Arroz con gandules along with pernil is the national dish of Puerto Rico. It’s a combination of rice and pigeon peas cooked with aromatic sofrito, herbs and spices. Its popularity compares to no other dish in Puerto Rico. No matter the occasion, you will always find a caldero of arroz con gandules at every party or family gathering.
What is arroz con gandules?
Arroz con gandules is a savory dish made with yellow rice and pigeon peas. To achieve its traditional yellow color, achiote oil is added but you can also use sazón. Achiote is annatto in Spanish. Other ingredients like sofrito, herbs and spices give this delicious dish bold flavor!
How to make arroz con gandules?
Everyone has their own version of arroz con gandules. Authentic arroz con gandules typically has ham or bacon in it. However, I prefer to omit the pork. It’s healthier and honestly tastes just as good! But you decide what works best for you!
To cook the arroz con gandules 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.
First, place your caldero over medium heat and add your aromatics. Next, add the water or stock and seasonings. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. The liquid should be heavily seasoned to ensure very flavorful rice! Then, add gandules, olives, and rice. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Allow the rice to cook for 25 minutes, covered.
Ingredients for making rice with pigeon peas:
- Rice
- Gandules (pigeon peas)
- Sofrito
- Tomato sauce
- Chicken bouillon paste
- Gandules (pigeon peas)
- Pimento stuffed olives
- Bay leaf
- Adobo, Healthy Rican
- Sazón, Healthy Rican
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Ground oregano
- Cumin
- Cilantro
I love to use Healthy Rican seasonings because they are free of harmful ingredients like MSG and dyes. Use my code: madewithsazon for 10% off your Healthy Rican order!
Why is my arroz con gandules mushy?
If your rice is mushy, it means you added too much liquid to the pot. In the flip side, if you add too little liquid, the rice will be grainy and also hard in the center. It’s very important to get the ratio of rice to water perfect.
This will also depend on what type of rice you are using. My favorite rice to use is Jasmine rice. This rice requires 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice. Make sure you follow the cooking instructions on your package of rice.
Can I make arroz con gandules without pork?
Yes! In fact, I never add pork to my arroz con gandules and it’s just as flavorful as the rest of the recipes out here!
The key to achieving maximum flavor is not pork but SOFRITO! I use my mother’s sofrito recipe for all of my food and it really takes my dishes to the next level! Mami’s sofrito is top notch! Be sure to give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
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Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas)
Equipment
- 1 Caldero
Ingredients
- 2 tazas Jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp achiote oil see notes
- 1/4 taza sofrito
- 1/4 taza tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon paste Better than bouillon
- 3 tazas water or homemade chicken stock
- 15 oz gandules (pigeon peas)
- 2 tbsp pimento stuffed olives
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1/2 tbsp adobo Healthy Rican
- 1/2 tbsp sazón Healthy Rican
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- sal to taste
- 4-5 sprigs fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Place your caldero over medium heat and add your achiote oil, sofrito, tomato sauce and chicken bouillon paste. 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 and bay leaf (if using). Bring to a boil.
- Add the rice. Stir well to evenly distribute the rice and pigeon peas. Add fresh cilantro on top and cover. Lower the heat to medium low.
- Allow the rice to cook for 25 minutes, covered.
- After 25 minutes, uncover the caldero and remove the cilantro springs.
- Carefully fluff the rice by lifting and flipping over spoonfuls of rice with a large kitchen spoon. The grains of rice should be fluffy and fully cooked.
Video
Notas
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.ACHIOTE OIL
To make achiote 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 3 months.HEALTHY RICAN DISCOUNT:
I love to use Healthy Rican seasonings because they are free of harmful ingredients like MSG and dyes. Use my code: madewithsazon for 10% off your Healthy Rican order!¡Más recetas Latinas!
Churrasco with Chimichurri Sauce
Alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Fritters)
Bacalaitos (Cod Fish Fritters)
Puerto Rican Potato Salad (Ensalada de Papa)
Puerto Rican Meatballs In Sofrito Sauce
Puerto Rican Beans (Habichuelas Guisadas)
Pollo al Horno (Baked Chicken)
Spanish 
English 
Thank you for sharing!
Yes I am happy to share my recipes! Thank you so much for the love! I hope you enjoy!
Do you drain you peas if using them? I’m goingvto try this recipe for my son. He doesn’t like Pigeon peas. If I don’t use them should I add my liquid. I’m half PR but can’t make rice for the life of me . IkIk I need to hand in my PR card. Lol
Yes I drain the pigeon peas because the canned liquid is slimy. If you don’t add the pigeon peas just follow the recipe as is. Water ratio depends on the type of rice you use. Don’t worry, practice makes perfect! Please let me know how it turns out!
Trying to use this to meal prep my bfs lunch (I’m Arab and don’t know how to cook his type of food) what should I serve this with for a work lunch ?
Hello! Thank you for visiting my website. This rice dish pairs well with baked chicken (pollo al horno). Please leave a 5 star rating if you like this recipe, I would greatly appreciate it!
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I made this with your Pollo al Horno and both were so delicious! I love how easy both recipes are and yet the flavor packs a punch. My family really enjoyed the meal and both recipes will be added to our rotation. Thank you!
Thank you Lynsey! I’m so happy you enjoyed these recipes. Pollo al horno and arroz con gandules go perfectly together!
Easy recipe and very good
Thank you so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it.
This was the best recipe I have ever made!! Thank you for sharing!!
Q:
I’m making rice for a party. How much of rice and ingredients do I use?
For about 10 people, I would cook 5 cups of rice. If you are feeding more people adjust accordingly. Also, make sure to use a pot big enough to cook a large quantity of rice because it will double in size as it cooks. Enjoy!
She knows what she is doing. As soon as she gave me this recipe I started to make it for my my brother baby shower and let me tell you when I went to the baby shower with this arroz con gandules they thought I bought it and when I told them I I learn this recipe from a Puerto Rican chef on Instagram they was all shock how good it was. So I wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this amazing recipe and i look forward to cooking more of your yummy delicious recipes.
Thank you Michael for your kind words! This recipe is definitely one of my favorites. I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it so much!
El mío lo hice con 1/2 sodio. Agregué tocino y camerones al lado. ¡PERFECTO, OTRA VEZ!☆☆☆☆☆
Gracias mi amor! I am so happy you are enjoying my recipes! Thank you so much for the love!