Short answer: The five Puerto Rican foods not to miss are mofongo, arroz con gandules, slow-roasted lechón from the Guavate pork route, the fried alcapurrias and bacalaítos of the beach kiosks, and a piña colada in San Juan, where the Caribe Hilton says it was invented. Save room for a pastel at Christmas and a creamy coquito.
Puerto Rican food, often called cocina criolla, blends Taíno roots (cassava, corn, root vegetables), Spanish cooking (pork, rice, olive oil, salt cod) and African techniques such as mashing and deep-frying plantains. Almost everything starts with sofrito, a green base of onion, garlic, peppers, culantro and cilantro, and adobo seasoning. Plantains, green bananas, yautía (taro), pigeon peas and pork are the backbone; seafood is best on the coasts; and the cooler mountains are coffee and roast-pork country. Food is flavorful but rarely hot. For the island at a glance, see our Puerto Rico travel guide.
Mains and sides
1. Mofongo (mashed fried plantain)
Green plantains are fried, then mashed in a wooden pilón (mortar) with garlic, olive oil and crispy pork cracklings (chicharrón), and shaped into a dome. It comes plain with a garlic broth, or stuffed (relleno) with shrimp, chicken, steak or octopus in a creole sauce. It is filling, so one mofongo is a meal; ask for it without chicharrón if you don’t eat pork. Trifongo mixes green plantain, ripe plantain and cassava.
2. Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas)
The island’s signature rice: medium-grain rice cooked with pigeon peas, sofrito, olives, capers and pork or ham, colored with annatto (achiote). It is served at every celebration and especially at Christmas, next to roast pork and pasteles. The crispy layer from the bottom of the pot, called pegao, is the prized part; ask for some.
3. Lechón asado (roast suckling pig)
Whole pigs seasoned with garlic and oregano and slowly roasted on a spit over charcoal until the skin (cuerito) is glass-crisp. According to Discover Puerto Rico, the island’s destination marketing organization, the most famous place to eat it is Guavate in Cayey, where roadside lechoneras along the mountain road roast pigs over open fires and carve the meat with machetes. Order by the pound with arroz con gandules, morcilla (blood sausage) and boiled root vegetables. At home, families roast pernil (pork shoulder) instead.
4. Pasteles (plantain and root-vegetable parcels)
Puerto Rico’s answer to the tamal: a dough of grated green banana and yautía, sometimes with pumpkin, filled with seasoned pork, wrapped in a plantain leaf and boiled. They are a labor of love made by the dozen for the holidays, from late November to early January, and sold frozen year-round. Eat them with a splash of hot sauce and a side of rice.
5. Asopao (soupy rice stew)
A thick, comforting rice soup, halfway between a soup and a risotto, cooked with chicken (asopao de pollo) or seafood such as shrimp or lobster, and seasoned with sofrito, olives and capers. It is a rainy-day and late-night dish, and a good choice for anyone who wants something gentle after a day in the sun.
6. Tostones and amarillos (fried plantains)
Tostones are slices of green plantain fried, flattened and fried again until crisp, served with salt and mayo-ketchup or garlic dip. Amarillos are slices of ripe, sweet yellow plantain fried until caramelized. One or the other comes with almost every plate, and both are naturally vegetarian if fried in vegetable oil (ask, because some kitchens use lard).
Frituras: the beach-kiosk snacks
7. Alcapurrias
Torpedo-shaped fritters of grated green banana and yautía, stuffed with seasoned ground beef or crab and deep-fried. They are the star of the roadside kiosks at Piñones, east of San Juan, and at Luquillo Beach. Eat them hot from the fryer, with a cold drink and a dash of pique, the island’s vinegar-based pepper sauce.
8. Bacalaítos (salt-cod fritters)
Thin, crispy, lacy fritters made from a batter of flour and flaked salt cod, seasoned with garlic and cilantro. They are cheap, salty and addictive, and best eaten on the beach. Order one or two each and share; they are often as big as a plate.
9. Empanadillas (turnovers)
Half-moon pastries with a crimped edge, filled with ground beef, chicken, crab, lobster, conch or pizza-style cheese, and deep-fried. On the north and east coast kiosks you will find seafood versions you won’t see on the mainland; in Spanish-speaking households they may also be called pastelillos.
10. Sorullitos (corn fritters)
Fingers of cornmeal dough, often with a little cheese inside, fried until golden and dipped in mayo-ketchup. They appear as a starter in restaurants and at breakfast counters, and they are a safe vegetarian snack.
11. Piononos (stuffed sweet-plantain rings)
Strips of ripe plantain wrapped into a ring, filled with picadillo (seasoned ground beef) or cheese, dipped in egg batter and fried. Sweet and savory at once, they are a kiosk and lunch-counter favorite.
Sweets and drinks
12. Quesitos and mallorcas (bakery treats)
Puerto Rican panaderías (bakeries) are where locals start the day. Look for quesitos, flaky puff-pastry rolls filled with sweetened cream cheese, and the mallorca, a soft, spiral sweet bun dusted with powdered sugar, often split and pressed with ham and cheese. Order a café con leche alongside; coffee is grown in the central mountains.
13. Tembleque (coconut pudding)
A smooth, wobbly coconut-milk pudding thickened with cornstarch and dusted with cinnamon. Its name comes from temblar, to tremble. It is a Christmas classic, dairy-free and naturally gluten-free, and many bakeries sell it in small cups. Flan, often made with cream cheese or coconut, is the other dessert you will see everywhere.
