Cuban Soup & Stew Recipes
Black bean soup on the stove all afternoon, ajiaco for a crowd, carne con papas on a weeknight and caldo gallego from the Spanish side of the family: Cuba’s pots run deep.
+6Cuban cooking is built on the sofrito, and nowhere does it shine more than in the soups. Frijoles negros is the everyday pot, eaten over white rice; ajiaco is the celebration stew of every root vegetable on the island; carne con papas and fricasé de pollo are the weeknight braises; and caldo gallego, fabada and potaje de lentejas came over with the Spanish. Every recipe below is written for a home kitchen.
Cuban Black Bean Soup
Frijoles negros simmered with sofrito, cumin, oregano and a splash of vinegar, served over white rice or on its own with chopped onion.
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A Guide to Cuban Soups and Stews
Every Cuban soup starts the same way: onion, green pepper and garlic sweated in oil into a sofrito. From there the pot goes in two directions. The island’s own dishes are the black bean soup served over rice at almost every meal, the root-vegetable ajiaco cooked for parties, and the weeknight braises carne con papas and fricasé de pollo. The Spanish inheritance is just as strong: caldo gallego, fabada and potaje de lentejas came with immigrants from Galicia and Asturias and never left. Guiso de maíz and sopa de camarones round out the countryside and the coast.
Start with the roundup of 14 Cuban soups and stews, then keep going with Cuban main dishes, Cuban sides and the full Cuban food hub.
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