For Professionals

Simple Puerto Rican Sofrito

Prep time: 15 min

Make a batch of homemade sofrito to use in your favorite Caribbean and Latin American dish. It is high in flavor but low in both sodium and phosphorus, which is often not the case in store-made versions.

Makes

24

Serving size

2 tablespoons

Ingredients

1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped

5 aji dulce peppers, stemmed and seeded

1 large Spanish onion, peeled and chopped

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 bunch cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 leaves of culantro (optional)

Instructions

  1. Rinse all ingredients well before using.
  2. Add onions in the blender first, as they will be juicier once pureed, followed by all the other ingredients in small batches.
  3. Refrigerate a portion of your sofrito in an airtight container for use within 1 week. Freeze any extra in small containers or in an ice cube tray for up to 4 months. You do not need to thaw before cooking.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of sofrito when you are making rice, beans, soups, and stews and enjoy.

Cooking Tip

Aji dulce peppers are sweet and mild. They may be hard to find in your area. If that is the case, you can use one 1 large red bell, 2 Italian sweet, or 2 cubanelle peppers instead.

Culantro is a fresh herb also called recao or long coriander and can often be found at Asian or Caribbean markets. If you cannot find it, no worries. The sofrito will still be delicious.

Recipe contributed by Natasha Eziquiel-Shriro, MS, RDN, CDN

Nutrition Info

Nutrition Info

Makes: 24  Serving size: 2 tablespoons

Calories

10

Fat

0 g

Saturated Fat

0 g

Trans Fat

0 g

Cholesterol

0 mg

Carbohydrates

2 g

Sugar

1 g

Fiber

0 g

Protein

0 g

Sodium

115 mg

Calcium

10 mg

Phosphorus

10 mg

Potassium

69 mg