Arroz con Gandules
Enjoy a savory classic Puerto Rican rice dish, arroz con gandules. Bacon, gandules (aka pigeon peas), and olives spiced up with a homemade sofrito deliver an extra delicious one-pot rice meal!
After re-stashing my freezer with homemade sofrito, I decided to cook up a big pot of arroz con gandules for the whole family to go along with my smash hit, Puerto Rican roasted pork.
And we hardly spoke to each other while we heartily dug into our Puerto Rican-themed dinner. While it’s mainly served during the holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions, it sure makes an immaculate family weeknight meal on regular days.
Puerto Rican vs. Jamaican Pigeon Peas
They’re both outstanding. The Puerto Rican version enjoys bacon, sofrito, cumin, and Goya Sazon. I include how to make your own sazon for this recipe if you so wish. Sofrito is the holy trinity times three for an intense flavor experience. And you can make it as mild or spicy as you want.
Jamaican pigeon peas and rice uses thyme, smoked paprika, scotch bonnet for extra heat, corn, and coconut milk. Both recipes are versatile and tasty. You can even replace the gandules with red beans or black-eyed peas.
Interesting fact: Pigeon peas are perennial, making them an ideal food crop for tropical climates, like in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
How to Make Arroz con Gandules
- Fry the bacon for about 5 minutes or until brown and crisp. (Photo 1)
- Sauté the sofrito in the bacon drippings and extra oil if needed until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. (Photo 2)
- Add the onion, garlic, and cumin, and continue sautéing for another minute. (Photos 3-4)
- Stir in the rinsed and drained rice and continue stirring for another minute or two. Then add the gandules, tomato sauce, olives, Sazon, and water, and bring it to a boil. (Photos 5-7)
- Simmer, covered with a lid, for about 18 minutes or until rice is cooked. Stir occasionally from the sides to prevent it from burning, adding more water if needed. (Photo 8)
- Adjust the seasonings to taste, and enjoy.
Tips and Notes
- Feel free to replace long-grain rice with medium-grain rice if that’s what you have. However, short-grain rice tends to get sticky.
- Store-bought sofrito is usually available in Latin, Caribbean, and big grocery stores in the international food aisle. However, homemade tastes better, and it freezes well.
- Rinsing the rice washes away excess starch for a more pleasant texture.
- If you can’t find canned or dried pigeon peas, you can go with pinto or red beans.
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
Did I mention that arroz con gandules freezes and reheats well? So make a big pot to save time for your future self on a crazy busy weeknight. Top it with a fried egg, and call it dinner.
What Goes With Arroz con Gandules
Pernil or chicken, tostones, pasteles, and a light salad go wonderfully with this rice side dish. Tembleque or flan tops it off with a lightly sweet dessert.
More Fabulous Puerto Rican Recipes to Try
By Imma
Arroz con Gandules
Ingredients
- 2 cups (380g) long grain rice, rinsed and drained
- 3 strips bacon, chopped
- 3 tablespoons (45g) sofrito
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon (15g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (3g) cumin
- 1 15-ounce can gandules, drained (also called pigeon peas)
- ½ cup (125g) tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup (45g) sliced olives
- 1 packet Goya sazon (see notes)
- 3½ cups (825ml) water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then drain.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the bacon until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the skillet and transfer it to a paper-towel-lined plate. There should be 1-2 tablespoons of bacon drippings left in the pan.
- Add a tablespoon of oil if desired to the pan, then add the sofrito to the skillet and sauté until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
- Toss in the onion, garlic, and cumin, and continue sautéing for about a minute.
- Stir in the rice and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes. Then add the gandules, tomato sauce, olives, Sazon, and water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer until rice is cooked, 18-20 minutes. Stir occasionally from the sides to prevent burning, adding more water if needed.
- Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Tips & Notes:
- To replace the Goya sazon, mix ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon turmeric or ground annato, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon coriander, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon dried oregano.
- If you make sofrito in batches and freeze it in ice cube trays, one cube is 2 tablespoons. I like extra flavor, so I use two cubes directly from frozen.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! It’s requested at every family gathering and I make it whenever I have a taste for it which is often. I follow it exactly as you’ve instructed and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for sharing such a beautifully flavored recipe.
I use cooked ham and salted pork to give my rice flavor… it is to die for
Great choice!
I’m from Guayama Puerto Rico and was taught by my mother how to make the dishes of the island… I make a large batch of sofrito put it in jars and freeze for later use or for gifts… I would never use sazón in anything I make that’s the lazy way to cook and add flavor… Instead a make some anatto oil and put it in a jar… I use salt pork not bacon and if I’m cooking for someone who doesn’t eat pork I use chopped chicken for flavor… I also use homemade chicken stock instead of water and I never use tomatoe sauce… You can find annatto seeds in most stores now a days or on line, it’s essential to the dish… Doing those things will give you more than enough flavor… Also Puerto Rican food is flavorful but not hot so if you want heat keep your favorite hot sauce handy….
