Puerto Rican Food (A Local’s Guide to 49 Best Dishes to Try)

A wonderful mix of Taíno, Spanish, and African cuisines, Puerto Rican food will delight your tastebuds with a delicious variety of dishes, drinks, and desserts you’ll enjoy on your visit.

Even as a Puerto Rico local, I can’t get enough of Puerto Rican traditional dishes like mofongo, tostones, and rice and beans, and I know you will love them too! 

Eating local food should be on every Puerto Rico bucket list! I rounded up the 49 Puerto Rican foods you can’t miss during your visit. I hope you’re hungry!

49 Best Puerto Rico Foods & Dishes

Mofongo

Deep-fried mashed green plantain with spices.

🍽️ Where to Find Mofongo: By Cheff’s (Isabela), La Cabaña (Toa Baja)

Mofongo is one of the top Puerto Rican dishes, and one you can’t miss on the island.

It’s made from mashed and fried green plantains, blended with garlic and salt, and typically shaped into a half-sphere.

Mofongo is often stuffed with chicken, seafood, or other meats. To make it, Puerto Ricans use a pilón, a wooden mortar and pestle used for pounding the plantains into the perfect consistency.

This is my all-time favorite Puerto Rico dish, but beware, eating a full stuffed mofongo is guaranteed to give you a food coma.

Arroz con Gandules

Yellow rice mixed with pigeon peas.

🍽️ Where to Find Arroz con Gandules: Deaverdura (San Juan), La Casita Blanca (San Juan)

Arroz con Gandules is common in Puerto Rican meals, especially during the Christmas season. The rice gets cooked together with pigeon peas, tomato sauce, red pepper, olives, sazón, and sofrito.

These last two are a mix of condiments essential to Puerto Rican cuisine and what gives most Puerto Rican dishes their flavor.

Many Puerto Ricans also add cooked ham to the rice to give it more flavor.

Piraguas

Shaved ice with syrup of different flavors.

🍽️ Where to Find Piraguas: Paseo La Princesa (San Juan), Piraguas El Coquí (Arecibo)

Piraguas are a simple Puerto Rican dessert, but they’re the best way to quench your thirst on a hot day. This traditional treat is just hand-shaved ice topped with sweet syrup.

Piraguas are easy to find in Old San Juan, one of the best places to visit in Puerto Rico. Just make sure to go for the hand-shaved ones! These days, some vendors use machines, but that version lacks the crunch and feel of a traditional piragua.

My favorite syrup flavors are raspberry and tamarind, but feel free to try any of the dozens of flavors available.

Pasteles

Boiled green banana dough filled with pork meat.

🍽️ Where to Find Pasteles: La Casita Blanca (San Juan), Deaverdura (San Juan)

Pasteles are a Puerto Rican Christmas staple, made with a dough of green bananas, pumpkin, and yautía, and usually stuffed with seasoned pork. Although you will find chicken, corned beef, and other types of pasteles.

They’re similar to tamales, but instead of corn masa, the dough is root-vegetable based. Pasteles are wrapped in plantain or banana leaves and wax paper, tied, and then boiled.

Some people top them with hot sauce or even ketchup, but I personally prefer them simple with a side of arroz con gandules.

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Arroz con Pollo

Rice with chicken.

🍽️ Where to Find Arroz con Pollo: Cafetería Mallorca (San Juan), Tropical Gourmet (Aguada)

Puerto Ricans love to mix their rice with pink beans and pigeon peas, but another way they cook it is with chicken, making it a complete meal.

Arroz con Pollo is also commonly cooked with sofrito, tomato sauce, olives, and peppers. Don’t be surprised to find complete chicken thighs and drumsticks within the rice. It’s even better if it’s cooked with fresh chicken from Puerto Rico.

Pernil

Slow-cooked pork shoulder or leg with spices.

🍽️ Where to Find Pernil: Lechonera Angelito’s Place (Trujillo Alto), Lechonera Los Amigos (Cidra)

Pernil is a traditional Puerto Rican holiday dish made from pork shoulder or leg, slow-roasted in the oven with lots of spices.

