The Best Puerto Rican Food: Traditional Dishes You Must Try
by Pilar Dujan | April 27, 2023
Are you going to travel to Puerto Rico? One of the two associated free states of the US, it is a land of colors, amazing beaches in Puerto Rico, unique things to do in Puerto Rico and joy… and also delicious food!
Here you will discover the best of traditional Puerto Rican food, or cocina criolla, both sweet and savory.
Mofongo
It may sound weird, but rest assured: it is delicious. It is a traditional Puerto Rican food and it’s made by mashing fried green plantain, garlic and pork (salt-cured, crackling, pork skin or bacon). Some use butter, oil or a salty broth to soften the mash.
It can be a side dish or a main dish, and you can change the stuffing to any meat you desire, such as chicken, crab, octopus, skirt steak, seafood or stewed vegetables.
You can also enjoy yuca mofongo or trifongo, which is made with green plantain, sweet plantain and yuca.
Good places to try Mofongo
Café Manolín
Address: 251 C. de San Justo, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
La Vergüenza
Address: 280 C. Norzagaray, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Puerto Criollo
Address: 360 C. Tetuán, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Pasteles
The Puerto Rican pasteles are similar to Mexican tamales. It is a widely known Puerto Rico traditional food. They are made with green plantain masa stuffed with stewed pork meat, but some variations may include yuca or other root vegetables. Yuca can also be used as the main ingredient for the masa, and the stuffing can be of chicken or cod instead of pork.
To make pasteles, you need to press the masa onto a banana leaf and put the stuffing in the center. Then you fold the banana leaf, tie it with a string and cover it with parchment paper. After that, the pastel is boiled inside the leaf and, when it’s time to serve it, you remove the string.
The meat is previously cooked with sofrito, vinegar, capers, salt and pepper.
This dish is part of the holiday tradition of Puerto Rico, so this would be the perfect time to try it!
Lechón asado
This is a staple of Puerto Rican food. Lechón asado is made with a whole pig marinated in adobo (garlic, oregano, black pepper, vinegar and water) and then roasted slowly over coals. This process takes several hours, until the meat is soft and juicy but with crispy skin. It is one of the best Puerto Rican food.
The best Lechón Asado
Lechonera Hecho En Guavate
Address: Av. José de Diego, San Juan, 00927, Puerto Rico
Lechonera Angelito’s Place
Address: PR 175 Km. 4.8 Bo. Carraizo Puerto Rico 3h. Bs, Trujillo Alto, 00976, Puerto Rico
El cuerito de la 15
Address: 751 C. Monserrate, San Juan, 00907, Puerto Rico
Arroz con gandules
This savory staple food in Puerto Rico food is made with rice and gandules, which are pigeon peas. To cook it, first you have to sautée pork meat in olive oil with sofrito, bay leaves, tomato paste and annatto. Sometimes olives or capers are also added.
After this is done, you mix the rice with the peas in a large pot and coat them with the sauce you have made, add water or a broth and leave everything cooking until the rice is done.
It can serve as both a side dish and a main dish.
Good places to try arroz con gandules
El Jibarito
Address: 280 C. del Sol, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
El Gigante Dormido
Address: Bayamón, 00961, Puerto Rico
Molini's Cafe and Restaurant
Address: 1859 Puerto Rico, 1857 C. Loíza, San Juan, 00911, Puerto Rico
Tostones and amarillos
These are the two main ways to cook plantains.
Tostones are savory. They are made from green plantains cut into thick slices marinated in water and garlic and deep-fried two times: the first time is used to soften and smash the plantains, the second deep-fry is to leave them crispy.
Amarillos are made from ripe plantains cut into pieces. They are also fried, but the idea is to leave the outside almost black and the inside soft and sweet.
These are side dishes and, as such, are easily available throughout Puerto Rico.
Arroz con habichuelas
Arroz con habichuelas, or rice and beans, is the most common side dish of traditional Puerto Rican food, which means you can eat it basically anywhere. To make it you have to prepare a stew of pink beans, onions, peppers, garlic, ham hock, squash and sofrito.
The rice is cooked separately from the beans and it’s always medium-grain white rice. It’s cooked with olive oil and salt.
They are served next to each other, not on top, so you can choose how much to eat from each part of the dish. This is available throughout the island, both in restaurants and as street food.
Quesitos
This dish is heaven on Earth. The most popular dessert of Puerto Rican food, you can find them everywhere around the island.
A quesito is a flaky puff pastry filled with sweet cream cheese, usually whipped with eggs, vanilla and sugar, and shaped like a cigar. Then it’s drizzled with honey or caramelized sugar. They can also be filled with guava, dulce de leche or chocolate.
The unstuffed crust is also used to make palmeritas, which is another sweet dessert that consists of making two swirls with the puff pastry and then cooking it until it’s crunchy. The shape is similar to a pretzel but the taste is sweet. You will fall in love with this popular food in Puerto Rico.
Where to try Quesitos in Puerto Rico
Panadería España
Address: Centro Comercial, 1105 C. Marginal Villamar, Carolina, 00979, Puerto Rico
Kasalta
Address: 1966 Av. McLeary, San Juan, 00911, Puerto Rico
Sobao by Los Cidrines
Address: 1369 Av. Ashford, San Juan, 00907, Puerto Rico
Arroz con dulce
As you can tell, rice is a key ingredient of traditional Puerto Rican food. The arroz con dulce is a sweet rice pudding.
To make it, you have to cook white rice with coconut milk, cloves, canela (also called true cinnamon, it’s used in Mexican cuisine) and fresh ginger. This sweet rice mush doesn’t use condensed milk so it’s vegan. You can get this everywhere around Puerto Rico as it’s a staple of Puerto Rican food.
Pastelillos de guayaba
The pastelillos de guayaba are made from filo pastry stuffed with guava sauce and then covered with powdered sugar. Other choices of filling are apple or pineapple.
Where can you try pastelillos de guayaba?
Boquerón Bakery
Address: 101 PR-101, Cabo Rojo, 00623, Puerto Rico
Ricomini Bakery
Address: 70 C. Méndez Vigo, Mayagüez, 00680, Puerto Rico
El manjar criollo
Address: Mall, Carretera PR #1, Caguas, 00727, Puerto Rico
Flan de queso
This dish would be the Puerto Rican food’s answer to cheesecake. It’s a flan made with cream cheese, which changes the texture of a traditional flan and puts it closer to a cheesecake. Just like a regular flan, it’s also covered with caramel and custard batter. A delicious food in Puerto Rico!
This is a very common dessert that most places tend to have. Be adventurous and try it wherever you like!
Pilar Dujan
I’m originally from Argentina, now based in Spain. I’m a writer and Visagov’s Press Officer, which allows me to put my expertise in visa and travel-related matters to the test.
My two roles help me bring forth content that is comprehensive and helpful, always keeping in mind my goal of assisting tourists in putting together the holiday they dream of.
If you’d like to meet, you can find me on LinkedIn.
