Vegan Puerto Rican Rice also known as Arroz con Gandules is a flavorful side dish that pairs well with many main dishes!
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The key to the perfect vegan arroz con gandules? Vegan Ham seasoning!
We went into a Latino restaurant one day and ordered arroz con gandules and despite having olives, which I didn’t think I’d be a fan of, I couldn’t stop eating it, olives and all!
It was an immediate let’s make this at home dish. It’s clutch, perfectly seasoned rice that makes you just want to keep enjoying!
We don’t claim this to be an authentic recipe; however, we do hope that you love it!
What is Arroz Con Gandules?
Arroz con gandules is Puerto Rico’s national dish that combines rice, pigeon peas, sofrito, and traditionally pork. It is often served at holidays and cooked over an open fire when in the Puerto Rican countryside.
Rice and Gandules Recipe 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 arroz con gandules:
- vegetable oil – the aromatics and seasonings get fried in oil to add an additional layer of flavor
- sofrito – a base of aromatic ingredients that is used in many Latin American and Spanish dishes, but also Italian, Portuguese and Mediterranean cultures. Sofrito is one of the most important elements of this dish. While you can buy sofrito, we highly recommend that you make our homemade Puerto Rican sofrito.
- green pigeon peas – the word gandules refers to green pigeon peas which are legumes similar to beans that have a nutty aroma. You can use canned to make the process go much faster or you can prepare your own from dried beans for a more authentic version
- pitted green olives – olives help give another layer of flavor not only while cooking but also in the final dish. Even if you don’t like olives, we highly recommend that you add during the cooking process for flavor and remove before eating if you prefer not too
- roasted red peppers – this ingredient is optional, but we love adding it and the pop of color it gives. We prefer to make our own roasted red peppers; however, you can buy store bought
- seasonings– the specific seasonings are needed to recreate the traditional dish. We recommend added them all as listed.
- vegan ham seasoning – this is another optional ingredient. We do recommend it though as it gives some of the traditional taste while still being vegan. Since arroz con gandules is traditionally made with pork, this helps give some of that flavor back.
- medium grain rice – what is traditionally used. Medium rice cooks up moist and tender compared to light and fluffy like long grain rice.
Arroz Con Gandules Recipe Substitutions
- vegetable oil – while you’ll miss out on some of the flavors, if you are oil free, you can sub this with vegetable stock or water
- sofrito – you can use store bought varieties, though we recommend the homemade version listed above.
- green pigeon peas – while not traditional, you could use other types of beans instead.
- pitted green olives – more easily available manzanilla olives can be used
- medium grain rice – long grain rice can be used
- water – vegetable stock can be swapped for water
How to Make Puerto Rican Rice and Gandules
- In a large pot, add oil and turn the heat to medium. Add sofrito and stir together. Cook until fragrant about 1 minute.
- Next add pigeon peas, olives, roasted red peppers and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook for 1 more minute. Add in seasonings: adobo, garlic powder, salt, sazon, onion powder, black pepper, and Mexican oregano. Stir together well making sure there are no clumps of seasoning.
- Add in rice. Stir and coat all the rice with the mixture. Then, add water and stir together. Cook for 3 minutes. (Water should should be boiling after the 3 mins.) Push rice under the water, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and stir together, bringing the rice on the bottom to the top. (Water should be gone or mostly gone and Rice should be almost done.)
- Mound rice, cover again with a lid and cook for another 10 – 15 mins. Remove from heat and use a fork to fluff the rice. Serve!
What to Serve With Puerto Rican Arroz Con Gandules
We love serving this vegan Puerto Rican rice with tacos! If you love tacos as much as us, you’ll love these ideas! Here’s 6 vegan taco recipes:
- Easy Cheesy Crispy Vegan Black Bean Tacos
- Vegan Cauliflower Tinga Tacos
- Grilled Vegan Jackfruit Tacos
- Tofu Taco Crumbles
- Vegan Cheesy Gordita Crunch (Taco Bell Copycat)
- Vegan Lentil Tacos with Spinach and Feta
Frequently Asked Questions:
This recipe is already written as top 8 free. We do recommend that you check your seasoning ingredients for any allergens as some varieties differ.
Yes! You can store arroz con gandules in an air tight container for up to a week in the fridge.
Also, once cooled, you could put in a freezer safe container and freeze up to 3 months.
Most large grocery stores will carry them in cans. Any market that has a Latin American, Hispanic or Mexican section of their store should carry them.
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🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Puerto Rican Rice (Arroz con Gandules)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola)
- 1 cup sofrito
- 1 15oz can green pigeon peas, drained and rinsed
- â…“ cup pitted green olives
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers, chopped, optional
- â…“ cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1-2 teaspoon vegan ham seasoning, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon sazon (or 1 packet)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 2 ¾ cup medium grain rice (can also use long grain)
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- In a large pot, add oil and turn the heat to medium.
- Add sofrito and stir together. Cook until fragrant about 1 minute.
- Next add pigeon peas, olives, roasted red peppers and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add in seasonings: adobo, garlic powder, salt, sazon, onion powder, black pepper, and Mexican oregano. Stir together well making sure there are no clumps of seasoning.
- Add in rice. Stir and coat all the rice with the mixture.
- Add water and stir together. Cook for 3 minutes. (Water should should be boiling after the 3 mins.) Push rice under the water, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and stir together, bringing the rice on the bottom to the top. (Water should be gone or mostly gone and Rice should be almost done.)
- Mound rice, cover again with a lid and cook for another 10 – 15 mins.
- Remove from heat and use a fork to fluff the rice. Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
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I am originally from the Bronx, NYC. I LOVE authentic Puerto Rican dishes. I was in foster homes so unfortunately never had family to pas down recipes. Fortunately, I had friends who had family and was blessed to be invited for the best dishes. Being vegan I haven’t found many Puerto Rican recipes. This is DELICIOUS 😋🤤💚. I can’t THANK YOU enough for bringing me the only good memories I had from that part of my past. I ate till I thought I was going to pop😂
This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing such kind words about our recipe. We are thrilled to hear that it could bring back good memories from your past and that it was so good, you didn’t want to stop eating it!