Puerto Ricans love the contrast: a crispy outer skin (called “cuerito”) and tender, juicy meat inside. While pernil is mostly served in homes during special holidays and family gatherings, plenty of restaurants in Puerto Rico serve it year-round. 

Keep in mind that this dish is heavy on pepper, salt, and other spices, so if you have a sensitive stomach, it might not be the best choice for you.

Tostones 

Deep-fried sliced green plantains.

🍽️ Where to Find Tostones: Paladar Criollo (Guaynabo), El Coqui Restaurant (Rincón)

Tostones are another Puerto Rican dish made from sliced green plantains that get fried, smashed individually until they’re flat, and then fried a second time.

Tostones regularly come in a concave form, ready to be stuffed with pork, shrimp, chicken, or churrasco.

Locals also enjoy them with mayo ketchup, a sauce that combines ketchup, mayonnaise, and garlic powder.

Piña Colada

Pineapple juice and coconut cream drink.

🍽️ Where to Find Piña Colada: El Tabloncillo Criollo (Villalba), Casita Guavate (Cayey)

Known as the national drink of Puerto Rico, the piña colada is the perfect companion to your fritters with a view of one of Puerto Rico’s beaches.

It’s made with ice, coconut cream, pineapple juice, rum, a swirl of whipped cream, and topped with a cherry. You’ll find it at bars and restaurants all over the island.

Don’t worry if you don’t drink alcohol, you’ll enjoy a virgin piña colada just as much!

Bacalaitos

Deep-fried codfish fritters.

🍽️ Where to Find Bacalaitos: Hemanos Pinchos (Loiza), Bacalaítos El Gordito (Isabela)

Bacalaitos are one of the best Puerto Rican dishes. They’re made from a batter of salted codfish, seasoned and deep-fried until golden and crispy. And most importantly, the right way to eat them is with your hands.

You’ll usually eat them before or after an alcapurria on any of the chinchorros on the island. Some restaurants serve them as appetizers.

Alcapurrias

A fritter filled with ground beef.

🍽️ Where to Find Alcapurrias: Papos Guacaros (Dorado), El Rinconcito Latino (Loíza)

Alcapurrias are made with a dough of green bananas, yautía, green plantain, and potato.

The cook spreads the dough onto wax paper, adds a filling, usually ground beef or stewed crab meat, then shapes it and drops it into hot oil to fry.

Like bacalaitos, alcapurrias can be found as appetizers in many Puerto Rican restaurants.

Coquito

Coconut milk drink served during Christmas.

🍽️ Where to Find Coquito: Luis Muñoz Marín Airport (San Juan), Bacardí Rum Factory (Cataño)

Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican drink made with coconut milk, evaporated milk, coconut cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.

More often than not, Puerto Rican rum is also part of the recipe.

Like many other traditional Puerto Rico foods, Coquito is served during Christmas, the best season to travel to Puerto Rico if you want to enjoy both great food and festivities.

While the original version has a coconut flavor, locals have come up with all kinds of twists, from pistachio to Nutella.

Pollo Guisado

Chicken stew with potatoes.

🍽️ Where to Find Pollo Guisado: El Fogón del Rey (Guaynabo), Café Bakery Inc (Yauco)

If you’d rather enjoy your chicken and rice separately, you can ask for Pollo Guisado.

This chicken stew is cooked with tomato sauce, red bell pepper, potatoes, carrots, and sometimes pumpkin.

Of course, the main flavor comes from the sofrito. The best way to enjoy Pollo Guisado is with a side of rice.

Pastelón

Baked ripe plantains lasagna with ground beef.

🍽️ Where to Find Pastelón: Cafetería Mallorca (San Juan), El Fogón del Rey (Guaynabo)

Pastelón is Puerto Rico’s version of lasagna, with a tropical twist.

It’s similar in preparation and baking style, but instead of pasta, pastelón is made with thin slices of ripe plantains layered with seasoned ground beef and cheese.

The sweet plantains give it a unique flavor that blends perfectly with the savory filling.

