Easy Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules Instant Pot Recipe
This arroz con gandules instant pot recipe is the best one-pot meal you will make today! It is filling, nutritious, and delicious. Perfect for the holidays, too!
Jump to RecipeWhat is Arroz con Gandules?
Rice and pigeon peas is the quintessential dish for all holidays in Puerto Rico, particularly during Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinner. Fun fact: we have the longest Christmas season in the world! It lasts about 45 days, from November to mid-January. It culminates with the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, the largest festival in the archipelago. If you want to enjoy the most festive holiday season, you should visit Puerto Rico!
This yellow rice is easy to make, filling, and so flavorful you cannot go wrong with it. Puerto Ricans also like to make yellow rice with beans, chicken (arroz con pollo) and several other ways for the best one-pot meals to feed the whole family. If you want to try some other rice recipes, feel free to checkout this Classic Puerto Rican Rice and Beans Recipe as well as this Instant Pot Authentic Arroz con Pollo Recipe.
This arroz con gandules Instant Pot recipe is simple and perfect as a light lunch or a delicious side for dinner. We eat it mostly around the holidays with pavochón (turkey), ham, or roast suckling pig, a favorite. However, there is no need to wait for a special occasion for this delicious recipe. For a quick, hearty dinner, pair it with rotisserie chicken or some quick pork chops.
It is also a healthy meal (sans bacon 😉). Pigeon peas have vitamin A and provide iron, protein, magnesium and potassium. Out of all beans, pigeon peas are one of the most complete ones as far as nutrition goes, since they are easy to digest and have antioxidants. Therefore, not only are you cooking a tasty Puerto Rican dish, but it is also great for you.
Ingredients.
To make this arroz con gandules instant pot recipe you need long grain rice (I used jasmine rice), 1 can of pigeon peas, a packet of sazón with annatto & coriander, a packet of ham bouillon (or chicken), tomato sauce, bay leaves, homemade sofrito, chicken broth, bacon or ham (optional), green olives (optional), and cilantro.
As far as equipment, you need an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, and a long silicone spatula or wooden spoon. This is a true one-pot meal. Minimal preparation, and minimal cleanup afterward. 😊
Instructions.
Making arroz con gandules in your instant pot is simple:
- Sauté the bacon and carefully remove drippings with paper towel.
- Make your sofrito base by adding sofrito, sazon, tomato sauce, ham bouillon and green olives. Stir.
- If you want a quick and easy sofrito recipe with ingredients you already have, I got you: Sofrito Made Easy.
- Add rinsed rice, pigeon peas and olive. Stir well.
- Close and seal. Select “High Pressure” and set the cooking time to 5 minutes.
- If using a multi-functional cooker, select the “Rice” option and let it autocook for you. Allow a 5 minute natural release.
- Once done, allow a natural release of 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Top with cilantro and serve as a stand-alone dish or with some meat and avocado slices.
- Enjoy!
A few notes.
This instant pot arroz con gandules does not require additional salt since it has sazón seasoning and bouillon. If you want to further reduce the salt content, use a low sodium chicken broth or substitute and use 1 ½ cups of water instead of broth.
Tomato sauce can be substituted with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. If your instant pot is sensitive to tomatoes (like mine), add the tomato sauce over the rice and peas at the end, but do not stir to avoid the burn message. Otherwise, mix it into the sofrito base before adding rice and peas.
This exact recipe can be made with black beans, red kidney beans or your favorite bean in place of the green pigeon peas. If you want to change it up or went to the pantry and realized you do not have peas left, use something else!
The 1 ½ cups of liquid may not seem enough for rice required in this recipe. However, with the sofrito base and the liquid of the pigeon peas, it is exactly what you need. Adding too much liquid will result in mushy rice.
For a vegan version, skip the bacon or ham and add olive oil before making the sofrito base. Substitute the ham bouillon and chicken broth with 1 ½ cup of vegetable broth. It will be packed with flavor!
Serving and storing.
On a typical day, arroz con gandules goes perfectly with baked chicken or some pork chops and avocado slices. You can top it with cilantro for a note of freshness, too. Otherwise, it is a great stand-alone dish.
Any leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container for up to five days. If stored properly, it can be frozen for a couple of months. It is best to separate it into portions so you only thaw what you plan on eating since it cannot be refrigerated again after reheating. The rice can be reheated in the microwave with a damp paper towel over it, or on the stovetop at low heat.
I hope you enjoy this easy arroz con gandules instant pot recipe. Each bite is a trip home, which makes it a favorite for dinner. Feel free to comment, post pictures, and let me know how you liked it.
As always, ¡buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules Instant Pot Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
- Long silicone or wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain rice rinsed
- 1 15oz can pigeon peas (gandules)
- 4 slices thick bacon cut into squares or 6oz country ham cubed optional
- 1/3 cup sofrito
- 1 packet sazon with annatto and coriander
- 1 packet ham bouillon
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken broth *
- 4 ounces tomato sauce *
- a few spanish olives optional
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro optional
See notes for the vegan version of this dish.
Instructions
- Set your Instant pot to Saute, and once hot, add the pieces of bacon. If you are skipping the bacon, add some olive oil instead and go to step #3.
- Once the bacon begins to brown, remove most of the bacon dripping (carefully) with a paper towel.
- Add sofrito, sazón, ham bouillon, and bay leaves. Stir well.
- Add water and chicken broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot well with a spoon.
- Add rinsed white rice, pigeon peas, and green olives (if desired). Stir well.
- If your instant pot is sensitive to tomatoes (like mine), add the tomato sauce over the rice and peas but do not stir to avoid the burn message. Otherwise, add and stir with the rest of the ingredients.
- Close lid and seal. If your Instant Pot does not love tomato sauce, or you have a multi-functional pressure cooker, choose the “Rice” button. It will automatically cook the rice for you. Otherwise, set it to “High Pressure” for 5 minutes.
- If you used the “Rice” option, wait 5 minutes before doing a quick release. For rice cooked at high pressure, allow a natural release of 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Top with fresh cilantro. Serve on its own or with some pork chops and avocado slices.
- ¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