I am sorry but as a true P.R. you do not use saźon or tomato sauce or cumin or bacon. It’s a lot more simpler if you make your own sofrito as well. That’s not that difficult either. I don’t understand why people use saźon and think that’s what we use, smh. I see so much stuff being made and thinking that if you use saźon and adobo its authentic. Please that’s just lazy people cooking. I wouldn’t make curry chicken with just curry powder and chicken. Anyway, thanks for making it so simple to make mush with beans.
This is a recipe for those who want to try to make something delicious. When you have your own website that ENCOURAGES people to try new things i hope people aren’t as judgemental as you are.
Hello… I’m Puerto Rican… No offense; but I can not stand Sazón…. it has MSG and other additives and preservatives.. I’m highly allergic and so I can not cook with anything that has MSG… Any healthy alternatives for flavor and coloring of the Arroz con Gandules; please?
Hi. You can check out this homemade spice mix which is a good sub for store-bought Sazon >> https://www.skinnytaste.com/homemade-sazon-seasoning-mix/
Badia brand carries a sofrito seasoning in green cap top and orange cap top jars without MSG! I use the one with the orange cap for all my yellow rice dishes.
Thanks for that information!!!
I don’t eat pork bacon. What’s another meat substitute?
Turkey bacon works just fine.
Sofrito does not have any “heat”. Most sofrito is made with bell peppers. You can do research to tweak your sofrito recipie (as I have an allergy to bell peppers an authentic Puertorican sofrito made much more sense to me and my abuelo aka grandpa). Puertorican rice was a daily staple in our house, while growing up it was one of the first foods introduced to kids. So, no “heat”. Looking ato so many reciepies posted this one is most like what my grandmother made regularly. Enjoy.
Hi Talara,
Thanks for taking time out to share with us. Appreciate the feedback.
Sofrito is a staple to all Puerto Rican. The only problem its no longer a traditional recipe. Here the US its been changed. our sofrito has Culantro cilantro green and red peppers Ajise and garlic onions olive oil. The amounts is based on how you want it to taste. Culantro is strong so I always suggest 1 bunch of each cilantro and culantro. My mom always made it to order at the moment. She used a Pilon.
Hello Sir, as a NuYorican in the military it’s hard to find authentic Puerto Rican recipes. I’m trying to get back to my roots and the food is the best way in my opinion but since my wife is Filipina and she’s usually home before me she cooks most of the time. What advice can you give me for a wanna be weekend chef for authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. (Also i agree, most recipes online are watered down versions). My mother has great recipes and still makes pastelles and sofrito from scratch but being that i’m always moving for the military, I can’t always find the ingredients i need. Thank you for your time! God bless!!
Recipe please thank you
Hello Leslie! Here is my recipe for Sofrito: https://www.africanbites.com/sofrito-recipe/
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Thank you very much for your wonderful site. The recipes are usually different and great. I do have a complaint about your site, though. That window labeled “My Latest Recipes” that starts automatically makes me crazy. I’m sure you were told that is is good to attract attention, but to me, it distracts from the rest of you page. Sometimes I just shut your page down out of frustration at the intrusion to my concentration with your otherwise excellent site.
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I understand. Try activating your ad blocker for a more pleasant experience.
I ordered the sazon, sofrito and gandules online just so I can make this dish. Being lazy about making the sofrito from scratch. It just seems so great, I can’t wait to try this.
My question is about the sofrito I ordered online : Goya Recaito & Goya Sofrito Cooking Base came in a set. The Sofrito is red and the Recaito is green. I’m wondering if I should mix them because in your recipe, the sofrito is green. Thanks.
Yes, you can equally mix both. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
I made this tonight. It was quite good, but did not have as much “heat” as I expected. Maybe sofrito has no heat. I don’t know. I didn’t do the homemade sofrito so that’s a difference from your recipe. I did 2 Tablespoons of the Goya Sofrito and 1 Tablespoon of the Goya Recaito.
My teenager has a keen palate. He’s mostly about the Mexican cuisine. He could eat it every day, but he’s not into the rice part of it. I’ve made some good Mexican rice in my day. The red, the green. Sometimes I impress myself with the results. But he’s always meh on the rice.
This rice- he loved this rice. He wolfed it down. We all loved it. I might have to spice it up more, but this is definitely the rice I will be making from now on.