Rellenos de Papa

Deep fried potato dough with ground meat filling.

🍽️ Where to Find Rellenos de Papa: The House of Pastelillos (Fajardo), La Guancha (Ponce)

Relleno de Papa is just one of the many deep-fried foods you will find in Puerto Rican cuisine. Traditionally, a relleno de papa is deep-fried potato dough stuffed with ground beef.

However, sometimes the dough is made from breadfruit (rellenos de pana), and corned beef is used as a substitute for ground beef. 

Asopao de Gandules

Soup with rice, plantain, and green peas.

🍽️ Where to Find Asopao de Gandules: Doctora Sopa (Bayamón), El Balcón del Tío Mon (Mayagüez)

Asopao de gandules is one of the most popular Puerto Rican soups. It’s made with rice, pigeon peas, little plantain balls, red pepper, olives, tomato sauce, and sofrito.

To make the plantain balls, grind the green plantain into a dough, roll it into small balls, and drop them into the boiling soup, allowing them to cook in the broth and absorb all the flavor.

A fun Puerto Rico fact is that Asopao de Gandules is a favorite dish to consume after a parranda, a Christmas tradition similar to caroling, which involves a surprise late-night concert at someone’s home.

Sancocho

Soup with root vegetables.

🍽️ Where to Find Sancocho: Cafetería Mallorca (San Juan)

Sancocho is one of the best Puerto Rican dishes for rainy days or cooler winter weather.

It’s a stew made with root vegetables like yautía, taro, sweet potato, potato, corn on the cob, carrots, and beef. The broth is darker and thicker than a regular soup.

Carne Frita

Fried pork chunks.

🍽️ Where to Find Carne Frita: Aventura 4×4 con Sabor a Campo (Coamo), La Casona de Artemio (Las Marías)

Besides fried plantains, traditional Puerto Rican food also includes many pork-based dishes.

After pernil, the most popular is Carne Frita, fried pork chunks that usually accompany mofongo, tostones, or rice and beans.  

It’s easy to find Carne Frita and other pork delicacies on Puerto Rico’s Pork Highway, a route known for its many roasted-pork specialized restaurants and a popular Puerto Rico activity for foodies.

Chicharron

Crispy pork skin.

🍽️ Where to Find Chicharron: Carretera #2 Small Kiosk on the side of the road (Bayamón)

Chicharrón is salted pork skin, usually served in crispy strips and eaten as a quick snack on the go.

Bayamón is known as the city of chicharrón, and you can find this local treat in plenty of spots around town. It’s also common to see roadside chicharrón kiosks in places like Isabela, Hatillo, and Aguadilla.

You can find pre-packed Chicharron Pacheco in the supermarkets.

Mallorcas

Sweet bread with powdered sugar.

🍽️ Where to Find Mallorcas: Cafetería Mallorca (San Juan), Cremolatte (Toa Baja)

Mallorcas are one of the many types of bread Puerto Ricans regularly enjoy.

Sometimes a dessert and sometimes a meal, this Puerto Rican sweet roll is usually powdered with sugar and eaten alone, but some people like to heat it or make it into a sandwich.

Even if you’re staying in San Juan, it’s easy to find Mallorca in San Juan’s restaurants.

Trifongo

Mofongo made of fried green plantains, sweet plantain, and yuca.

🍽️ Where to Find Trifongo: El Fogón Criollo (Corozal), Vistas Restaurant (Ponce)

If you want to spice up the traditional mofongo, try the trifongo. Prepared and cooked the same way as mofongo, the trifongo includes two additional ingredients – sweet plantains and yuca, a root vegetable commonly used in Puerto Rican food.

Pionono

Ripe plantain sliced and stuffed with meat.

🍽️ Where to Find Pionono: El Pionono 1 (Manatí), Pa’l Monte (Rincón)

Pionono is another one of the popular Puerto Rican dishes that includes ripe plantain. In this case, the plantain is thinly sliced, shaped into a type of cup, filled with meat, bathed with egg, topped with cheese, and cooked in the oven.

Arroz Mamposteao

Rice with red kidney beans.

