Puerto Rico’s eclectic cuisine – cocina criolla – is an amalgamation of historical influences, from the island’s indigenous Taíno roots to the trans-Atlantic trade of enslaved people and Puerto Rico’s time as a Spanish colony before it became a US territory. It draws on ingredients from multiple cultures, as well as traditional cooking techniques, resulting in one of the most diverse and exciting culinary scenes in the Caribbean.
Throughout the year, boricuas (Puerto Ricans) celebrate Puerto Rican food culture in a series of food festivals across the island. The rest of the time, you can sample Puerto Rican staples everywhere, from fine dining establishments in the capital of San Juan, helmed by internationally renowned chefs, to roadside shacks in the mountains. Here are the best of the island’s specialties you cannot afford to miss.
Tuck in to empanadillas, quesitos and alcapurrias
Many cultures have a signature fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, and Puerto Rico is no exception. A popular snack and street food, the empanadilla is a small, crescent-shaped pastry, its filling flavored with two essential Puerto Rico ingredients: sofrito (sautéed onions, garlic, and peppers, with olive oil and cilantro) and achiote (a nutty, sweet spice made from annatto seeds).
The filling can be anything from ground beef and potatoes to lobster, conch, and shrimp. Two other noteworthy representatives of Puerto Rican street food are quesitos (cheese-filled pastries) and alcapurrias (deep-fried green banana fritters stuffed with seafood).
Where to try them: Kiosko El Boricua; street stalls during San Juan’s Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián.
Taste the plantain dishes including tostones and amarillos
It’s impossible to imagine Puerto Rican food without the plantain, imported during the 16th and 17th centuries. Plantains are a Puerto Rican staple for a good reason. They come in many forms: tostones (green plantain slices marinated in water with garlic and lime juice, deep-fried, mashed, then deep-fried again till crispy), platanos fritos or amarillos (ripe plantain slices fried till the outside is blackened), mofongo (mashed plantain), pastelón (plantain lasagna), jibarito (plantain and steak sandwich), and guineos en escabeche (pickled green plantains).
If you happen to be in the mountain town of Corozal in October, try the plantain’s various incarnations at the Fiesta de Platanos.
Where to try them: Tropical Taste, El Jibarito, Gustitos Criollos.
Get stuffed with pasteles
Puerto Rico’s answer to Mexican tamales, pasteles consist of masa (dough) made with green bananas (alternatives include grated green plantains and malanga/yutía – a root vegetable similar to yuca), stuffed with stewed pork (or occasionally chicken or salted cod). The ubiquitous sofrito and achiote are typically used to flavor the filling. The mixture is pressed onto a plantain leaf, folded, tied with string, and boiled.
Where to try them: El Jibarito, Deaverdura.
Munch on mofongo
This quintessential Puerto Rican dish dates back to the 1500s and traces its roots to the West African practice of making fufu (boiled yam mash). Mofongo is made by mashing fried green plantains, garlic, olive oil, and chicharrón (fried pork skin), often served as a side dish alongside meat. Variations on mofongo include yuca mofongo and trifongo, comprising green plantain, ripe plantain, and yuca.
Where to try it: La Placita de Guavate, El Mofongo Ahogao, Orozco’s Restaurant.
Go restaurant hopping for lechón asado
On weekends, Puerto Rican families partake in chinchorreo (restaurant hopping) along the Ruta de Lechón (“Pork Highway”), to enjoy lechón asado (whole roast pig) — so vital to Puerto Rican cuisine that it’s an official part of the island’s gastronomic heritage. Lechonerías (rustic, open-air restaurants) line Ruta 184, leading to the mountain town of Cayey. Each lechonería has its own secret seasoning recipe, but typically the pig is seasoned with adobo (a mix of salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, achiote) before being slow-roasted over coals using the traditional barbacoa process.
Where to try it: Lechonera Los Pinos, Lechonería Los Amigos.
Rice should be part of every meal
It’s not a proper meal without rice in some form. Two popular side dishes are arroz y habichuelas and arroz con gandules. Arroz y habichuelas involves pink beans stewed with sofrito, garlic, ham hock, onion, and peppers, served alongside white rice. More elaborate, arroz con gandules comprises pigeon peas cooked with salted pork and sofrito, then boiled with broth.
Where to try it: Any restaurant on the island!
Try barbacoa, friturias de yautía and yuca en escabeche
Well over half of Puerto Ricans trace their ancestry to the Taíno people – the island’s original inhabitants. While you may not find traditional Taíno dishes elsewhere, attending the Festival Nacional Indígena, held in mid-November, offers a chance to sample centuries-old island cuisine, including barbacoa de pescado (fish cooked over a fire pit), friturias de yautía (fritters made from an endemic tuber), and yuca en escabeche (pickled cassava).
Where to try them: The town of Jayuya in the Central Mountains.
Local coffee beans give a rich flavor
Coffee has been popular on the island since the 18th century, with small-scale coffee plantations in the mountain towns of Adjuntas and Maricao growing high-quality beans. The volcanic soil gives them a deep, rich flavor. Maricao celebrates the brew during its Festival del Acabe del Café in February, but good coffee is available year-round in cafes around San Juan and Ponce.
Where to try it: Don Ruiz Coffee Shop, Café Cuatro Sombras, Café Prieto.
Great piña coladas are not hard to find
The piña colada, consisting of pineapple juice, coconut water, crushed ice, and Puerto Rican rum, has been the island’s national drink since 1978. As the world’s largest rum producer, Puerto Rico boasts a rich rum-making history. The island even hosts a pineapple festival in La Parquera, near Ponce.
Where to try it: La Guancha in Ponce; Festival de la Piña Paradisíaca in June, or at virtually any bar on the island.
Vegetarians and vegans
Puerto Rico offers more than just the ubiquitous arroz con gandules (rice with beans) and maduros (fried ripe plantain). With vegetarianism and plant-based diets gaining popularity, many chefs are experimenting with meat-free versions of traditional Puerto Rican foods, such as empanadillas, relleno de papa, and alcapurrias. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants, like Madre Tierra and St Germain Bistro & Café, are abundant in San Juan and increasingly found throughout the island.
