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If you’re looking for a vegan or vegetarian equivalent to Puerto Rican pollo guisado, look no further. I’ve whipped up a comforting recipe using tofu. So, I am calling this Puerto Rican Tofu Guisado.

This recipe + post has been updated for clarity, a more optimal cooking technique, and additional ingredients.

Growing up in a Puerto Rican household and switching to a plant-based diet, I find myself recreating some of my favorite childhood recipes to meet my needs.

Hands down, my favorite Puerto Rican dish is pollo guisado, or also known as Puerto Rican chicken stew.

Pollo guisado is a dish with braised chicken, carrots, potatoes, green Spanish olives, sofrito, and Puerto Rican spices. We’re remaking this recipe and switching out the chicken for tofu instead.

Puerto Rican Tofu guisado recipes. Tomato sauce, Spanish oilves firm tofu, potatoes, carrots, homemade sofrito.

More Puerto Rican Recipes:

Cooking Puerto Rican Tofu Guisado

Cubbed firm tofu coated with seasonings and flour

To keep things as legit as possible, we’re using the same spices and ingredients traditionally used in a Puerto Rican chicken stew.

All of those are vegan – so we won’t have to worry about changing anything else but the chicken.

The difference between this vegan pollo guisado and the traditional version of it is that we won’t be able to cook everything together. This recipe is typically a one-pot recipe.

However, we will need to cook the tofu separately in order to achieve that “meaty” texture we’re looking for.

Don’t worry – we sill won’t have much to clean up. Perhaps just a dutch oven/saucepot and a baking sheet.

Recipe Notes

Frozen, thawed, and cooked tofu. Sponge-like inside.

It’s very important to use firm tofu that has been frozen and then thawed. This the “meat and bones” of our recipe – just vegetarian. You can just throw the entire pack into the freezer and freeze overnight, or longer. No need to remove the tofu from its packaging.
You’ll want to use extra-firm or firm tofu for this recipe. This will help with texture. If you want to use more tofu for this recipe – you can just adjust the ingredients accordingly.

What To Serve With Tofu Guisado

Bowl of white rice and fried plantains (tostones)

Tofu guisado is served with many different Puerto Rican side dishes.

My favorite dishes to serve with the stew include plain white rice, sliced ripe avocado, and salty/sweet plantains.

If you want to keep it simple, you can also use sides including fresh bread, mashed potatoes, or a refreshing salad.

I like to use plain white rice because it’s easy to make and it complements this flavorful dish perfectly.

Where To Find Puerto Rican Spices + Sofrito

Homemade sofrito in a container. Close-up.

Puerto Rican spices like adobo and sazon can be found in many big-box grocery stores in their “Hispanic” or “ethnic” aisles. However, they can also be found online at Amazon.

I recommend making sofrito from scratch. It might look intimidating, but I promise it’s not. It’s essentially a bunch of aromatics blended until chunky and sauce-like.

Many recipes include ingredients that may be difficult to find if you’re not in close proximity to grocery stores that carry a wide range of vegetables.

However, I make my sofrito with affordability and accessibility in mine. The ingredients in my homemade sofrito include onions, bell peppers, garlic, and cilantro.

Some grocery stores may sell sofrito already pre-made. I don’t really recommend those, but if you don’t have much of a choice, they can do.

Just a warning: they don’t taste nearly as good as the homemade stuff.

If you want to learn more about sofrito, check out my What Is Sofrito post.