15 Traditional Puerto Rican Foods and Drinks To Try on Your Next Trip

If you ask Puerto Ricans what their favorite dish is, many will say lechón asado. This dish is made with a whole pig that's slow roasted over charcoal and wood and seasoned with a mix of garlic and the traditional spice mixes known as adobo and sazón. Lechón is particularly popular on weekends and special occasions when people have plenty of time to cook the animal.

To try some for yourself, head to a lechonera, specialized restaurants that are particularly fun on weekends, when many also offer live music (plus lots of sides to go with your meat). For the most classic experience, visit Guavate, an area in the mountain town of Cayey, that's home to a winding mountain road known as “Pig Road” because of the many lechoneras located along the route.

This popular side dish is found in most traditional Puerto Rican restaurants, served as a side for lechón asado, fried fish, or grilled chicken. Arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas) gets its yellow hue from sazón, annatto seed oil, and tomato sauce, which also impart a wonderful rich flavor.

While this is a particularly popular way to prepare rice, you’ll also find versions of this yellow rice cooked with other ingredients, such as chicken, kidney beans, or vegetables.

This crispy snack is one of Puerto Rico’s popular frituras, a style of fried treats that are an important part of Puerto Rican beach culture; you’ll find them at beachside kiosks and shacks across the island. Alcapurrias are made from a masa (dough) of grated green bananas and yautía (a root vegetable) or yuca, and they’re usually filled with ground beef or stewed crab before being deep-fried to crispy perfection.

Another treat associated with Puerto Rican beach culture, pastelillos are Puerto Rican versions of empanadas. Made with a thin flour dough, they can be filled with a variety of things, such as seafood, meat, and cheese before they’re deep fried. You can find these tasty treats at most beach food stands across the island.

For a classic Puerto Rican experience, enjoy sunset views in Boquerón—a beach on the island's southwest coast—while snacking on a shrimp pastelillo and sipping a cold Medalla (a local brand of beer).

Bacalaítos—fritters made with flour and flaky salt cod—may look simple, but their rich flavor makes them a local favorite. The salty dried cod filling is seasoned with adobo, sazón, and culantro, then mixed with a thin batter; when they’re fried, they become crispy and develop lacy edges. You can find them everywhere from street festivals to roadside stands, and they make the perfect snack after a long day.

If you love combining salty and sweet flavors, you have to try a slice of pastelón. Often referred to as a "Puerto Rican lasagna," pastelón is made with layers of sweet fried plantains, savory minced ground beef, and mozzarella cheese. The dish can be simple or fancy and is so popular that chefs everywhere from casual eateries to upscale restaurants have versions of pastelón on their menus.

While many of Puerto Rico’s best-known dishes are fried, not everything on the island is heavy (or crispy). For something light, look no further than the ensalada de pulpo (octopus salad). This combination of cooked octopus, olives, tomatoes, and onions, all dressed in vinaigrette, is flavorful and refreshing. It’s also popular at all kinds of restaurants; you’ll find different versions everywhere from beachfront restaurants to fine dining establishments.

If you travel to Puerto Rico during the holidays, you'll more than likely find pasteles on the menu. Every family has their own version of this holiday treat, which is one of the most labor-intensive foods in all of Puerto Rican cuisine. Most pasteles are made of a green bananas, root vegetable, and pumpkin masa, and filled with stewed pork. However, many restaurants also offer creative versions, including options with vegetarian fillings including stewed eggplant and pork alternatives such as smoked duck.

Plantains are a big part of Puerto Rican cuisine, and you're guaranteed to find them in some form or another on pretty much every menu on the island. This starchy fruit can be prepared in a variety of ways, and you should try them all: Crispy tostones made from green plantains are served alongside most Puerto Rican dishes. Ripe plantains, known as maduros—which have a softer texture and a sweet flavor—are also a popular side. Lastly there’s mofongo, a quintessential Puerto Rican delicacy made by mixing smashed fried plantains with pork rinds, then forming the combination into a dome that is topped with fried pork or stewed shrimp.

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Big green pana (breadfruit) grow on tall leafy trees all over the island, and harvest season lasts all the way from late winter through the summer. Although considered a fruit, this starchy and sour ingredient is served in savory dishes. The most popular way to prepare it is in tostones de pana, slices of breadfruit that are fried and smashed. These can be offered as a snack or a side or even topped with seafood or meat as a hearty appetizer.

But if you want to try this food in lots of preparations, you can also find it in soups, mashed as a side dish, and even blended into a flan. Once you try them, go see how breadfruit trees grow in the wild at El Yunque Rainforest, located on the northeast coast of the island in the town of Rio Grande.

Sliced avocado is a typical side dish in Puerto Rico. During avocado season (from late summer to early winter) you’ll find them used frequently in restaurants, and you can also buy them from local vendors. (If you're going on a road trip in Puerto Rico, make sure to stop for avocados if you see them sold along the road.) The best local avocado variety is the Semil 34, a large green fruit that has a dark yellow flesh and is creamier than other avocados you’ll find here.

Known in Puerto Rican Spanish as habichuelas guisadas, stewed beans are a side dish commonly found in local restaurants, usually served with white rice. These hearty beans are generally stewed with ham and chunks of pumpkin, green bell pepper, or potatoes, but you can also find vegetarian versions. For many locals, a combination of white rice and habichuelas guisadas is the ultimate comfort food.

Puerto Rican bakeries are more than a place to pick up bread; they're also gathering spots where people can catch up, have lunch, or pick up desserts—like this classic treat—for a family party. Tembleque is a custard made from a mix of coconut milk, cornstarch, and sugar that is shaped in individual molds as it cools. It's often served as a dessert and is an excellent choice for people with dietary restrictions as it's both gluten-free and vegan.

For a great start to the day, order Puerto Rican coffee and a quesito. These puff pastries are filled with cream cheese and topped with a coating of honey, and the contrast between the savory cheese and the sweet honey makes these small, flaky, barrel-shaped treats a breakfast favorite among locals and visitors alike. The best place to find quesitos is at a bakery, but many supermarkets sell them as well.

If you're visiting Old San Juan, you'll probably hear about the mallorcas served at the iconic Cafeteria Mallorca. These sweet, pillowy buns topped with powdered sugar are some of the city’s most beloved breakfast items. Enjoy one toasted or have it as a sandwich filled with ham, egg, and cheese and then pressed on the grill; the combination of melted cheese with a hint of sweetness from the powdered sugar is delicious.

No trip to Puerto Rico is complete without a piña colada, Puerto Rico’s famous cocktail made of rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice. You can get them everywhere from countryside restaurants to the bar at the Caribe Hilton—the cocktail’s birthplace.

Once you’ve had a few, you should also try the island’s famous rum in other drinks, like passion fruit mojitos. Additionally, you can learn more about the spirit with a tour of Casa Bacardí, the largest rum producer in the world, or on a visit to Hacienda Santa Ana, the home of the Ron del Barrillito distillery.