🍽️ Where to Find Arroz Mamposteao: Tostón Jibareño (Bayamón), Patria Fondita Criolla (Coamo)

Often you’ll see Puerto Ricans eating white rice and beans separately, but arroz mamposteao combines both in a single dish along with ham, sausage, tomato sauce, and sofrito. 

Brazo Gitano

Rolled sponge cake with a guava filling.

🍽️ Where to Find Brazo Gitano: Ricomini Factory & Bakery (Mayagüez), Panadería Artesanal Villa Palmeras (San Juan)

Brazo Gitano is a dessert inherited from Europe and adapted to local Puerto Rican cuisine.

Also known as swiss cake, Brazo Gitano is a roll cake filled with guava and powdered with sugar. Carrot flavor with cream filling is also a popular rendition.

Besides being one of the best areas to stay in Puerto Rico, Mayagüez is also a town famous for its Brazos Gitanos.

Morcilla

Blood sausage.

🍽️ Where to Find Morcilla: Tu Antojito Criollo (Guánica), Mercado El Amanecer (Arroyo)

Morcilla is a common side dish to arroz con gandules during Christmas. This blood sausage that originated in Europe consists of a casing, usually the pork stomach sac or the larger intestines, stuffed with a mixture of cooked rice, pig blood, garlic, and other spices.

Quesitos

Pastry filled with cream cheese.

🍽️ Where to Find Quesitos: Florida Bakery (Ponce), San Luis Bakery (Aibonito)

Puerto Rican food is full of sweets that originate from the legacy of Europeans, and Quesitos is one of them. This puff pastry is filled with cream cheese and topped with honey, and it’s perfect for a coffee break. 

Pastelillos de Guayaba

Pastries filled with guava.

🍽️ Where to Find Pastelillos: Kasalta (San Juan), Panadería Encanto (Carolina)

Also known as pastelillitos (depending on the region of Puerto Rico you’re in), these small pastries are filled with guava jelly and dusted with sugar. They’re a very typical snack at parties and get-togethers.

Empanadillas

Fried stuffed pastries.

🍽️ Where to Find Empanadillas: Donde Olga (Loíza), La Casa del Indio (Loíza)

Known in English as turnovers, empanadillas are fried pastries stuffed with ground beef, chicken, or seafood. Some locals also refer to them as pastelillos, although many argue that they are distinct. The main difference is on the fritter’s border and the dough disc.

They are common in roadside kiosks. As a general Puerto Rico tip, it’s always best to carry cash with you, as some of these kiosks lack ATM systems.

Tres Leches

Sponge cake made with three types of milk.

🍽️ Where to Find Tres Leches: El Lechón Ardiente (Fajardo), Panadería Artesanal Villa Palmeras (San Juan)

Another popular sponge cake across Latin America, tres leches is made with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, regular milk, and heavy cream.

It’s often served as a dessert or a sweet companion to coffee. The cake is baked first, then soaked in the tres leches mixture until it’s soft and moist.

Tripleta

Sandwich of three or more different types of meat.

🍽️ Where to Find Tripleta: Crazy’s Burger & Dessert (Cataño), Panaderia La Campana (Aguadilla)

For those who enjoy sandwiches, Puerto Rican cuisine offers the Tripleta. The name of the sandwich comes from its three types of meat: chicken, roasted pork, and ham, although you’ll find some variations of the meat mix.

The sandwich also comes with sides of fries, mayonnaise, ketchup, and vegetables.

Asopao de Camarones

Soup made with rice and shrimp.

🍽️ Where to Find Asopao de Camarones: El Plátano Criollo (Carolina), Doña Ana (Bayamón)

Another soup in Puerto Rican cuisine is the Asopao de Camarones. Similar to traditional sopón with pigeon peas, the Asopao con Camarones consists of rice, potatoes, tomato sauce, and shrimp.

👉 Did you Know? If a soup’s name reads asopao, it will likely have rice in it instead of noodles.

Tembleque

Creamy coconut pudding.

