Puerto Rican Sofrito

Sofrito is a base of aromatic ingredients that is used in many Latin American and Spanish dishes, but also Italian, Portuguese and Mediterranean cultures. This specific version is closest to Puerto Rican sofrito.

Every culture has their own spin on things but most modern Spanish or Latin versions consist of garlic, onion, peppers, tomatoes and olive oil.

Puerto Rican sofrito also includes culantro, aji dulce, pimientos, and a few other ingredients that make it different than some others.

Often times Puerto Rican sofrito is cooked with pork; however, we won’t be adding in this vegan version.

Sofrito is used in many sauces, soups and rice dishes.

We won’t be making an authentic recipe, but focused more on getting the flavors and giving you a quick recipe that’s flavorful while still being easy.

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PUERTO RICAN SOFRITO INGREDIENTS:

Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this vegan sofrito recipe:

• cubanelle peppers
• sweet onions
• garlic
• roma tomatoes
• aji dulces
• culantro
• cilantro
• white vinegar
• dried Mexican oregano

All of these ingredients are added with purpose for the best but easiest vegan Puerto Rican sofrito in mind. We highly recommend that you stick close to the original; however, we understand that you may not be able to find everything depending on where you live so we recommend you see variations below.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:

• cubanelle peppers – bell peppers can be subbed for the cubanelle peppers. We would recommend a variation of green and red
• sweet onions – can sub with yellow onions if need
• garlic – yes this recipe does call for a lot of garlic and yes you could reduce by some if desired, however, if you want the full flavorful impact, use the more end of the amount
• roma tomatoes – if needed you can use a flavorful whole tomato or canned tomatoes if needed. Often times tomatoes are roasted prior to being processed but we leave that up to you in this recipe
• aji dulces – can sub with sweet mini peppers (at least 6)
• culantro and cilantro – you can only use cilantro in a pinch or use 1 bunch of cilantro and ½ bunch of parsley if needed
• white vinegar – can sub with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice
• dried Mexican oregano – sub with just traditional dried oregano
• olive oil – or water can be added while blending a tablespoon at a time so it pulses together but not overly runny

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do you use sofrito?

Sofrito is added to the base of many dishes. Think about how many dishes call for adding peppers, onions and garlic. Instead of adding them in their whole form, Puerto Rican sofrito is a blend of a variety of aromatics and is perfect for adding in some flavor right from the beginning of dishes.

Typically, Puerto Rican sofrito is used in not only cooking rice dishes, but also many other sauces and soups.

Here’s a few dishes that you could add it too!

• Vegan Puerto Rican Rice (Arroz con Gandules)
• Vegan Copycat Chipotle Sofritas
• Easy Cilantro Lime Rice
• Amazing vegan lasagna 
• Easy vegan lasagna skillet
• Vegan Lasagna Soup
• Chorizo Vegan Burrito Bowl

While lasagna doesn’t typically get it added too, that’s how we learned to make and that’s what we will stick with!

Pin this Puerto Rican Sofrito for later!

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