Growing up in a Puerto Rican family, food (both preparing and eating) was an important part of daily life. There are several dishes that are particularly special to me, not only for the taste, but for the memories they conjure. Cooking with my abuela as a child, eating my dad’s feasts (and smelling that sofrito cooking) whenever we had company in town, and so many more. As an adult it’s been important to me to practice our family recipes and introduce my children to them. Through Fab Everyday, I also have the honor of getting to share them with you. A few months ago I shared one of my favorites: my dad’s recipe for Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas). Today I’m sharing a recipe for Habichuelas Guisadas (stewed beans) that we almost always make with the arroz. This Puerto Rican recipe is an adaptation of my dad’s recipe, and I’m proud to say it is one of my husband’s favorite thing that I cook. Jump to Recipe or keep reading for explanations, tips, and a visual walk-through on making this delicious Puerto Rican beans recipe.
Want more recipes like these Puerto Rican beans? See these other Puerto Rican recipes from Fab Everyday
- How to Make Homemade Puerto Rican Sofrito
- Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas) recipe
- Instant Pot Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo recipe (my family’s recipe – adapted for the pressure cooker!)
- Instant Pot Estofado de Pollo (or Pollo Guisado – Puerto Rican-style chicken stew)
- Instant Pot Asopao de Pollo (Puerto Rican-Style Chicken and Rice Stew)
- Shortcut Puerto Rican Picadillo Empanadas recipe
- Easy Vegetarian Empanada recipe
- Air Fryer Tostones (Fried Green Plantain Chips) recipe
- Pinchos de Pollo (Grilled Puerto Rican Chicken Skewers)
- The best Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog) recipe
- Papa Cruz’s Flan de Coco (Puerto Rican Coconut Flan Recipe)
- Instant Pot Coconut Flan Recipe (Flan de Coco)
- Flan de Chocolate (Chocolate Flan Recipe)
How to make habichuelas guisadas (Puerto Rican beans)
Here’s what you need:
I always recommend Goya products, so you’ll notice several of the ingredients shown here are from Goya. You should be able to find them in the Latin/Hispanic or International section of your grocery store, but if you can’t, you can check Amazon (affiliate link).
Here are some of the key habichuelas recipe components:
The base to this habichuelas recipe, as with many savory Puerto Rican recipes, is sofrito, which is essentially the Spanish version of mirepoix. While you can find jarred, pre-made versions (affiliate link), there’s nothing quite like homemade sofrito for your Puerto Rican cooking. This is why I always have a few portions of homemade sofrito in my freezer, ready to use when I need it. Get the recipe and instructions for how to make Puerto Rican Sofrito in this post here.
Part of the way this meal gets its lovely color is from the achiote in these Goya Sazón (affiliate link) seasoning packets. Goya makes a few varieties of Sazón, but make sure the one you use includes achiote.
You can use cubes of ham or salt pork in this recipe (or a combination of both). I personally prefer to use salt pork.
The recipe calls for green olives stuffed with pimentos and capers. The mixture of these two ingredients is called alcaparrado.
To start, you cook the ham cubes in the olive oil for a bit to brown them. Then you add this magic (sofrito). The smell when this hits the pan… it’s like nothing else!
Along with the sofrito, you add cumin and the Sazón achiote packet and cook, stirring for a few minutes until blended.
Then you stir in the rest of the ingredients (pink beans, or habichuelas rosadas, chicken broth, tomato sauce, potatoes and alcaparrado) and season with salt and pepper to taste. The beans and potatoes should be covered with the liquid.
You bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot. It cooks on a low boil until the potatoes are tender. You will be stirring it occasionally, but otherwise it’s a pretty hands-off recipe once it gets going.
We serve it alongside arroz con gandules (get my recipe here), but it would be good with any rice. Here’s the recipe! Enjoy and let me know what you think if you try it!
| Servings |
servings
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- olive oil
- 4 oz. ham or salt pork cubed
- 1/2 cup ready-made sofrito
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 packet Sazon with achiote
- 2 cans pink beans drained and rinsed
- 1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 potatoes cubed
- 1/3 cup Alcaparrado (Spanish olives with pimentos and capers)
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Cook the ham cubes in the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Add sofrito, cumin, and Sazón with achiote packet and cook, stirring for a few minutes until blended.
- Stir in the beans, chicken broth, tomato sauce, potatoes and alcaparrado (olives and capers). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Beans and potatoes should be covered with the liquid.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook on a low boil, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender.
