loved it. Thank you