arroz con gandules | rice with pigeon peas

Overhead shot of an aluminum pan full of yellow rice with pigeon peas with a bay leaf and a wooden spoon.

arroz con gandules | rice with pigeon peas

Arroz con gandules is a savory Puerto Rican dish featuring medium-grain rice cooked with sofrito, a medley of seasonings, and tender pigeon peas—a beloved national favorite.

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Course: dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Latin, Puerto Rican

Keyword: arroz, arroz con gandules, pigeon peas, Puerto Rican rice, rice, rice and beans, rice with pigeon peas, Spanish rice, Spanish rice with pigeon peas

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 40

resting: 10

Total Time: 1 5

Servings: people

Calories: 610kcal

Author: Neyssa

Cost: 7

Equipment

1 wide bottom pot

Ingredients

4 slices bacon chopped
3 tbs oil neutral, like canola, vegetable, or corn oil
⅓ cup sofrito
2 tablespoon tomato sauce
¼ cup green olives sliced
1.5 teaspoon sazon seasoning with achiote homemade or an envelope of store bought
1 teaspoon oregano dried
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoon granulated chicken bouillon or as desired
3 cups boiling water or hot chicken broth
2.5 cups medium grain white rice rinsed 3 times, and drained
15 oz pigeon peas can, drained of gandules (pigeon peas)
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves finely chopped

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Instructions

Create the base.

Cook chopped bacon over medium heat until slightly browned. Increase heat to medium-high, push bacon to one side, and add oil to the other. After the oil heats, add sofrito and mix together. Cook for a minute before stirring in tomato sauce, green olives, bay leaf, and seasonings.
Add hot water, mix together, and safely taste to ensure it's thoroughly seasoned. If needed, add more salt. Raise the heat until the water comes to a rolling boil.

Add in the rice and beans.

Once the water comes to a boil, stir in rice and lower the heat to medium-high. Do not touch for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, gently stir in gandules and cilantro. *Note: By this time, most of the water should have evaporated. This is what you want. Adding gandules before the rice absorbs most of the water will cause your gandules to turn mushy. It's best to leave this step for last before lowering covering your pot.

Cook the rice.

Cover the pot and lower the heat to low (1.5 out of 10). Allow the rice to cook for 27-30 minutes, undisturbed. Do not lift the lid during this time.
*Note: To properly steam the rice, ensure the pot is tightly sealed to prevent steam from escaping. If needed, securely cover the pot with aluminum foil before placing the lid to retain moisture.

Let the rice rest before fluffing it.

Once the timer goes off, carefully remove the pot from the heat and allow it to sit, still covered, for 10 minutes before gently fluffing it with a fork.

Nutrition