While you can find jarred, pre-made versions (affiliate link), there’s nothing quite like homemade sofrito for your Puerto Rican cooking. This is why I always have a few portions of homemade sofrito in my freezer, ready to use when I need it. Get my family's Puerto Rican Sofrito recipe here.
Crystal Cawile says
I looked forward for your dad making this when we came to visit!! I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Ramon Cruz says
You did a wonderful job with our family recipe. That was a great explanation too. People will definitely enjoy eating this meal.
Papi
Melody Johnson says
My husband is Puerto Rican, and I’ve been working on learning a few traditional recipes, such as habichuelas guisadas. This is the best recipe I have found for it so far….thank you!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank YOU so much for sharing! It’s my husband’s favorite Puerto Rican dish that I make. So happy you and your family like it, too!
Katrina says
Is there anything else I can use in place of the salt pork? I don’t have any and would really like to try to make this.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Hi Katrina! Yes, you can substitute diced or cubed ham or bacon for the salt pork, and either way it’s delicious. Enjoy!
Linda says
Omg Romona you’re the best !!!
My daughter and I was stationed in Puerto Rico when she was 8 years old . We thought the food was fabulous !!! I always wanted to cook some of the dishes so after we left I looked high and low but the recipes that I found did not taste the same, But thank God !!!! after many years I finally found the recipes that I was looking for.
My daughter is 32 years old now and I shared them with her and she is so excited and of course so am I
Thank you so much
We love you
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you so much for sharing, Linda! That means so much to me to hear. I hope you and your daughter enjoy these recipes!
Laxmom says
I have been making beans for sometime now , but something was lacking. (Yes I’m Puerto Rican and was raised on delicious Spanish food.. lol) I tried my mom’s delicious recipe but just couldn’t get the right taste when I did it myself.. I decided to scan the internet for a great recipe. Omg this was great! I loved it! Best recipe on the web! The thickness was perfect! I just added garlic. However, that just depends on your taste buds! Lol Thank you so much for adding this on. I am def going to check out your sofrito recipe.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this; it makes me SO happy! My sofrito has a LOT of garlic in it, so I definitely feel you on that too!
Jimmy says
Just made this but used garbanzos and alcaparrado – as good as I remembered from growing up in Santurce. Thanks for a great recipe.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
That sounds delicious! I am so glad you loved it. Thank you for sharing!
Beryl says
Hi! I soaked dried beans overnight. Do I need to tweak anything because they are not from the can? Thanks!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Hello Beryl. While I personally always use the canned beans, my thought is that if they were soaked overnight that they would be fully cooked in the same amount of time it takes for the potatoes to cook/soften, so I think it will work out the same! Please keep me posted, as I may want to try this myself.
Toni M. says
Ramona, your recipe calls for two cans of beans it does to list what size. They come in two sizes. Also. I would not want to make such a large pot of beans. How do I halve the recipe? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Hi Toni. I use the 15.5 ounce cans. To halve the recipe, I would just cut each of the ingredients in half. The cooking time will still be about the same. For the ingredient amounts that don’t halve easily, this is what I recommend: 1 cup chicken broth (instead of a full 14.5 ounce can), and 1/4 cup of the olive/caper mixture. It doesn’t hurt to have extra olives if you are an olive lover like me.
Chelsea says
Thank you so much for the recipe! My friend from Puerto Rico made this for me about 10 years ago and she has since moved. I loved it and I can’t wait to make this. Sounds delicious!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Enjoy! It’s a family favorite!
Ashley says
Can you use diced chicken?
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Yes, that would be a delicious addition and could make it more of an entrée. I still recommend the pork or bacon for some flavoring (unless you don’t eat pork).
Karens says
So delicious and very easy to make! Reminds me of my childhood with my grandma!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you so much for sharing!
Rachel says
I’ve made this several times now and it’s become a favorite dish. Thanks for sharing!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
I’m so glad to hear that! It’s a favorite around here too!
Stephanie C says
Love this recipe. Although instead of Chicken Broth I use the liquid from the beans and add a chicken Broth cube ad where I live is rare to find proper Hispanic ingredients. It makes the meal thicker and more gravy like which my family and I love. But wow this flavor. I also used your homemade sofrito recipe but replace culantro with more Cilantro (Culantro not available here). Still the taste was phenomenal. My grandma is Puerto Rican but makes lots of Cuban foods so she mixes them up and makes her own. This recipe is great and simple as you can do a lot and it still tastes wonderful. Thank you!!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thanks for sharing all of this feedback! I’m so glad you love it!!