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    Home » Recipes » Puerto Rican Holiday and Seasonal Recipes

    Christmas Recipes

    Puerto Rican Christmas is an explosion of flavor, family, and tradition. The food is rich, hearty, and often made days in advance as part of the celebration.

    You’ll find tables stacked with Instant Pot Pernil (Pork Roast), Arroz con Gandules, and plenty of Coquito flowing. Dishes like Guineítos en Escabeche and Tembleque complete the festive feast.

    • Two glasses of cookies-and-cream coquito with crushed-cookie rims, surrounded by Oreo cookies and coquito ingredients, blurred in the background.
      Bacardi Gold Cookies and Cream Coquito
    • Two rock glassed filled with pistachio coquito and decorated with cinnamon sugar on the rims. A Puerto Rican Christmas decorated bottle sits behind them along with a bottle of regular coquito and a bottle of rum.
      Pistachio Coquito
    • Top view of a molded pistachio tembleque garnished with shredded coconut and chopped pistachios on a white plate.
      Pistachio Tembleque
    • Overhead view of Puerto Rican ropa vieja (shredded beef stew) with white rice, stewed beans, and tomato slices, on a plate.
      Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef Recipe)
    • Plate of Pecan Crusted Cheesecake and Guava Berry Coulis.
      Pecan Crusted Cheesecake with Guava Berry Coulis
    • Close-up of a forkful of arroz mamposteao, Puerto Rican rice and beans, held above a bowl on a blue patterned cloth.
      Mamposteao, a Puerto Rican Leftover Rice Comfort Food
    • Guineitos en escabeche served in a bowl with onions and green olives, a traditional Puerto Rican green banana salad
      Guineitos en Escabeche, Puerto Rican Pickled Green Bananas
    • A hand holding a smashed plantain. The rest of the plantains are in a towel-lined bowl sits behind it.
      Tostones de Plátano (Puerto Rican Smashed Fried Plantains)
    • a spoon full of black beans
      Puerto Rican Black Beans. Frijoles Negros
    • Red Dutch oven filled with chicken in a stew-like broth with vegetables and rice. Serving bowls are placed near the pot.
      Asopao de Pollo, Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice Soup
    • A fork full of Pernil with a large serving bowl, avocados, dinner rolls, and small serving bowls with meat on the background.
      Instant Pot Puerto Rican Pernil (Pork Roast)
    • A spoon full of stewed beans hovering over a bowl of cooked beans.
      Habichuelas Guisadas, (Puerto Rican Stewed Beans)
    • Small mason jar filled with Puerto Rican Garlic Paste with a jar of oregano and a jar of coriander seeds at either side of it. A small wooden bowl with garlic paste sits in front of the mason jar with garlic paste as well as a few garlic cloves.
      Puerto Rican Garlic Paste
    • A half eaten polvoron
      Delicious and Nutty Keto-firendly Puerto Rican Polvorones
    • A picture of a slice of hojaldre with a fork inserted in it about to take a piece out.
      Puerto Rican Spice Cake; Hojaldre
    • Zucchini en escabeche in a platter
      Zucchini en Escabeche, Pickled Zucchini
    • Wooden mortar stuffed to the top with mofongo.
      Puerto Rican Mofongo Recipe
    • empanadas inside a paper towel lined bowl.
      Puerto Rican Empanadillas
    • A plate with four blondies
      The Best Blondies EVER!!!
    • mason jar filled with freshly made mojo. There is a blue kitchen towel on the right and leftover lime and lemon juice behind the jar of mojo.
      Mojo Marinade
    • A blue and white dessert plate with a slice of bread pudding and caramel sauce on top of it.
      Budín de Pan (Puerto Rican Bread Pudding)
    • A bottle of achiote oil is at the center of the image, with a mason jar full of achiote seeds and a bottle of oil behind it.
      Achiote Oil
    • Completed Sofrito sitting on a table with other ingredients to make sofrito.
      Puerto Rican Homemade Sofrito
    • Two highball glasses of sangria decorated with a fruit skewer of maraschino cherries, oranges, kiwi, and plums.
      Tropical Red Sangria with Rum
    • Hand holding a rock glass full of coquito and ice with rim decorated with cinnamon sugar.
      Puerto Rican Coquito
    • A hand holding a fried bacalaito.
      Bacalaitos, Puerto Rican Cod Fritters
    • Large pot with cooked yellow rice.
      Arroz Amarillo, Puerto Rican Yellow Rice
    • Wooden spoon with cooked beans hovering over a pot of rehydrated beans.
      Rehydrated Beans
    • Bowl of Caldo Gallego served in bowls.
      Caldo Gallego, Galician Broth
    • A blue and white plate sitting on a table, with Tembleque
      Quick and Easy, Guilt-free Puerto Rican Tembleque
    • A plate of beer braised short ribs
      Tender and Lucious Dutch Oven Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
    • a cake plate filled guava delight cakes
      Spongy and Moist Puerto Rican Guava Delight Cakes
    • Sancocho served in two bowls, with the large Dutch oven full of the soup and raw vegetable ingredients decorating the table.
      Sancocho, Puerto Rican Stew
    • two ceramic blue dipping saucers with api-li-mojili
      Ají-li-mojíli
    • Closeup of Sweet Potato Casserole
      The Easiest Sweet Potato Casserole You Could Ever Make
    • Crispy Roasted Chicken
      Amazing, Crispy, Roasted Chicken with Apples, Dates, and Bacon
    • A fork holding a buffalo chicken meatball dipped in buffalo sauce.
      Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
    • A plate of polvorones cookies with three semi-stacked cookies on top of the table resting in front of the plate.
      Puerto Rican Polvorones (Shortbread Cookies)
    • Two small plates with individual tembleques dusted with cinnamon and toasted coconut garnishes. Plates sit over a golden glitter fabric.
      Authentic Puerto Rican Tembleque de Coco
    • Plate with seared lamb chops and serving tongs.
      Pan-Seared Lamb Loin Chops
    • Green Dutch oven filled with cooked arroz con pollo. There is a wooden spoon resting on the handle of the Dutch oven as well as a black kitchen towel on the other handle.
      Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo, Chicken and Rice
    • Servings of arroz con dulce.
      Arroz con Dulce, Puerto Rican Rice Pudding