14. Coquito (coconut eggnog)
The holiday drink of Puerto Rico: coconut milk and cream, condensed and evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and rum, blended and served chilled in small glasses. Families make their own from Thanksgiving to Three Kings’ Day (6 January) and gift it in bottles. Alcohol-free versions are common for kids.
15. Piña colada
Rum, cream of coconut and pineapple juice blended with ice. According to Hilton, bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero created it at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan in 1954, and the drink became Puerto Rico’s official drink in 1978. Another Old San Juan restaurant, Barrachina, also claims it, so you can taste both and decide. While you are on the island, try the local rum straight or in a mojito; the Bacardí distillery in Cataño, across the bay from Old San Juan by ferry, offers tours.
Where to eat: San Juan and beyond
Old San Juan and Santurce. In San Juan, the old town’s cobbled streets are packed with restaurants serving mofongo and criolla classics, plus panaderías and cafés for breakfast. In Santurce, the market square of La Placita is a produce market by day and a crowded open-air party with food and music on weekend evenings. The beach districts of Condado and Ocean Park are best for seafood and modern Puerto Rican cooking.
Piñones. Just east of the airport, along the coast road in Loíza, wooden kiosks fry alcapurrias, bacalaítos and empanadillas under the palms. It is Puerto Rico’s most famous street-food strip; go at lunch on a weekend for the full scene.
Luquillo kiosks. On your way back from El Yunque National Forest, stop at the numbered kiosks along PR-3 next to Luquillo Beach, which serve fried snacks, seafood, mofongo and cold drinks.
Guavate and the mountains. Discover Puerto Rico calls Guavate in Cayey the best known stop on the island’s pork route, La Ruta del Lechón, in the mountains south of San Juan. It is quieter on weekdays and turns into a party with live music at weekends. The winding mountain roads beyond are also coffee country.
The west and the islands. In Rincón, food trucks, beach bars and fresh fish fit the surf-town pace, and the lighthouse park has food kiosks for sunset. On Vieques, small restaurants and food trucks in Esperanza and Isabel Segunda serve seafood and island classics; hours can be short, so check ahead.
Food etiquette and tipping
Tipping works as on the mainland: about 15–20% at sit-down restaurants, and a little for bartenders, taxi drivers and guides. Some restaurants add a service charge, especially for groups, so check the bill before tipping twice. Restaurant bills carry Puerto Rico’s 11.5% sales and use tax (IVU), usually added at the till rather than shown on menus. Our tip calculator does the math.
Spanish is the everyday language outside the tourist areas, so a few words help: buen provecho (enjoy your meal), la cuenta, por favor (the bill, please) and sin cerdo (without pork). See our phrase cards. Carry some cash in small bills for kiosks and food trucks. One important rule for the trip home: according to the US Department of Agriculture, pork and pork products, including lechón and pasteles, and most fresh fruit cannot be taken from Puerto Rico to the US mainland, and all bags are inspected at the airport. Roasted coffee is allowed, so bring that instead.
Eating on a budget
Puerto Rico costs about the same as a US beach destination. A typical meal at an inexpensive San Juan restaurant comes to about $19 before tip, so kiosks, panaderías and lechoneras, where you buy by the pound, are the best value. Have a big lunch, picnic on the beach and save sit-down dinners for a few nights. For daily budgets, see how much a trip to Puerto Rico costs. Old San Juan food walks, rum tastings and coffee farm visits are easy to find in our tour finder.
Plan your trip
Pair your meals with the rest of the island: our top places to visit in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico itinerary and the best time to visit Puerto Rico, which covers the holiday season when pasteles, lechón and coquito are everywhere. Our AI trip planner can build a day-by-day plan with kiosk and lechonera stops, and the Destination weather tool shows what to expect.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Puerto Rico?
Arroz con gandules served with roast pork (lechón or pernil) is widely seen as the national dish, especially at holidays. Mofongo is the dish most visitors remember. The piña colada is the official drink, according to Hilton.
Is Puerto Rican food spicy?
No. Puerto Rican food is well seasoned with sofrito, garlic, oregano and adobo, but not hot. If you want heat, add pique, a vinegar-based hot pepper sauce found on most tables and at kiosks.
What do people eat for breakfast in Puerto Rico?
A café con leche with a toasted mallorca or a quesito from the bakery, or eggs with toast. Weekend breakfasts may include sorullitos or a sandwich on pan sobao, a soft local bread.
Is Puerto Rico good for vegetarians?
It takes a little effort, because pork and meat appear in many dishes, from mofongo to rice and beans. Sorullitos, tostones, amarillos, rice with beans cooked without meat, salads and many fruit drinks are vegetarian, and San Juan has plenty of vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Ask whether fried foods are cooked in lard.
What is mofongo made of?
Fried green plantains mashed with garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, often stuffed with seafood or meat and served with a broth or creole sauce.
Can I bring Puerto Rican food back to the mainland?
Not pork: according to the USDA, lechón, pasteles and other pork products are prohibited on flights from Puerto Rico to the mainland, as are most fresh fruits and vegetables, and all bags are inspected before departure. Roasted coffee is allowed in any quantity, so it makes the best edible souvenir.