🍽️ Where to Find Tembleque: Panadería Fernández (Carolina), Panadería Lemy (Toa Baja)

Tembleque is a delicious dessert, mostly enjoyed during the holidays, but you can also find it at many restaurants throughout the year.

This coconut milk–based pudding is made with sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon, and it has a smooth, jiggly consistency, similar to gelatin.

Café con Leche

Coffee with milk.

🍽️ Where to Find Coffee with Milk: Café Mis Abuelos (Mayagüez), Café Don Luis Coffee Bar (Yauco)

Contrary to other travel destinations, if you ask for coffee in a bakery or restaurant in Puerto Rico, you’ll get a coffee with milk.

Puerto Rico’s coffee is famous for its strong flavor and most Puerto Rican families start their morning with the warm beverage.

To enjoy it as a local, drop a piece of cheddar or ball cheese into the coffee. The mix of flavors and the melted cheese at the end is a complete culinary experience.

Arroz con Dulce

Sweetened rice pudding.

🍽️ Where to Find Arroz con Dulce: Fresh and Fancy Bakery (Bayamón), La Casa De Los Flanes Y Bizcochos (Toa Baja)

Arroz con dulce is another sweet traditional dessert. It’s made by cooking rice in both coconut milk and tea water prepared with cinnamon, sugar, ginger, and anise, resulting in a sweet rice pudding. 

Flan

Custard made of condensed milk, evaporated milk, and eggs.

🍽️ Where to Find Flan: Casa Linda (Añasco), Palma’s Bakery & Coffee Shop (Arroyo)

Originally from Europe, flan is a dessert made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.

Although the original recipe is widely used in Puerto Rican cooking, flan de queso is another variant that includes cream cheese in the recipe.

Arroz y Habichuelas

White rice and beans.

🍽️ Where to Find Rice and Beans: La Picadera Bar & Restaurant (San Juan), Rincón del Sabor (Luquillo)

Arroz con Habichuelas is Puerto Rico’s staple food. It’s eaten almost daily in local households, and it’s simply white rice with a side of red or pink beans. The dish is made complete with meat, often chicken or pork chops.

🚗 Going on a food-hunting road trip? Have a smooth day trip with these Puerto Rico driving tips.

Limbers

Frozen flavorful juice.

🍽️ Where to Find Limbers: Ice Cream & Limbers Calle Loiza (San Juan), Limber Coquí Típico (Aguadilla)

Besides piraguas, limbers are another treat Puerto Ricans enjoy on a hot summer day.

Limbers are frozen juices in various flavors, including strawberry, coconut, cookies and cream, passionfruit, cream cheese, and peanut. 

You can find them in small markets or gas stations, but the best ones are homemade. If you stumble upon a house with a sign that reads limber, make sure to stop and buy one.

Serenata de Bacalao con Viandas 

Codfish salad with root vegetables.

🍽️ Where to Find Serenata con Viandas: Ekelekua (San Juan), Rene’s BBQ (Guayama)

Serenata is a salted codfish salad with onion, lettuce, tomato, boiled egg, and olive oil. It’s served with viandas, as root vegetables are known in Spanish. Puerto Ricans like to enjoy boiled viandas with serenata de bacalao and a glass of milk.

Guanimes 

Boiled dough of coconut milk and cornflour.

🍽️ Where to Find Guanimes: El Balconcito Criollo (Aibonito), Casa Vieja (Ciales)

Often served with codfish stew, Guanimes are cooked similarly to Puerto Rican pasteles.

The dough, made of coconut milk and cornflour, gets tied inside a plantain leaf to give it flavor, and then boiled until ready. Most Puerto Ricans enjoy guanimes with bacalao guisado (codfish stew).

Local Candies

Local sweets and candies.

🍽️ Where to Find Local Candies: Any corner store

Puerto Rico features its own special variety of delicious candies, similar to Turkish delights. Some of the traditional candies include dulce de leche, gofio, ajonjolí, guava paste, and pilones, a sugary popsicle with sesame seeds.

Amarillos

Fried ripe plantains.

🍽️ Where to Find Amarillos: The New Reef (Loíza), Don Kike´s BBQ (Camuy)

While many Puerto Rican dishes use green plantains, ripe plantains are also present in local cuisine.