    Posts pagination

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    Woman holding a wooden spoon and smiling in a kitchen with hanging utensils and a vase of flowers on the counter.

    Hola! I'm Zoe. I love all things food and enjoy cooking. I created this site to reconnect with my Puerto Rican heritage while living in the United States. This is a great place to reconnect if you are floating in the diaspora. I would love to hear from you!

    About Zoe →

    Puerto Rican Christmas

    • Two glasses of cookies-and-cream coquito with crushed-cookie rims, surrounded by Oreo cookies and coquito ingredients, blurred in the background.
      Bacardi Gold Cookies and Cream Coquito
    • Top view of a molded pistachio tembleque garnished with shredded coconut and chopped pistachios on a white plate.
      Pistachio Tembleque
    • Overhead view of Puerto Rican ropa vieja (shredded beef stew) with white rice, stewed beans, and tomato slices, on a plate.
      Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef Recipe)
    • A close-up of pumpkin fritters coated in cinnamon sugar, one with a bite showing its bright orange, fluffy center, on a white plate over a green dotted napkin.
      Pumpkin Fritters, Barriguitas de Vieja (Old Lady Bellies)
    • Plates of biftec encebollado with onions, avocado, and yuca served family-style.
      Biftec Encebollado (Puerto Rican Steak and Onions)
    • Close-up of a forkful of arroz mamposteao, Puerto Rican rice and beans, held above a bowl on a blue patterned cloth.
      Mamposteao, a Puerto Rican Leftover Rice Comfort Food

    Popular Recipes

    • A plate of polvorones cookies with three semi-stacked cookies on top of the table resting in front of the plate.
      Puerto Rican Polvorones (Shortbread Cookies)
    • A blue and white dessert plate with a slice of bread pudding and caramel sauce on top of it.
      Budín de Pan (Puerto Rican Bread Pudding)
    • Close-up of a roasted chicken thigh served with guineos en escabeche, cherry tomatoes, and a side of macaroni salad partially visible.
      Puerto Rican Pollo Asado, Oven-Roasted Chicken
    • Close-up of shrimp and scallop stew over white rice, black beans, and fried sweet plantain, with a side of avocado and extra stew in the background.
      Quick Shrimp and Scallop Stew
    • A fork full of Pernil with a large serving bowl, avocados, dinner rolls, and small serving bowls with meat on the background.
      Instant Pot Puerto Rican Pernil (Pork Roast)
    • A hand holding a white bowl of funche topped with a dab of butter.
      Funche, Puerto Rican Grits

    I’d love to hear from you! Did you try this recipe? Leave a review and rating below. Let’s connect on Instagram, and don’t forget to join my weekly email list for fresh new recipes.

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