Puerto Rican Rice and Beans (Habichuelas Guisadas)
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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans are thick, creamy and flavorful! The tender pinto beans are simmered with potatoes and ham in a sofrito and tomato based sauce, then served over rice. It’s a Puerto Rican staple, also known as Habichuelas Guisadas or stewed beans.
Quick and easy Puerto Rican rice and beans recipe is my favorite Latin American meal. It’s loaded with mouthwatering pinto beans and rice with ham and potatoes in every bite!
Habichuelas: Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
Habichuelas is a fast and filling Puerto Rican rice and beans recipe that’s great for weeknight dinner. It smells heavenly! The potatoes and rice soak up all the flavorful sauce, and it’s so irresistible!
How to make Puerto Rican rice and beans
This Habichuelas recipe is so easy and ready in a pinch!
- Start with sautéing sofrito for 2 minutes.
- Add chopped ham and sauté until it starts to caramelize.
- Add tomato sauce, beans, chicken stock and sazon seasoning.
- Stir in potatoes and season with oregano and adobo seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cooked through.
Taste test and season with salt in the last minute of cooking. You want to make sure you’re seasoning your stewed beans with the perfect amounts of salt.
Key Ingredients:
Traditional Puerto Rican white rice and beans are stewed beans served over rice. The broth is flavored by tomato sauce, sofrito, sazon, adobo seasoning and other spices.
Optional Additions:
- carrots
- green olives
- sweet potatoes
- Caribbean pumpkin (Calabaza)
What Beans Do You Use for Puerto Rican Red Beans and Rice?
Pinto beans are what we have used in this recipe. Red beans, pink beans or kidney beans all work well for this recipe.
Stewed Beans
I used Goya canned beans for a quick meal. It’s best to find canned beans that have no added salt so you have better control over how much salt goes in. Drain the liquid before using the beans.
In order to concentrate the flavors, you want to simmer your beans with low heat. I recommend using the lowest possible setting on your stove so that your sauce won’t dry out like boiling.
Rice
My favorite kind to use is Basmati rice because of how fluffy it gets. You can use pretty much any white rice such as jasmine rice or long grain rice. You can even use brown rice or red rice if you prefer.
I like fluffy rice as it can best soak up the sauce. So comforting and delicious!
Careful with the Salt
Don’t add any salt until the stewed beans are fully cooked.
Sofrito, chicken stock and some of the seasonings have salt in them ready, and it’s easy to overdo it if you salt your dish too early. Taste and adjust accordingly.
How to Store Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
This recipe is great for leftovers. You can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. Or you can freeze them for later quickie meals.
The sauce will be soaked up by potatoes so you may need to add extra chicken stock or water when reheating in the pan.
Habichuelas Guisadas
This dish goes by many names. Besides Habichuelas Guisadas and Puerto Rican Rice Beans, it’s also called Arroz Con Habichuelas and Stewed Beans.
Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons sofrito
- 3/4 cup ham, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 cans pinto beans, about 14 oz each, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ pound potatoes, peeled and chopped
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 packet sazon seasoning
- 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- salt and pepper, optional
- steamed rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sofrito and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add chopped ham and sauté until it starts to caramelize.
- Add tomato sauce, beans, chicken stock and sazon seasoning.
- Stir in potatoes and season with oregano and adobo seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cooked through.
- Tate and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve warm over rice.
Please read our nutrition disclaimer.
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Delicious!!!
Really Good! Didn’t have potatoes, and it worked out fine. Very tasty.
Hi Joe, Great to hear! Thanks so much for your comment and glad you enjoyed.
Yum! My entire family loves this recipe so much!
Hi Nellie, Great to hear thanks for letting me know!