Girl Meets Fire

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Traditional Puerto Rican Classics
  • About me
  • Subscribe

subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Traditional Puerto Rican Classics
  • About me
  • Subscribe

×
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.

  • Close-up of low-carb polvorones broken open on a terrazzo surface showing their tender crumb, with more cookies and a pink bowl in the background.
    Low-Carb Polvorones
  • Hand holding a peanut butter chocolate chip blondie broken in half to reveal a dense, chewy interior with visible chocolate chips, pecans, and peanut butter pieces, with a full tray of cut blondies on parchment paper in the background.
    Peanut Butter Blondies
  • Three stacked panetela de guayaba bars on a gray plate showing the guava paste layer, with a blue linen and striped wood cutting board in the background.
    Puerto Rican Guava Cakes (Panetela de Guayaba)
  • Cooked gandules (pigeon peas) with split skins draining in wire mesh strainer over a stainless steel pot.
    Gandules (Pigeon Peas)
  • Overhead view of Puerto Rican arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans) in glass bowl and two white bowls with avocado slices and peach peonies.
    Arroz con Habichuelas (Puerto Rican Rice with Beans)
  • Arroz con gandules covered with banana leaves, served alongside carne frita on a holiday table.
    Arroz Con Gandules Recipe (Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas)
  • Collage of traditional Puerto Rican Christmas dishes including pernil, arroz con gandules, coquito, tembleque, arroz con dulce, and guineitos en escabeche, with a banner that reads “15 Essential Puerto Rican Christmas Recipes.”
    15 Puerto Rican Christmas Essentials (And a Few Delicious Extras)
  • 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
  • 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)
  • 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
  • Hand holding a rock glass full of coquito and ice with rim decorated with cinnamon sugar.
    Puerto Rican 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

Posts pagination

1 2 Next page
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

  • Close-up of low-carb polvorones broken open on a terrazzo surface showing their tender crumb, with more cookies and a pink bowl in the background.
    Low-Carb Polvorones
  • Hand holding a peanut butter chocolate chip blondie broken in half to reveal a dense, chewy interior with visible chocolate chips, pecans, and peanut butter pieces, with a full tray of cut blondies on parchment paper in the background.
    Peanut Butter Blondies
  • Three stacked panetela de guayaba bars on a gray plate showing the guava paste layer, with a blue linen and striped wood cutting board in the background.
    Puerto Rican Guava Cakes (Panetela de Guayaba)
  • Overhead view of Puerto Rican arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans) in glass bowl and two white bowls with avocado slices and peach peonies.
    Arroz con Habichuelas (Puerto Rican Rice with Beans)
  • Cooked gandules (pigeon peas) with split skins draining in wire mesh strainer over a stainless steel pot.
    Gandules (Pigeon Peas)
  • Arroz con gandules covered with banana leaves, served alongside carne frita on a holiday table.
    Arroz Con Gandules Recipe (Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas)
See more Christmas Recipes →

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.

Footer

Get new Puerto Rican recipes in your inbox every week!

Subscribe
↑ back to top

Explore

  • About Me
  • Firestarter Planner
  • Subscribe and eBook
  • Media Kit
  • Portfolio

About

  • Contact
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of service
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © 2025 Girl Meets Fire LLC • Powered by Feast+ • This website contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, we may receive a commission in return. Girl Meets Fire LLC participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

.