Amarillos are a common side dish that consists of cutting ripe plantain into pieces and frying them until the outside is golden/black and the interior is soft.

Cuajito

Pork stomach boiled and seasoned.

🍽️ Where to Find Cuajito: Tu Antojito Criollo (Cabo Rojo), Papos Guacaros (Dorado)

Cuajito is pork stomach sliced and soaked in vinegar and water. After rinsing, the pork stomach gets boiled and seasoned with peppers, onion, tomato sauce, adobo, garlic powder, sofrito, and chicken broth.

Guineitos en Escabeche

Boiled green bananas seasoned with spices.

🍽️ Where to Find Guineitos en Escabeche: El Pionono 2 (Manatí), La Casa del BBQ (Aguadilla)

Guineitos en escabeche is a side dish of green bananas boiled, drained, chopped, and finally marinated.

The seasoning includes olive oil, olives, vinegar, onion, bay leaves, and pepper. Some people mix guineitos with gizzards too.

Maví

Fermented drink made of Maví tree bark.

🍽️ Where to Find Maví: Paseo La Princesa Food Kiosks (San Juan)

Maví is a homemade fermented drink most Puerto Ricans like to enjoy while strolling through San Juan.

The drink gets made with Maví tree bark, sugar, and water. Just make sure to drink it very cold, since the flavor might not be as good any other way. You can also find maví in other areas of the Caribbean.

Pan Sobao

Puerto Rican bread.

🍽️ Where to Find Pan Sobao: Any bakery or corner market

Your visit to Puerto Rico isn’t complete without trying the local bread, which is classified into pan sobao and pan de agua.

They vary in consistency and flavor, but are present in the breakfast of almost all Puerto Ricans, along with butter and a good cup of coffee.

Sopa de Pollo

Chicken Noodle Soup.

🍽️ Where to Find Asopao de Pollo: Sopa Grill (Coamo), Hermanos Pinchos (Loiza)

Puerto Rico’s version of chicken soup includes much more than chicken.

Brewed with potato, garlic, onion, peppers, noodles, ham, sofrito, and tomato sauce, sopa de pollo is a great dish, and many Puerto Ricans use it as a remedy for common colds.

Asopao de pollo is similar, but it’s made with rice instead of noodles.

Pinchos

Chopped meat or chicken cooked on a BBQ.

🍽️ Where to Find Pinchos: Willy’s Pinchos (Guaynabo), Hermanos Pinchos (Loiza)

Pinchos are a great, quick snack if you’re on a Puerto Rico road trip. Pincho refers to chopped pork or chicken cooked in a BBQ and served on a stick. Often, Pinchos are paired with tostones or pan sobao (bread).

Arepas

Crispy wheat or coconut flour cakes.

🍽️ Where to Find Arepas: Bobby’s Place (Naguabo), La Preñá (San Juan)

Arepas are a staple in Latin American cuisine, but Puerto Rico’s arepas have a twist to them.

While most arepas are prepared with corn flour, Puerto Ricans prepare arepas with wheat or coconut flour. You can eat them alone or stuff them with chicken, meat, or fish.

Adobo

Seasoning used in traditional Puerto Rican dishes.

🍽️ Where to Find Adobo: Any corner market

Adobo is a Puerto Rican mix of ground spices used to season meats, fish, and stews, and it’s part of what gives the local gastronomy its unique flavor.

Sofrito

A mix of different spices grounded together.

🍽️ Where to Find Sofrito: Any corner market

While it’s not something you eat on its own, sofrito is the base of all Puerto Rican stews, mamposteao, and soups.

This mix consists of cilantro, onion, garlic, salt, recao, oregano, parsley, achiote, and sazón, a local spice that Puerto Ricans use to cook. 

You will not see sofrito in your food, but you’ll definitely feel its flavor.

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Thanks for reading all about these 49 delicious Puerto Rican dishes you can enjoy in Puerto Rico! Before you go, be sure to bookmark my guide to the best places to eat in San Juan!