Puerto Rican beans or habichuelas guisadas are stewed beans cooked in a savory broth made with sofrito and tomato sauce. They are the perfect compliment to white rice and are enjoyed in all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
A bowl of stewed beans over rice is a hearty meal on its own and can also be served as a side dish with pretty much every Latin dish!
What do they call beans in Puerto Rico?
In Puerto Rico, we call beans habichuelas. Other Spanish speaking countries call beans frijoles.
Are habichuelas the same as kidney beans?
The word habichuelas refers to beans in general. So red beans would be habichuelas rojas and black beans would be habichuelas negras.
For Puerto Rican beans, you can use any type of beans you like. I prefer pink beans but any beans work with this recipe. White, red, black or kidney beans are great as well. We even cook chickpeas, lentils and pigeon peas (gandules) this way and they are absolutely delicious!
How to make Puerto Rican beans?
To make Puerto Rican beans, you will need beans of your choice (dry or canned), sofrito, tomato sauce, bouillon, adobo, sazon and other herbs and spices. I started using Healthy Rican seasonings recently and I love them. They are a healthy alternative to traditional Latin seasonings that contain harmful ingredients and dyes. Use my code “curlsnpearlsss” for 10% OFF your order!
I also like to add ham, calabaza, onion and fresh cilantro sprigs for added flavor. Once the beans are cooked, I remove the onion and cilantro. Then I mash some beans with calabaza to thicken the broth. Another ingredient I like to add is a pinch of sugar. I learned this from my Dominican friends and I love what it adds to the beans. But that is completely optional.
The main ingredient aside from the beans is the sofrito. Since this is the base and where most of the flavor will come from, you will want to use homemade sofrito. Check out my Puerto Rican Sofrito recipe to take your Latin dishes to the next level. My sofrito recipe has magical powers, I promise!
Add your sofrito to a pot and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and cover the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the beans thicken a bit.
Is it better to use dry or canned beans?
Dry beans will always taste better and fresher than canned beans but require more time and preparation. When using dry beans, you will have to soak them in cold water overnight.
The next day, rinse them and boil in a pot with fresh water for about 1 hour or so until the beans are tender. Then follow the recipe below as directed.
How to make vegan Puerto Rican beans?
Puerto Rican beans are typically a vegan recipe. Some people like to add diced, ham, bacon or other meats to flavor the broth but you can omit those. Also, swap out the chicken bouillon for vegetable bouillon.
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Puerto Rican Beans (Habichuelas Guisadas)
Ingredients
- 1 can beans, drained & rinsed 15.5 oz can
- 1/4 cup sofrito
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon sub vegetable bouillon, for vegan
- 1 tsp adobo
- 1 tsp sazon
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp ground oregano
- 1/2 onion optional
- 1 tbsp pimento stuffed olives optional
- 1/8 tsp sugar optional
- 1/2 potato or calabaza, diced optional
- cilantro sprigs optional
- diced ham optional
Instructions
- Add sofrito to a pot over medium high heat. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. If using diced ham, add it now and cook with the sofrito.
- Add tomato sauce, beans, olives, water, chicken bouillon, seasonings and stir to combine.
- Add onion, potatoes or calabaza, cilantro (if using) and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until beans are tender and the broth has thickened.
- Once beans are cooked, remove onion and cilantro sprigs. Serve and enjoy!
- TIP: if your bean broth is too thin, take a small scoop of beans and mash them in a bowl. Add the bean paste to the broth and stir until well combined. This will thicken the broth nicely.
Video
Notes
- If your bean broth is too thin, take a small scoop of beans from the pot and mash them in a bowl. Add the bean paste to the broth and stir until well combined. This will thicken the broth nicely.
- If your bean broth is too thick, add a splash of water and stir until well combined. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- If your beans are too salty, add water. If this thins out the broth too much follow step 1.
- If your beans are too bland, add adobo and/or other seasonings as necessary. Adding seasoning little by little is key! Fixing bland beans is easier than fixing salty beans.
Wow thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!!
I’m so happy you like it!! I hope you enjoy!!
My favorite is red beans! I’m definitely going to make this, thank for sharing your recipe.
My pleasure! Please let me know how you like them when you make them!
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Yummy! I made this and added extra sofrito. So good. Thanks
Yummy! I made this and added extra sofrito. So good. Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! xo
I’ve made beans all of my life but I always like trying other Puerto Rican recipes and I’m so glad I did. They came out AMAZING!!! Thank you so much.
Thank you Missy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe! Comments like this make my day!
I made this recipe today and as. PuertoRican these are my NEW & ONLY recipe I will be doing! Absolutely DELICIOUS 😋
Yassss! Thank you for the feedback, Athena! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Check out my blog for all the food inspo, I’ve got you covered.