Puerto Rican rice dishes are the backbone of almost every meal on the island, from the simplest weeknight bowl to the dish that anchors a holiday table. Rice shows up in more forms in Puerto Rican cooking than in almost any other cuisine, plain, seasoned, stewed with beans, simmered into soup, dressed up with seafood, or turned sweet for dessert. This roundup moves from everyday basics to special-occasion dishes, so whether you need something on the table in twenty minutes or you're planning something bigger, there's a rice dish here for it.
Before diving into the rice dishes themselves, one companion deserves a mention: stewed beans. They're the faithful sidekick to almost every rice dish on this list, and beans and rice together aren't just tradition; they form a complete protein, which makes this pairing as practical as it is classic. Make extra beans at the beginning of the week; you will have plenty to keep on hand to pair with any of the following dishes, and you can freeze what you don't use for next week or work lunches.
So far, we've been talking about rice mixed with beans, but rice pairs just as well with meat. The following dishes explore that combination.
Rice shows up at dessert too, spiced and sweetened into something worth saving room for.
