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    Home » Recipes

    Rice, Pasta, and Grains

    In Puerto Rican kitchens, rice is the foundation of countless meals, while pasta and grains offer creative and hearty sides. Every dish turns a simple ingredient into something rich, colorful, and flavorful.

    Cook up Arroz con Gandules, Asopao de Pollo (Chicken and Rice Stew), or Seafood Pomodoro for meals that feel like comfort food with a big island punch.

    • 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)
    • 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
    • Overhead view of Puerto Rican Crab Rice (Arroz con Jueyes) in a red Dutch oven, showing rice simmered with crab meat, olives, red peppers, and sofrito. A wooden slotted spatula rests beside the pot on a terrazzo countertop.
      Puerto Rican Crab Rice, Arroz con Jueyes
    • Close-up of Puerto Rican chicken paella with bone-in chicken thighs, longaniza sausage, pigeon peas, and sliced plantains, garnished with fresh cilantro in a large paella pan.
      Puerto Rican Chicken Paella with Sausage and Plantain
    • Close-up of Seafood Pomodoro pasta with linguine, topped with culantro gremolata and shredded Parmesan in a white bowl.
      Seafood Pomodoro Pasta with Linguine
    • A hand holding a white bowl of funche topped with a dab of butter.
      Funche, Puerto Rican Grits
    • Large pot with cooked yellow rice.
      Arroz Amarillo, Puerto Rican Yellow Rice
    • 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
    • There are three containers with cooked white rice: the top right is an orange Pyrex container with rice. Below to the left is a bowl of white rice, and at the bottom right is a small wooden bowl with "pegao," the rice that sticks to the pan.
      Arroz Blanco, Puerto Rican White Rice
    • A spoon full of stewed beans hovering over a bowl of cooked beans.
      Habichuelas Guisadas, (Puerto Rican Stewed Beans)
    • 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
    • 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
    • an overhead view of a table set with two plates of arroz habichuelas and pan seared chicken thighs
      Puerto Rican Rice with Beans
    • a spoon full of black beans
      Puerto Rican Black Beans. Frijoles Negros
    • Green Tomatillo Chicken Enchiladas
      Green Tomatillo Chicken Enchiladas, Guaranteed to Amaze!
    • stuffed shell pasta on a plate with a fork
      Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells
    • Pizza fresh out of the oven
      Steak, Mushroom, And Gorgonzola Pizza
    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

    • 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
    • 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 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)
    • 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
    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.

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