Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas)
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT25M
Total time: PT30M
Rating
4.95 stars (100 reviews)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup country ham or bacon, diced ( (optional))
1/3 cup sofrito
3 cups water or low sodium chicken broth
1 ½ tsp sazón con achiote y culantro
1 cube chicken bouillon (or more if needed)
2 tbsp tomato paste (or 1/3 cup tomato sauce)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning or oregano (either one works)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
2-3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons pimento stuffed olives (optional)
15 ounce can Pigeon Peas (Gandules), drained and rinsed (or 2 cups of fresh or frozen)
2 cups parboiled rice
Categories
Side Dish
Steps
Heat your caldero or Dutch oven to medium heat, and add your olive oil, bacon/ham (if using) and sofrito. Stir constantly until fragrant and tender, but not browned, about 4 minutes.
Next add in the Sazon, tomato sauce or paste and chicken bouillon. Stir to combine.
Add in the drained pigeon peas, Italian seasoning or oregano, bay leaves, and water/broth. Add the cilantro and/or olives, if using. Allow the liquid to come up to a boil, and taste it for salt. If it needs more saltiness, add in another chicken bouillon cube. You want this liquid to be highly seasoned, as it will determine the final seasoning of the rice.
Once the mixture is boiling, add the rice. Stir the rice to get it submerged and distribute the pigeon peas throughout.
Cover and allow the rice to absorb all the visible liquid. Once most of the visible surface liquid is absorbed, stir the rice, and cover again. Lower the flame to low, and allow it to steam for 20-25 minutes. It's done with all the liquid is absorbed and the grains are fluffy and fully cooked.
Reviews
Mark L. (Barcelona, Spain) on 2025-11-17 (5 stars): The best I ever made... and my parents taught me a great recipe, but wanted to try something different. And this one was very good!
Kode Pos on 2025-08-26 (5 stars): seems very delicious, i'll try the recipes fot the breakfast. thank you
Ravi on 2025-07-10 (5 stars): Thanks for the great recipe! I followed it all except I didn't have anything but jasmine rice so I took your 2:1 ratio and just added 1 more cup of chicken broth since your recipe called for 3 cups of water or broth. The smells of the seasoning were out of this world, even though my crazy burners got too hot on med low and low so I had to switch pans in the beginning to avoid the recaito burning out. Ended up just turning off completely so the rice would steam with the pans heat. Thanks again.
Tiffany P on 2025-06-08 (5 stars): Can you use pancetta instead of bacon? I don’t mind using bacon or country ham, I was just wondering. Thank you
Sonya on 2025-05-29 (5 stars): Unfortunately, some of us did not grow up in the kitchen. On our way to becoming a "real cook", it helps to have a baseline to start since we are now grown and don't have that face to face/hand to hand guidance that you were lucky to receive. I find that I can follow a recipe and then the next time around I might tweak it based on my tasting and THEN we can move on to catching our own rhythm and probably don't need to measure anymore. Please be kind to those of us who were kicked out the kitchen or were not able to learn as a child. That's all cultures--including Mexicans. The majority of my Mexican friends are in the same boat as i am. Recipes help us on the learning curve until we catch up to the greats. :-)
Ciji Castro on 2025-03-16 (5 stars): Try using Annatto Oil (Aceite de Achiote) instead of olive oil for a more authentic flavor! https://www.domesticgourmet.com/product/organic-annatto-oil/
carmine nunzi on 2025-02-12 (5 stars): Wow, not only was it nice of you to share this recipe, but so nice of you to take of your time and answer so many of the comments. I enjoyed reading through the comments, it was fun.
carmine nunzi on 2025-02-12 (5 stars): Did he like it? The rice and gandulas Alone it’s not sufficient. It should be served with either chicken, steak or pork chops. Some with riped fried plantains would be delicious.
kampus on 2023-07-03 (5 stars): Really nice recipe! I'll try this one
