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    Home » Recipes » Condiments

    Sofrito, The Not-So-Secret Puerto Rican Secret Ingredient

    Published: Jan 26, 2021 · Modified: Mar 7, 2023 by Zoe Morman · This post may contain affiliate links. ·

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sofrito is the not-so-secret Puerto Rican secret ingredient to great cooking and food. Sofrito is almost always present as a compound like the one pictured below or listed ingredients within the recipe. Like a mirepoix in French cuisine or a trinity in Creole, sofrito is the flavoring agent that ties together all the dishes.

    a batch of freshly made sofrito with some of the ingredients (cubanelle peppers, onion, herbs, and garlic) surrounding the container. this Recipe!
    Jump To
    • Three reasons why you would love this recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Variations or Substitutions
    • Step-by-step Instructions
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Other Puerto Rican Inspiration Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Three reasons why you would love this recipe

    • Extremely EASY to make: In the past, sofrito was cooked and stored, with what my mother always thought to be labor-intensive. But it is not. The best sofrito is fresh sofrito, which will lend its flavor and nutrients to the foods you prepare as you prepare them.
    • It is also very quick: 15 minutes tops!! And no expert knife skills either. All you need is a blender. I am sure puritans might disagree with me, but I believe in quick and out.
    • It will be YOUR sofrito recipe: Sofrito is a culinary signature for Puerto Ricans. We all make sofrito a bit differently. My mother didn't like cumin, but I love it. She didn't like black pepper or heavy garlic; I LOVE garlic. Sofrito is what you make it, and this recipe is a base for you to build your flavor profile.

    Ingredients

    ingredients in sofrito: onion, garlic, pepper, vinegar, oil, culantro, cilantro, parsley, salt, pepper, salon, oregano
    • Cilantro: Another flavor agent of freshness, cilantro adds to the final color.
    • Culantro: Culantro is a much deeper flavored cousin of cilantro. The leaves are long and saw-shaped. I have replaced culantro with cilantro before. But remember that cilantro has a much sweeter taste than culantro. So, it is not an exact replacement, more like a 1 part culantro for two parts cilantro. Culantro can be found at Latin markets or under specialty items in the produce department of major supermarkets.
    • Oregano: I use dried oregano because a little goes a long way. Rub the dried oregano in the palm of your hand or crush it with some salt in the pestle and mortar before adding it to the mix.
    • Onion: I prefer to use small yellow onions or sweet onions for this recipe. Red onions lose color, changing the final product's appearance as it sits in the refrigerator.
    • Cubanelle: I do not care for peppers, but by all means, add some to your recipe. I find Cubanelle peppers an exception. They look like Hungarian pepper but are mild in flavor, almost sweet.
    • Garlic: Garlic adds a bit of a bite to the recipe. Remember, you will cook as you add it to your cooking.
    • Acid: Acids combine citrus juices (lemon or bitter orange) and vinegar. I have used apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, and malt vinegar to make my sofrito, and they have all come out great. Again, it is about what you want your flavors to be like.
    • Olive Oil: I use my Extra Virgin Olive Oil or EVOO, but a virgin or pure olive oil will do the trick. You can change it up with avocado oil. The amount of oil in this recipe will not necessarily impact the final product of the beans you make with this sofrito because the amount of oil per tablespoon will be so small.
    • Parsley: Parsley gives sofrito freshness and bright green color. This is an optional ingredient. I like what it brings to the recipe so I use it.

    Variations or Substitutions

    • Pork Fat? The original sofrito called for cooking all the ingredients in rendered pork fat. Pork and many byproducts have significantly been used in the Puerto Rican kitchen. Waste-not mentality.
    • Spicy: Puerto Rican food is not "spicy" as it is flavorful. I do not think Puerto Rico is known for their off-scale hot peppers. But if you want to change your sofrito profile with some heat, add a few jalapeños to the mix. Remember, this is a raw sofrito, which, once it cooks, will render all its flavor to the food to which it has been added to. Also, remember that the hot peppers might intensify in heat as they sit, marinating with the other ingredients.
    • Cooked Sofrito:

