Sofrito is a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine and can be added as a base to rice, soups, stews, sautes, and anything you want. My Mom has been making sofrito my whole life and our recipe goes back generations in my family.
Not everyone makes it the same, but here is our family recipe for your use when cooking.
You’ll need a glass jar to store your sofrito inside after completion.
Ingredients:
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 1/2 cubanelle pepper
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 mini sweet peppers / 4 Aji Dulce peppers or both
- 1 garlic bulb
Prepration: Wash your vegetables before beginning the process.
Steps:
1) Peel garlic (do not mince) and cut vegetables to a size that will blend.
2) Pulse all ingredients in blender starting with onion and peppers, little by little to make the base until all combined. Do not add water.
3) If you prefer to have little chunks – keep pulsing until all combined or you can use the blend button for a smoother consistency. We choose to blend our sofrito so it will dissolve into our food.
4) Add Aji Dulce (also called Cachucha Peppers) if available. You can find this at Latin Markets although it can be hard to find in certain markets. Finish pulsing or blending depending on consistency preferences. We keep ours frozen as you can see above.
5) Move to a glass jar for storing in coldest part of your refrigerator (usually the upper back part). Freeze leftovers in an ice cube tray or ziploc bag. The sofrito will last a very long time in the freezer, but not so long in the fridge (about a month, 2 max) so keep that in mind.
Enjoy!
Mom's Signature Puerto Rican Sofrito
A staple of Puerto Cuisine. Add this to your cooking regimen.
Ingredients
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 1/2 cubanelle pepper
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 mini sweet peppers / 4 Aji Dulce peppers or both
- 1 garlic bulb
Directions
- Peel garlic (do not mince) and cut vegetables to a size that will blend.
- Pulse all ingredients in blender starting with onion and peppers, little by little to make the base until all combined. Do not add water.
- If you prefer to have little chunks – keep pulsing until all combined or you can use the blend button for a smoother consistency. We choose to blend our sofrito so it will dissolve into our food.
- Add Aji Dulce (also called Cachucha Peppers) if available. You can find this at Latin Markets although it can be hard to find in certain markets. Finish pulsing or blending depending on consistency preferences. We keep ours frozen as you can see above.
- Move to a glass jar for storing in coldest part of your refrigerator (usually the upper back part). Freeze leftovers in an ice cube tray or ziploc bag. The sofrito will last a very long time in the freezer, but not so long in the fridge (about a month, 2 max) so keep that in mind.
Carlos Eats 
10 responses to “Recipe: Mom’s Signature Puerto Rican Sofrito”
What a nice, versatile recipe!
Why not use culantro instead of cilantro? A much richer flavor and less harsh.
Otherwise a great recipe.
Thanks
We love Cilantro in our house so that’s why we use it. Maybe we’ll try Culantro one day.
Can I use recaito or the premade culantro sauce made in jar? I don’t know if I’ve seen cubanelle peppers at store. In my recipe I will be adding tomato sauce. Thank you
You can put that in if you want. If you add culantro don’t put too much. It’s better to add tomato sauce to whatever dish you’re cooking because it will impact the shelf life.
I use both culantro and cilantro, thats the way my mom and my grandma show me how make sofrito😊
[…] 2 tbsp. Sofrito […]
[…] 2 tablespoons of sofrito […]
Thank you for posting this wonderful family recipe. I was specifically looking for a Sofrito recipe that did not require culantro (as this is not available where I live). I also did not want the recipe to include tomatoes. Your recipe is perfect, delicious and just what I wanted. Kudos to you and your family.
I make mine the same way. This is the best video I’ve seen teaching how to make Puerto Rican Sofrito. Great job! Thank you Carlos & mom!