Arroz Blanco (Puerto Rican White Rice) is delicious, fluffy and perfect with any meal. Flavored with crispy ‘”tocino” (pork fat). If you’re a Vegetarian just simply exclude the pork fat.
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What’s great about white rice?! Well of course EVERYTHING!!
White rice is the king of all rice dishes because it just goes with so many meals!
This Arroz Blanco (Puerto Rican White Rice) will become one of your favorite ways to cook white rice. It is so flavorful and so simple to make, you will never go wrong with this Puerto Rican Rice.
It is such a basic rice dish but one I certainly can’t do without!
Not to mention, it is so easy to make and done in under an hour.
Puerto Rican Rice Ingredients
This authentic Arroz Blanco is made with medium grain or short grain rice.
No long grain rice here!
But if you prefer long grain rice, feel free to use long grain.
Note: DO NOT use parboiled rice or instant rice. Arroz blanco is made from scratch and cannot be made with premade rice.
2 cups medium grain rice
2 ¾ cups of water
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/4 cup tocino (pork fat also known as fatback)
2 teaspoons of salt
Note: If you are Vegetarian, simply exclude the pork fat.
How to Cook Puerto Rican White Rice
*****VERY IMPORTANT TO COOKING PUERTO RICAN RICE*****
Key to making any Puerto Rican rice is to use a “caldero” (Puerto Rican Rice Pot) or a cooking cauldron. A caldero is made of cast iron and allows the rice to cook uniform and also creates a crispy bottom layer to caldero known as “pegao.” Do not use a non stick saucepan to make Puerto Rican rice as it will not cook the same at all. If you do not have a caldero, use a dutch oven instead.
Cut the tocino (pork fat) into one inch cubes or sections.
In a caldero (or dutch oven) over medium heat, add the oil and tocino and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring with a large spoon in between cooking time.
It will start to get nice and crispy and all kinds of yummy.
Carefully add the water and salt to the caldero and bring to a boil.
While water is boiling rinse the two cups of white rice in water until the water runs pretty clear, about 3 rinses.
(This removes the talc coating “peril” that helps preserve the rice)
Add the rice to the pot and stir with a large spoon.
*TIP: You know you have added enough water to rice when a large spoon is almost fully covered by the liquid in pot.
Cook rice for about 5 minutes on high heat until water has almost completely dried out.
Like so ↓
Stir rice with a large spoon, cover immediately with a lid and lower heat to medium low.
(Do not worry about the “pegao” that has built on the bottom of the pan, avoid stirring so hard as to remove pegao from bottom, we do not want the pegao to be distributed into the rice) Cook for 15 minutes on medium low.
(Note: Once you have stirred and covered rice DO NOT REMOVE lid to check on rice until it is time to check on it again or rice will stun and remain hard grain and pretty much never cook the right way!)
After 15 minutes, remove lid and stir again (rice will be even drier now, which is good!), cover pot and cook for another 15 minutes.
Remove lid and stir again. Rice is done and should be dry, not wet and sticky.
Enjoy!
For more delicious rice dishes you will also love these:
- Arroz con Maiz (Yellow Rice with Corn)
- Arroz Blanco y Habichuelas (White Rice and Stewed Red Beans)
- Puerto Rican Rice and Beans ( Arroz y Habichuelas)
- Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice (Arroz con Pollo)
- Arroz con Gandules (Yellow Rice and Pigeon Peas)
- Arroz Mamposteao (“Dirty Rice” with Stewed Beans)
Arroz Blanco (Puerto Rican White Rice)
Ingredients
- 2 cups medium grain rice I use Goya brand
- 2¾ cups water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ cup tocino (pork fat)
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut the tocino (pork fat) into one inch cubes or sections.In a caldero (or dutch oven) over medium heat, add the oil and tocino and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring with a large spoon in between cooking time.
- Carefully add the water and salt to the caldero and bring to a boil.While water is boiling rinse the two cups of white rice in water until the water runs pretty clear, about 3 rinses.(This removes the talc coating (peril) that helps preserve the rice)
- Add the rice to the pot and stir with a large spoon.*TIP: You know you have added enough water to rice when a large spoon is almost fully covered by the liquid in pot.Cook rice for about 5 minutes on high heat until water has almost completely dried out.
- Stir rice with a large spoon, cover immediately with a lid and lower heat to medium low.
- After 15 minutes, remove lid and stir again (rice will be even drier now, which is good!), cover pot and cook for another 15 minutes.Remove lid and stir again. Rice is done and should be dry, not wet and sticky.
Note: Do not worry about the "pegao" that has built on the bottom of the pan, avoid stirring so hard as to remove pegao from bottom, we do not want the pegao to be distributed into the rice. Cook for 15 minutes on medium low.Note: Once you have stirred and covered rice DO NOT REMOVE lid to check on rice until it is time to check on it again or rice will stun and remain hard grain and pretty much never cook the right way!
Notes
Nutrition
This is an interesting way to cook rice. I have a Dutch oven so def want to try it. I live in Italy so am not sure what I should ask for when buying pork fat. Is it just fat from a fatty pork cut?
Hey Jacqueline! If you can find pork skin or pork skin with a little bit of fat in Italy, that would be considered “tocino,” however, if you cannot find it, no worries, you can still make this yummy rice without it! Let me know if there’s another way I can offer help!
Toscino is also called “fatback”
Yes it is! Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
I have always had a hard time making “good” rice !! And it was embarrassing !! This website just made my rice taste amazing !!
Best compliment! So happy I could help!! 😉
Wow I’ve never thought about flavoring rice with pork fat before! That sounds Delicious.
Got to try it Suzanne!!
I bet the pork fat adds so much flavor to this arroz blanco recipe. I also love the crispy bottom you get from cooking it in a dutch oven.
Yes Kelly, the PEGAO (bottom crust) is the best especially with habichuelas guisadas!!!!!!
Rice is already my go-t0 comfort food. The addition of pork fat makes this dish even tastier. Thanks for another winner!
YAY!!! SO happy Traci this could be a comfort rice for you!
I made a Puerto Rican chicken recipe for my son and his friends. Searched the internet for an authentic Puerto Rican rice recipe to go with it like I had in Miami. Usually I make a long grain rice dish but wanted to use cal rose rice this time. Everyone loved it and no left overs. I used bacon though because that’s what I had available. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Dinner was extra special. This is worth making again and again.
Hello Brenda! So great to hear it turned out delicious for you and your family! Yay! Thank you for taking the time to let me know and for your rating! Appreciate you! 🙂
I never cook and made this for my PR mom for the first time today, she was quite impressed. The easy to follow instructions were exactly what I needed. THANK YOU.
Hello V.B! I’m so happy to hear my recipe was able to help you. I understand it can be a little challenging to make authentic PR rice, so pat yourself on the back for making it yourself for the first time! 🙂 How great V.B! So great to hear your mom really enjoyed it too! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it turned out for you!
YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
I’m Italian and my husband is Puerto Rican. Your recipes make me look like I’ve been cooking like this all my life. 😂 THANK YOU!
Hi Chris! Thank you so much for your kind words, for taking the time to comment, and for letting me know that my recipes have helped you!🙏 Comments like yours make all my hard work well worth it! Please feel free to let me know if there is any recipe you would like to see on the food blog or any questions you may have. All the best!