Puerto Rican Style beans – A hearty red beans simmered in an aromatic sauce with big bold flavors. Quick, easy and simply delicious. 
If you like easy yet tasty meat-free beans, then you might think this Puerto Rican Beans is about the most delicious beans to cook up. It’s a hearty stew of red beans, simmered in tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper spices and chunks of potatoes and all the flavors fuse together beautifully. 
Did I ever tell you beans are one of my favorites ? Shhhhhh…don’t tell teenagers that. I did once and lets just say I became a center of their jokes. This is an easy and straightforward dish, that is simply delicious, so good my carnivore brother ate it all and forgot about the meat. 
If you cook beans often and dread the thought of boiling beans during the week, then go ahead and boil enough during the weekend and save up for weekdays. I freeze in batches and defrost overnight. You will be glad you did. Or forget about the hassle and just go with canned beans. Sazon — a Latin and Caribbean seasoning (ground black pepper, granulated garlic, coriander seed, salt and other seasonings.) It is used to flavor stews, soups and protein- available in Latino markets and even in major super markets. I usually get the Goya Sazon (or Gayon Sazon y culantro y achiote). 
Serve it with this one puerto rican chicken and rice here
this slow cooked pork (Pernil) right HERE.
Enjoy!
Watch How to Make It
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Puerto Rican Style Beans
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (or more)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2-3 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½-1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
- ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups cooked red beans (or three 15-ounce cans, rinse and drained)
- 2 cups broth, or more (chicken or vegetarian)
- 1 potato, medium-large peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1 packet Goya Sazon, with coriander (any Sazón without annatto)
- Salt to taste
- Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves (optional for garnishing)
Instructions
- Heat the olive / canola oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, cumin, jalapenos, cilantro , paprika, bell pepper and bay leaf sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 5-7. Do not brown.
- Add the onions, garlic, cumin, jalapenos, cilantro, paprika, bell pepper, cayenne, and bay leaf sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 5-7. Do not brown.
- Add the beans, chicken broth, potatoes, tomatoes, sazon, and salt and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes or more until potatoes is tender.
- Adjust seasonings and thickness to your preference with broth and spices.
- Remove from heat and serve warm with rice and or tostones.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Pam says
Im from PR and the way my grandma and mother in law would make beans is quite different. No jalapeños (I’m not opposed to them as they give a good kick) but use sofrito with culantro and pumpkin and ham. All sautéed for few minutes with the tomato sauce before adding the beans and simmer for several minutes. It will taste amazing!!!
Imma says
Thank you for the input, Pam!
John Otten says
I grew eating red beans and rice thanks to my wonderful neighbors. This receipe brings me back to my Brooklyn days. So savory, this recipe is awesome!
Imma says
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and that it reminded you of the good old days! Thanks for sharing, John.
Randy Mailloux says
The whole family loves this recipe. I can’t keep it around for any length of time
Imma says
I can definitely relate :)! Glad it was a hit with your family.
Aracelis says
Loved your recipe. I’ve always done dry beans because l wasn’t able to do can beans .But this recipes as become one of my favorite and easiest so its a home run for me.Everyone loves it so thank you for sharing.
Imma says
You are more than welcome. And if there’s a recipe you’d love to see, please let me know. Thanks:)
Holly says
My father is Puerto Rican so I was looking for a recipe to make for Father’s Day. These beans turned out delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
Imma says
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Elizabeth A says
I had two cans of red kidney beans and I had no idea how to spice them up. I remember going to a Puerto Rican restaurant and the kidney beans tasting amazing. This recipe is even better and so savory thank you !! A hit and I will now have something fun to add when family is over.
Imma says
You are more than welcome. And if there’s a recipe you’d love to see, please let me know. Thanks:)
Michelle says
Can I freeze this for a later time?
Imma says
You sure can. They’ll last in an airtight freezer bag for up to six months.
Ramona Boston says
Followed your recipe except I used cubed butternut squash instead of potatoes. It was delicious. Don’t like cilantro cooked so I left it out and it was still good.
Imma says
Great to hear that, yeah you can adjust the recipe as per your preference. Thank you so much for your love and support:)
Art Simon says
Really good! I was too lazy to go to the store to buy Sazon, so I used ambitious kitchen’s recipe to make your own. Also, I didn’t have bell peppers, so I used some small sweet peppers that I already had. Other than that, I followed the recipe as closely as I could. I’m not Puerto Rican nor have I been there, so I don’t have a baseline to compare mine to, but I thought it was really, really good! We’ll see what the rest of the family thinks tonight. Thank you!
Imma says
Haha haha yeah great adjustments. I am sure the whole family gave you great comments and admire your cooking skills:) Much Love
Robin Wilson says
How much is a serving of this recipe ?
Imma says
Thanks for catching that. I have fixed the recipe and added the serving amount. It comes to about a cup of beans per person. Of course, it depends if you’re serving it as a main dish or a side. As a side, it’s about half a cup. Hope that helps:)
Franny B. says
So easy, yummy, and filling. This was perfect for my meatless Monday.
imma africanbites says
Oh yesss! I’m glad you like this.
Terry McGovern says
Great recipe change from black beans Excellent Totally recommend thank you
Chelsi says
Suggestions for replacing the MSG packet? (The Sazon)
Immaculate Bites says
Hi Chelsi, there is a Sazon Goya with NO msg. Or you can try Bijol, there was a comment in here where she used Bijol for this recipe instead of sazon. Hope this helps!
Elsa says
I came across in FB how to make my own version of Sazón … NO MSG or artificial addictives… search google too. Hope you find it. If not I’ll try to, email me & I’ll send you screenshots I saved
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing .
Fayth says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love your website, and appreciate the creativity and personal touches you add to recipes. I keep coming back to this site over time.
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Fayth! I appreciate that.
Samantha Braswell says
I haven’t made it yet but I plan to! When I was in Miami, I went to a Puerto Rican restaurant where they had the best beans. That was the first PR spot I’ve been to that added potatoes to their beans, but they had sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes had the best flavor.
I have spent hours going through your recipes! They all look so good I can’t decide which one to start with lol!
Immaculate Bites says
Thanks for sharing, Samantha! Let me know how it goes when you finally make this recipe 🙂 Enjoy!