Arroz con Gandules
on Dec 18, 2020, Updated Jan 30, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This simple combo of pigeon peas (gandules), rice, sofrito, and ham is one of the classic dishes of Puerto Rico.
Arroz con Gandules is one of the primary national dishes of Puerto Rico, along with roasted pork. In fact, the traditional accompaniments for Pernil are arroz con gandules and tostones. It is a simple combo of pigeon peas (gandules), rice (arroz), sofrito, and some sort of smoked, cured, or cooked pork for flavoring. It is a staple for various holidays and celebrations.
Arroz con Gandules goes perfect with Fall-Apart Pork Shoulder, Slow Cooker Pork Butt, or a Classic Baked Ham recipe. And if you have leftover ham, use it to make this rice and peas recipe!
Table of Contents
Arroz con Gandules: One of the national dishes of Puerto Rico, a combo of pigeon peas (gandules), rice (arroz), and sofrito flavored with pork.
Pigeon peas are actually named for their historical use as fodder for pigeons in the Caribbean.
Don’t over-stir the rice. There are a lot of ingredients, and you want to allow the rice time to soak everything up without getting too mushy from constant movement.
Arroz Con Gandules Ingredients
- Olive oil – For sautéing.
- Annatto seeds – Perfumes the oil with a slightly nutty, sweet, and peppery flavor.
- Sofrito – A Latin American cuisine staple and flavor bomb. Read the note below for more.
- Pimiento-stuffed olives – Offer a great texture, flavor, and saltiness.
- Ground cumin – Provides savory and earthy flavor.
- Pork – This is the perfect place to use your leftover pork from Pernil, Fall-Apart Roasted Pork, or a Glazed Baked Ham.
- Long-grain rice – Make sure to rinse the rice so the starch doesn’t make the dish too sticky.
- Pigeon peas – You can use dried or canned. See the note below.
- Bay leaf – Adds depth of flavor. Remember to remove it before serving.
- Salt and black pepper – To taste.
- Chicken broth – Rather than using water, chicken broth adds an extra layer of flavor.
Sofrito in Arroz con Gandules
The basis of arroz con gandules (and SO many other Latin and Puerto Rican dishes) is sofrito, which is a blend of garlic, onions, peppers, cilantro (or culantro), sometimes tomatoes, and other seasonings. So first, I read up on that and came up with my take (big nod to Daisy Martinez, renowned Puerto Rican chef and cookbook author), then I set about constructing my arroz con gandules recipe (another big nod to Daisy, and some other sources).
Rice With Pigeon Peas
A Trinidadian friend of mine used to serve “rice and peas” often, and I was at first confused by her definition of peas until I realized they were pigeon peas. You can buy them dried and soak and cook them, find them in the frozen vegetables section, or do as I did and pop open a can and rinse them.
If you are a big pan of pigeon peas, there is no reason you might not want to add two cans — traditionally, there is a lot of rice dotted with a small number of pigeon peas, but if you like them lots and want to bump up the protein in this dish, feel free to double the amount.
If you can’t find pigeon peas for some reason, you could sub in pinto beans, pink beans, or red beans.
How to Make Arroz Con Gandules
- Infuse the oil: Sizzle the annatto seeds in the hot oil. Allow to cool, strain the seeds from the oil, and pour the infused oil back into the pot.
- Combine the ingredients: To the oil, add the sofrito, olives, salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook until the liquid from the sofrito evaporates and the mixture starts to sizzle. Add the pork, the rice, the pigeon peas, bay leaf, and enough broth to cover the rice by 1 inch.
- Cook: Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then slightly cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes without opening the lid.
- Finish and serve: Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Variations
Annatto (also called achiote) is often used as a seasoning, but it’s not always so easy to find. You can make the recipe without it and still have a delicious — if not as richly colored — dish. If you have access to a Latin market, that’s perfect, or order it online. It gives the dish a sunny yellow-orange color.
Capers, olives (sometimes pimento-stuffed), bay leaves, cumin, coriander, and oregano are all ingredients you might see in an arroz con gandules dish. I stuck with cumin, a bay leaf, and pimento-stuffed olives.
And unless you are looking for a vegetarian version of arroz con gandules, you will want to cook the rice with some sort of pork: bacon, ham hocks, a leftover bone from a pork roast, or a bone from baked ham with some meat still on it (that what I used, having frozen it a month ago for this exact reason). A chunk of leftover ham would also be perfect.
Storage and Reheating Leftovers
You can keep the leftover Arroz con Gandules in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. For best reheat results, microwave the rice with a teaspoon or two of water to keep it from drying out.
What to Serve with Arroz con Gandules
Other Rice Dish Recipes:
- Shortcut Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya
- Vegetarian Black Beans and Rice
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
- Shrimp Fried Rice
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Arroz con Gandules
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ tablespoon annatto seeds (achiote; optional)
- ½ cup sofrito
- 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ pound smoked pork neck bones (or 1 smoked ham hock)
- 3 cups long-grain rice
- 1 (15-ounce) can pigeon peas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 bay leaf
- About 5 cups less-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot with a lid over medium heat until shimmering. Add the annatto seeds, if using, and stir until the seeds begin to sizzle. Remove the skillet from the heat and let sit until the oil comes to room temperature. Strain the oil, discard the seeds, and pour the infused oil back into the pot.
- Heat the oil over medium heat until hot (whether you sautéed the annatto seeds or not), then add the sofrito, olives, salt, pepper, and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid evaporates and the mixture starts to sizzle, about 5 minutes.
- Add the smoked pork and the rice and stir to blend the rice with the sofrito mixture. Add the pigeon peas, bay leaf, and enough broth to cover the rice by 1 inch.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat without stirring. Let the liquid boil until it evaporates to the level where you can see the rice peeking out above the liquid. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes without opening the lid.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
