Arroz Con Gandules

Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas) and Avocado slices.

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, host Charlie sits down with Vincent Lyles, Executive Director of Milwaukee Succeeds. They discuss his Milwaukee roots, varied career, and the organization’s focus on improving early childhood education across the city.

You can also listen to the audio version of this episode here –

The episode ends in the kitchen as Vincent prepares a vegan-friendly arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), sharing cooking tips and community stories over a shared meal.

Arroz Con Gandules

Arroz con gandules is often called the national dish of Puerto Rico. It’s made from rice cooked with pigeon peas. Pigeon peas—or gandules—are actually small beans with a nutty flavor. They come fresh, frozen, or canned, but the fresh ones obviously taste better.

The Spanish introduced rice to Puerto Rico in the 16th century, making it a part of local diets. African influences arrived through enslaved people who brought gandules (pigeon peas) to the island.

This traditional Puerto Rican dish is rice cooked with green pigeon peas. This orange-colored dish is full of flavor from the herby, peppery sofrito and pairs nicely with stewed chicken, pork, or red beans.

Arroz con Gandules gets its signature yellow color primarily from annatto (known locally as achiote), the main coloring ingredient in the seasoning packet Sazón.

Ingredients for the Sofrito for Arroz Con Gandules

• 1 Cubanelle Pepper chopped
• 1 tbsp Cilantro chopped
• 1 tbsp Oregano 
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp Achiote oil or Sazon powder
• 1 onion minced
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the Puerto Rican Rice

• 1 can Green Pigeon Peas Gandules Verdes
• 6 oz green olives whole with pimentos
• 1.5 cups water or veggie broth
• Sofrito (See above)
• 1 cup Jasmine rice, rinsed
• 4 Bay Leaves

Instructions for Arroz Con Gandules

1. Bring 1.5 cups of water (or veggie broth) to a boil
2. While waiting for the liquid to boil, make the sofrito.
3. In a blender, add the Cubanelle Pepper, chopped Cilantro, minced onion, minced garlic, Oregano, Salt & Pepper, 1 can Tomato sauce, Sazon Annatto, and olive oil.
4. Slowly add 2 tbsp of olive oil while the blender is going
5. As the liquid is boiling, add the sofrito, Gandules Verdes, Manzanilla Olives, 4 Bay Leaves, and 1 cup of jasmine rice.
6. As the rice cooks, slice the avocados.
7. When serving, garnish with chopped cilantro.

🌿 Classic-but-creative variations of Arroz con Gandules

• Arroz con gandules con coco — Swap part of the water for coconut milk. Common in Loíza and coastal cooking. Adds richness and a subtle sweetness that plays beautifully with sofrito.
• Arroz con gandules con longaniza — Dominican-style longaniza or Puerto Rican longaniza gives smoky, garlicky depth. Great for cookouts.
• Arroz con gandules con chuletas — Pork chops seared first, then finished in the rice. The drippings season the whole pot.
• Arroz con gandules con jamón — A holiday classic. Smoked ham or jamón de cocinar adds salt and umami.
• Arroz con gandules con pollo — A full one-pot meal. Brown the chicken first for maximum flavor.

Cooking Secrets for Men

Please “like” our YouTube Videos and follow us on our YouTube Channel. Cooking Secrets For Men is also on other social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

If you like this recipe, Arroz con Gandules, you will also enjoy trying our other recipes. This is our recipe for Chilaquiles. Or maybe try the iconic Dominican recipe for Mangu. Or maybe you would like some Coq au Vin made with Chef Julia Child.

Cooking Secrets for Men in the News

We have been fortunate enough to get positive publicity for our website, YouTube channel, and Social Media presence. Here are a few examples:

Our series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is featured in the “Milwaukee Magazine” May 2023 edition, “Civic Gastronomy”. Click here to read the full article.

A few days later, they were discussing me on the radio. It is a local Foodie show,  “This Bites” on Radio Milwaukee 88.9, featuring dining critic Ann Christenson from Milwaukee Magazine and Radio Milwaukee’s resident foodie, Tarik Moody. My series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is in the show’s first few minutes.

“Cooking Secrets for Men” is on the list of the Top 20 Men’s Cooking Websites on the Internet. You can read that article here. See where we rank for Men’s Cooking Websites.

Cooking Secrets for Men is now on the list of Milwaukee’s Top 50 Foodie Influencers on Instagram.

More Articles

Here is a recent interview I did with North Shore Family Adventures here in Milwaukee

We were featured in a Redfin article! Check it out here: Designing the Perfect Kitchen for Home Cooks.

Shepherd Express (Milwaukee) article on our Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders show – you can read that article here: Massaman Curry

Good Counsel HS (My Alma Mater) Magazine article about Cooking Secrets for Men – you can read that article here.

Meet Charlie DeSando – featured in the “Voyage Tampa” article, available to read here.

CanvasRebel Magazine Interview, available here.

E-Cookbooks for free Download

All of our e-cookbooks are available on our download page. 

Please send any comments or questions to cookingsecretsformen@gmail.com. Thanks!