Arroz apastelado is a Puerto Rican rice dish made with pigeon peas and green bananas. It is basically like combining arroz con gandules and pasteles into one dish. It is popular during the holiday season and has all of the flavors of Christmas in Puerto Rico!

What is arroz apastelado?

Arroz apastelado is a savory dish made with rice, pigeon peas, and green bananas. Typically, pork is added but it can be substituted with chicken or any protein of your choice.

To achieve its traditional yellow color, annatto oil or aceite de achiote is added but you can also use sazón. Annatto is achiote or bija in Spanish. Other ingredients like sofrito, herbs, and spices give this delicious dish bold flavor!

Arroz apastelado ingredients:

• Rice
• Green bananas, finely grated
• Adobo
• Sazón
• Chicken bouillon
• Sofrito
• Ham or bacon
• Gandules
• Pimientos morrones
• Olives

Keep scrolling down for the full recipe, at the bottom of this post!

How to make arroz apastelado?

Authentic arroz apastelado typically has bacon and pork in it. However, I prefer to omit the pork. It’s healthier and honestly tastes just as good! I like to add turkey bacon and turkey ham. But you decide what works best for you!

What is a caldero?

To cook the arroz apastelado you will need a caldero. A caldero is an aluminum pot with rounded sides, a tight fitting lid and superior heat distribution. Calderos are used to cook rice, beans, braise meat and also simmer stews and soups. Basically, you can cook ANYTHING in a caldero and every Puerto Rican household has one. 

Calderos are rich in history and also culture. They are passed down generation to generation and are cherished like prized possessions in most families. “This was my Abuela’s caldero,” I’d sometimes hear Mami say proudly as she cooked her arroces and guisados. 

Make the masa

First, I like to make the green banana puree or masa. Peel the green bananas and grate them using the smallest holes of a box grater. The ones that look like star-shaped spikes. Add the chicken bouillon and water to a small cup. Stir to combine. Season the puree with the adobo, sazon, onion powder, and chicken bouillon mixture. Mix until well combined, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Make the rice

Then, place a caldero over medium high heat and add the meats, sofrito, and aromatics. Next, add the water or stock, adobo, sazón, and other seasonings. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. The liquid should be heavily seasoned to ensure very flavorful rice! Then, add rice, gandules, olives, pimientos morrones and rice. Bring to a boil, add the banana puree or masa, place a banana leaf on top, cover, and reduce heat to low. Allow the rice to cook for 25 minutes, covered.

After 25 minutes, uncover the caldero and remove the banana leaf and cilantro springs. Carefully fluff the rice by lifting and flipping over spoonfuls of rice with a large kitchen spoon. The banana puree should be fully cooked through and the grains of rice should be fluffy. Serve and enjoy. ¡Buen provecho!

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Arroz Apastelado (Rice with Green Bananas)

Arroz apastelado is a Puerto Rican rice dish made with pigeon peas and green bananas. It is basically like combining arroz con gandules and pasteles into one dish. It is popular during the holiday season and has all of the flavors of Christmas in Puerto Rico!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 Caldero
• 1 cheese grater

Ingredients

  

Green Banana Puree (Masa)

• 2 green bananas finely grated
• 1/2 tsp adobo
• 1/2 tsp sazon
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
• 1 tbsp water

Rice

• 2 cups Jasmine rice
• 2 tbsp annatto oil see notes
• 1/4 cup sofrito
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon Better than Bouillon
• 3 cups water or homemade chicken stock
• 7 oz gandules (pigeon peas) half of one 15 oz can
• 2 tbsp pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
• 2 tbsp roasted red peppers (pimiento morrones) optional
• 1 bay leaf optional
• 1/2 tbsp adobo
• 1/2 tbsp sazon
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ground oregano
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste, if necessary
• 4 sprigs fresh cilantro optional
• 1 banana leaf

Instructions

 

Green Banana Puree (Masa)

• Peel the green bananas and grate them using the smallest holes of a box grater. The ones that look like star-shaped spikes.
• Add the chicken bouillon and water to a small cup. Stir to combine.
• Season the puree with the adobo, sazon, onion powder, and chicken bouillon mixture.
• Mix until well combined, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Rice

• Place your caldero over medium high heat and add the annatto oil, turkey bacon, and turkey ham. Cook until golden brown, 3-5 minutes.
• Add the sofrito, tomato sauce and chicken bouillon. Stir for about 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add the water or stock and seasonings. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. The liquid should be heavily seasoned to ensure very flavorful rice!
• Add gandules, olives, roasted red peppers, and bay leaf (if using).
• Add the rice. Stir well to evenly distribute the rice and pigeon peas. Add fresh cilantro on top. Allow this to boil for 3-5 minutes.
• Once some of the liquid has dissolved, pour the green banana puree on top and smooth it over with a large spoon. Place the banana leaf on top.
• Cover the pot and lower the heat to medium low. Allow the rice to cook for 25 minutes, covered.
• After 25 minutes, uncover the caldero and remove the banana leaf and cilantro springs.
• Carefully fluff the rice by lifting and flipping over spoonfuls of rice with a large kitchen spoon. The banana puree should be fully cooked through and the grains of rice should be fluffy.
• Serve and enjoy. ¡Buen provecho!

Notes

Tips:

If your rice is too wet and mushy (amogollao) that means you added too much liquid. The best way to fix this is to uncover it and cook for about 10 minutes, uncovered on super low heat. This will allow some of the excess moisture to evaporate. But don’t keep it on the heat for too long or the rice will overcook.

 

If your rice is too grainy and the grains are hard in the center, that means you added too little liquid. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cook covered for 15 more minutes. This should fix it. If it’s still grainy, repeat the steps.

 

Annatto Oil:

To make annatto oil, simply warm annatto seeds in your oil of choice. Allow the oil to warm over low heat for about 5 minutes. You could also add aromatics like garlic, cilantro, culantro and black peppercorns. Allow the oil to cool and strain into a glass bottle. Store at room temperature for up to 2 months. See full recipe here.

Keyword arroz apastelado, holiday recipes, Puerto Rican recipes, rice with green bananas

Check out more holiday recipes!

Coquito (Vegan Coconut Eggnog)

Pastelón de Maduro (Plantain Lasagna)

Aceite de Achiote (Annatto Oil)

Jamón con Piña (Pineapple Glazed Ham)

Ensalada de Coditos (Macaroni Salad)

Ensalada de Papa (Potato Salad)

Guineitos en Escabeche (Marinated Green Banana Salad)

Pastel al Horno (Easy Pasteles)

Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)

Pavochón (Puerto Rican Style Turkey)

Pollo al Horno (Baked Chicken)