Arroz con Carne (Rice with Meat) is a delicious, flavorful dish that combines rice and meat, flavored with a variety of seasonings and ingredients. Excellent any day of the week!
This dish is also commonly referred to as Arroz con Carne de Res (Rice with Beef) and Arroz con Carne y Verduras (Rice with Meat and Vegetables) because besides pieces of meat, you also usually add vegetables. It offers a lot of flavor in one pot, making it a great alternative to arroz blanco or plain yellow rice.
Especially perfect when you want to use a few pieces of leftover meat or looking to change your weekly rice routine.
Although Arroz con Carne is traditionally made using either pork or beef, use whatever meat you like or a combination of.
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Reasons to Love this Recipe
- Flavorful and Savory: Combining tender meat, aromatic spices, and a rich broth that infuses into the rice, this rice dish offers a lot of flavor that’s hard to resist!
- Meaty: The meat adds a hearty and satisfying element to the dish.
- Versatility: Traditionally this dish is made using either beef or pork. However, using what you prefer or have at hand, works great too. Staying away from red or pink meat? Try adding some chicken pieces instead.
- One-Pot Meal: Although I normally serve this rice dish with a protein on the side and a side of habichuelas guisadas (stewed beans), it can also be prepared as a one-pot meal. Especially perfect when you’re in a rush or want minimal cleanup.
- Comfort Food: It’s warm and hearty, making it perfect for those cozy, comforting meals at home.
- Entertaining or Holiday Rice Dish: Once cooked, add the rice to a casserole dish and top with pimiento slices for a festive look.
Ingredients
- Beef – Use either skirt steak, thin rib eye or thin round or chuck steak.
- Rice – Use medium grain rice. Do not use any type of instant minute rice.
- Peppers – I used a combination of red, green and orange bell peppers for more flavor and appealing rice dish.
- Frozen Peas – Canned peas do not work for this dish as they will get too mushy in the cooking process.
- Sofrito – Sofrito adds a delicious earthiness to the dish but can skip if you do not have any.
- Sazon – Used for flavor and color.
- Beef Bouillon – Use either powdered or cubed bouillon.
- Tocino (Pork Back Fat) – I love pieces of pork fat in this dish but is optional.
- Olives – Use pimiento stuffed olives for the best flavor.
*See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements and instructions.*
Substitutions and Variations
- Rice: If you are not a fan of medium grain rice and prefer long grain, use that instead. Just adjust the amount of water needed to cook the rice as long grain rice requires more water to cook.
- Veggies: Use whatever vegetables you have available or prefer such as carrots and broccoli spears.
- Pork Fat: Although optional to use in this dish, you can also replace it with a few pieces of chopped bacon.
- Meat: Use whatever meat you like, have at hand or even a combination of.
Instructions
Step 1: Cut and Marinade the Steak. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into one-inch cubes and place in a small bowl (Image 1). Add the soy sauce and garlic puree to the image and stir into the steak pieces. Marinate the steak for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours (Image 2).
Step 2: Saute the Tocino and Steak. Add the oil to a “caldero” (dutch oven pot) and heat over medium heat. Add the tocino (pork fat) to the pot and cook for 1 minute, then stir. Cook for another minute or until slightly golden brown (Image 3). Add the marinated steak and cook for a few minutes, stirring in between (Image 4).
Step 3: Seasonings. Add the sofrito, sazon and the olives to the pot. Stir and cook for 1 minute (Image 5). Add the water, beef bouillon, peas and bring to a low boil (Image 6).
Step 4: Preparing the Rice. While the water is coming to a boil, rinse the rice several times until the water looks clear. Drain the water using your hands or straining rice through a colander (Images 7 and 8).
Step 5: Adding the Rice. Once the water has come to a low boil, add the rice and stir. Sprinkle salt over the rice and stir. You know you have added enough water to the rice when a large spoon is almost fully covered by the water in the pot (Images 9 and 10).
Step 6: Cooking the Rice. Cook the rice for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat or until the water has almost completely dried out (Image 11). Add the peppers and stir the rice. Cover the rice with a lid and lower heat to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes without disturbing the rice.
TIP: DO NOT lift the lid to the pot while the rice is cooking or you will stun the rice and the rice will not cook properly.
Step 7: Stirring the Rice. After 15 minutes, lift the lid and stir the rice again. Cover immediately and cook for another 15-20 minutes (Image 13).
Step 8: Final Stir. After 15-20 minutes, lift the lid and stir the rice one last time, cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes (Image 14). After 10-15 minutes remove the lid, stir the rice, the rice is now done. Serving Ideas: carne guisada (Puerto Rican beef stew) or diezmillo, Denver steak, chuleton (T-bone steak) are all delicious pairing ideas!
Recipe FAQs
Depending on how much rice you have leftover, you can place the whole pot in the refrigerator.
If you have just a little bit of rice left and want to conserve space in your refrigerator, save it in a small plastic container and refrigerate.
Consume leftovers within 5 days.
If the rice is still in the pot, reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes or until heated through. If it is in a plastic container, you can simply heat it in the microwave for about 1 ½ minutes or until heated through.
*May need more heating time depending on how much rice is in the container.
Other Rice Dishes You Will Love
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📖 Recipe
Arroz con Carne
Ingredients
- 3 cups medium grain rice
- 1 pound skirt steak, thin rib eye, round or chuck steak rinsed and cut into one-inch slices
- ½ each red, green, orange bell pepper rinsed and sliced or cut to your
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup tocino (pork back fat) optional
- 2 tablespoon pimiento stuffed olives
- 2 tablespoon sofrito
- 3 tsp beef bouillon powder or 3 beef bouillon cubes
- 1 packet Sazon with Annatto
- 1½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- roasted bell peppers for topping rice at the end optional
Steak Marinade
- 2 teaspoon garlic puree
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
Instructions
Marinade Steak
- Add both the garlic puree and soy sauce to the steak pieces and stir.Allow the steak to marinade 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Rice Preparation
- Add the oil to a "caldero" (dutch oven pot) and heat over medium heat. Add the tocino (pork fat) to the pot and cook for 1 minute, then stir. Cook for another minute or until slightly golden brown.
- Add the marinated steak and cook for a few minutes, stirring in between.
- Add the sofrito, sazon and the olives to the pot. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the water, beef bouillon, and peas and bring to a low boil.
- While the water is coming to a boil, rinse the rice several times until the water looks clear. Drain the water using your hands or straining rice through a colander.
- Once the water has come to a low boil, add the rice and stir. Sprinkle the salt on top and stir again.TIP: You know you have added enough water to the rice when a large spoon is almost fully covered by the water in the pot.
- Cook the rice for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat or until the water has almost completely dried out.
- Add the peppers and stir the rice. Cover the pot with a lid and lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes without disturbing the rice.TIP: DO NOT lift the lid to the pot while the rice is cooking or you will stun the rice and the rice will not cook properly.
- After 15 minutes, lift the lid and stir the rice again. Cover immediately and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Again do not disturb the rice.
- After 15-20 minutes, lift the lid and stir the rice one last time, cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- After 10-15 minutes remove the lid, stir the rice, the rice is now done. Optional: Top with chopped cilantro and sliced bell peppers.
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