    Step-by-step Instructions

    These are the steps to make a RAW sofrito. You can, however, cook your sofrito ahead of time.

    an image of the blender cup with onions.
    1. In your blender container, add onions.
    Immersion cup with onions and garlic
    1. Add garlic
    Immersion cup with onions, garlic, and Cubanelle pepper
    1. Cubanelle peppers.
    Adding oil to the immersion cup that has onions, garlic, and Cubanelle peppers
    1. Oil
    Immersion blender cup with onions, garlic, Cubanelle peppers, and adding peppercorns
    1. Peppercorns, sazon, pinch of salt.
    Immersion blender cup with onions, garlic, Cubanelle peppers, and adding acid.
    1. Vinegar, in this case, or lemon juice.
    Stuffing herbs into immersion blender cup.
    1. Add your herbs.
    Immersion blender inside immersion cup with ingredients for sofrito all blended.
    1. And blend.
    An image of sofrito once blended

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is Sofrito?

    Sofrito is a blended combination of key ingredients to give your food a signature Puerto Rican flavor. At its most basic, it is a mix of onions, garlic, peppers, sweet peppers, chiles, culantro, salt, pepper, vinegar (or lemon juice), and oil. Other ingredients commonly found in sofrito include; ham, salt pork, cilantro, parsley, oregano, cumin, coriander, paprika, and saffron. The individual taste of the person making it means that not all sofrito taste the same.

    What is CULANTRO?

    Culantro is a much deeper-flavored cousin of cilantro. The leaves are long and saw-shaped. I have replaced culantro with cilantro before. But remember that cilantro has a much sweeter taste than culantro. So, it is not an exact replacement, more like a 1 part culantro for two parts cilantro. Culantro can be found at Latin markets or under specialty items in the produce department of major supermarkets.

    What is Salt Pork

    Tocino, aka salt pork. If you cannot find it at your local supermarket, look for it at a Latin market or bodega. I see a much thicker cut of bacon labeled salt pork at my supermarket. Salt porks are part of the bacon-belly area of the pork, but what Puerto Ricans consider salt pork looks like the picture below. Salt pork is the fat just below the skin with the skin still attached. I only use a strip about a quarter-inch thick and score or partly cut it until I reach the skin. This is added to the frying pan and rendered for fat. Cooked long enough, the fat will shrink considerably, but your pan will have the liquid product that could be used to sweat onions, peppers, and garlic.—giving your final product depth in flavor.

    How do you use Sofrito?

    There are many ways to use sofrito. Add sofrito to sauces, stewed beans, rice pilaf, and soups and stews in the middle of the cooking process. Or use sofrito as a seasoning agent or as a marinade. I have used it on chicken, shrimp, pork, and fish with excellent results. To turn it into a marinade for lighter meats, I will add a liquid, i.e., bitter orange, lemon, or regular orange juice.

    How do you store Sofrito?

    You can fill ice cubes with sofrito and use a cube per recipe. I keep my sofrito in a mason jar, and I use it almost daily.

    I want to know what you think! Did you make this recipe? Please, leave a review and a rating below. You can also find me on Instagram! Please sign up for my email list to receive my newest and latest recipe.

    Other Puerto Rican Inspiration Recipes

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      Favorite Coquito Recipe
    • A plate of pumpkin fritters or barriguitas de vieja
      Pumpkin Fritters, Barriguitas de Vieja (Old Lady Bellies)
    • pinchos served with potato salad and collard greens
      Puerto Rican Pork Kabobs, Pinchos
    • Puerto Rican Inspired Keto Cauliflower Yellow Rice

    Recipe

    a batch of freshly made sofrito with some of the ingredients (cubanelle peppers, onion, herbs, and garlic) surrounding the container.

