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.
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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
- 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.
- In your blender container, add onions.
- Add garlic
- Cubanelle peppers.
- Oil
- Peppercorns, sazon, pinch of salt.
- Vinegar, in this case, or lemon juice.
- Add your herbs.
- And blend.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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! Did you know you could bookmark this recipe on your browser or save it to Pinterest for later?!
Other Puerto Rican Inspiration Recipes
Recipe
Sofrito
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
Damarys says
Sorry but traditional sofrito does not include vinegar or any fat. Nor salt and pepper. Onion, cubanelle, culantro(recao), oregano, Spanish thyme, garlic, ajies dulces (small sweet peppers)
Damaris Mendez says
I agree with you Damarys, no fat in the sofrito and the cumin is optional.
Anthony García says
So tell me how to make a really good sofrito
Mm says
I agree with you Damarys… don’t know where they get their receipt from but as you said there is non of those extra stuff. And I never heard of it being cooked and stored
Margie says
I agree with Damary. I do mine just the way my Mother.and grandmother, used to do it. No cabanelle, no salt and pepper. All from the farm, right there in the back of the house.
Zoe Morman says
Thank you, Damarys. I tried to maintain as many traditional ingredients in my recipe, but I do address that where I live, I do not have access to some of these ingredients. I also emphasize that sofrito is as individual as the person making it, and I use different ingredients for that reason. I know my recipe is not a traditional recipe. The post intended to introduce sofrito to someone who does not know what sofrito is or wants a recipe they could build upon and make their own. I did not grow up with my mother's or grandmother's sofrito. And I have been reconnecting with my culture by taking my culinary experience and recreating the recipes I remember.
Thank you for your comments; I always look for ways to improve my cooking and recipes. So I will try your way the next time I make sofrito.
Luis D Maymi says
You probably got this recipe from a site that thinks this is Sofrito. In order to make Sofrito you need 4 ingredients.
1. Cubanelle peppers
2. Onion
3. Garlic
4. Culantro
If you want to make it with a richer flavor you can add cilantro and substitute the cubanelle peppers with Bell peppers (3 green for every 3 colored)
Zoe Morman says
Thank you, Luis! I will try this next time as well.
Carmen Molina says
So true that this recepie is so.different from mine. One thing is that I had never heard you can add peppercorn to sofrito. Nor do you have to add parsley. Parsley I more of an Italian ingredient for foods. True sofrito is simply: onion, garlic, bell peppers, red cooked peppers, cilantro or culantro, olives. This is just about it. The rest of the spices may be added according to what you are cooking. Also, you do not have to add olive oil to sofrito. Just add water.
Marla says
Not exactly like my recipe but one thing I have learned is that each person makes sofrito their own. I sometimes add celery and oregano. I've checked out dominican and cuban variations and have borrowed ideas from both. Sofrito is very personal and there is no "perfect" or "correct" way.
Zoe Morman says
Thank you, Marla. The point of the post is that sofrito is based on individual tastes. My goal for this post is to provide a guide to sofrito for those who never have used or do not know what sofrito is. I have never claimed that my sofrito is THE sofrito recipe—I emphasis to the reader to add or remove any ingredient they desire.
Mama says
Everyone has their own way of making Sofrito, but I agree. Some of the ingredients is a little bit too strong so the basics is the best you just can tweak it a little bit a little bit more cilantro, a red pepper, Recow I add a little bit more of those , it doesn’t become overpowering when you’re cooking certain foods, but yet you still have that Sofrito taste.
Zoe Morman says
Thank you, Mama says!
Aracely’s Ortega says
Puerto Rican sofrito does not have any oregano or parsley oil or fat. Not a good article at all , 80percent of ingredients are wrong.
Jesus says
As a son of a jibaro... no, just no.
Tiff says
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 says
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 says
Me encanta!
Nichye torres says
Puerto rican don't use citrus juice Oil salt pepper or parsley
Vincent says
Love to try recipes like this! It must be good!
Zoe Morman says
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
Norberto Pena says
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
Mary Jo Montijo says
Is it possible to use a substitute for peppers in Sofrito? I do not like peppers of any kind.
Thanks!
Zoe Morman says
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!