    Sofrito

    Zoe Morman
    Sofrito is a delicious seasoning from my native Puerto Rico.  This seasoning is used in almost anything.  It imparts a delicious flavor identity that says your cooking is from the islands.  Ultimately, sofrito isa combination of the ingredients that appeal to your taste.  
    4 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 0 minutes mins
    0 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Condiment
    Cuisine Puerto Rican
    Servings 20 ounces
    Calories 12 kcal

    Equipment

    • Immersion Blender

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 ounces peeled garlic
    • 2 teaspoons dried orégano
    • 1 onion peeled, and large diced
    • 3 cubanelle peppers
    • 1 bunch parsley
    • 1 bunch cilantro
    • 4 fresh culantro leaves
    • 1 teaspoon peppercorn
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
    • ¼ olive oil

    Instructions
     

    • Place all ingredients in a blender and puree for about 30 seconds
    • Place content in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to a month 

    Notes

    This sofrito can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for later use.  You can fill ice cube trays with the concoction, freeze them and store them in ziplock bags in the freezer.  I used it regularly, so I do not take this step, but considering the amount it yields it is a great way to preserve it. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 12kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 234mgPotassium: 41mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 169IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary Jo Montijo

      November 29, 2022 at 5:18 pm

      Is it possible to use a substitute for peppers in Sofrito? I do not like peppers of any kind.
      Thanks!

      • Zoe Morman

        December 01, 2022 at 7:10 pm

        Wow! Another person who doesn't like peppers. For a long time I thought I was the only one until I met my husband and his brother-in-law. Mary Jo, if you look through my recipes, you will see, with the exception of Sofrito and any Mexican inspired dishes, that I do not add peppers to ANYTHING. With that said, if I were to make sofrito without peppers I would use Celery instead. Play around with your ratios, to some people celery could be off-putting too. Another variation could be adding green onions like a scallion or chives. In your case, consider the flavors you like and would to most of your cooking. I hope this helps, please let me know if you try any of my suggestions!

    2. Norberto Pena

      November 29, 2022 at 3:25 am

      All I can say is that we use naranja agria which is (citrus), adobo which is basically (sea salt, pepper corn, cloves of garlic, oregano leaves) also you can add or subtract other spices to your preference, we also use as tradition sofrito which is basically ( cilantro, ajíes dulce, onion, pepper, and obviously garlic cloves) and if you wish use culantro (recao). i believe everyone is mixing a little here and a little there so all of you are right is up to your taste, so enjoy and have a joyful holidays.. love everyone with your heart like GOD loves us and don’t be petty. QUE DIOS LOS BENDIGA A TODOS, AMÉN!!! Ciao

    3. Vincent

      October 07, 2022 at 6:10 pm

      5 stars
      Love to try recipes like this! It must be good!

      • Zoe Morman

        October 08, 2022 at 3:04 pm

        I hope you like it. However, I will try the versions suggested, and there might be an edit on this post. I do love my version, and the product is quite tasty, but after further research, I see it is not quite the traditional version of sofrito

    4. Nichye torres

      September 28, 2022 at 6:00 pm

      Puerto rican don't use citrus juice Oil salt pepper or parsley

    5. Tiff

      September 22, 2022 at 11:32 am

      I've used red onion and it does NOT affect the color at all. We also don't use parsley or oil. Just some peppers (cubanelle or bell), culantro, lots of ajo (garlic), onion and a pinch of salt to pull out the natural juices from the ingredients. My tia in Camuy sometimes adds green onion if she has some on hand but that's optional and not something I put in my own. And my madrina in Caguas like to add a bit of cumin.

      I'm not saying this website's recipe is wrong, I know we have a lot of different kinds if Boricua and each region does things differently, I mean just look at how different pasteles can be, but this recipe has so many extra ingredients that it feels off, like the flavor won't be right.

      • Zoe Morman

        October 02, 2022 at 9:47 pm

        Understandable. I think part of the point of sofrito is that when you cook with it, you know something good is cooking. To me, it does that. A few people have posted how they make their sofrito, and honestly, I will try them. Although I do not have a tradition in my household of making sofrito, I am the first person to do this. And to me, this flavor works, of course, I might change it later after I try different recipes, but after all, none of us make the same sofrito.

      • Wil

        November 30, 2022 at 4:15 pm

        5 stars
        Me encanta!

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    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!

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