Carne guisada is the ultimate Latin beef stew with chunks of tender beef simmered low and slow with vegetables and Puerto Rican flavors, easy and hearty! Includes a video recipe to see exactly how it's made.

What is Carne Guisada?

Carne guisada literally means “stewed meat,” and it’s a beloved Latin American comfort dish made with tender chunks of beef slowly simmered in a flavorful gravy.

Because it is popular across such a large region, you’ll find all sorts of variations from country to country and even kitchen to kitchen.

This version is a Puerto Rican Carne Guisada, loaded with all those enticing flavors. I've been making this for many years now, and it's always a big hit.

It’s very easy to customize to your own preferences, for a rich, hearty beef stew that’s perfect over rice, with beans, or piled into a comforting bowl all on its own.

Let me show you how to make carne guisada.

What You'll Love About My Recipe

Bold, Authentic Flavors. My recipe captures the essence of traditional carne guisada with the perfect blend of Puerto Rican flavors - aromatic sofrito, savory spices, and tender beef.
It's Very Customizable. You can make this dish with different cuts of stew beef, vegetables, and especially flavorful seasonings and ingredients to make it your own, including spice and heat levels. I'll show you how!
Perfect for Any Occasion. This hearty, comforting dish is sure to impress and satisfy everyone's appetite, from casual family dinners to festive gatherings.

Featured Reader Comment

From Boo: "Ya did it again, knocked it out off the hook, the real deal. Oh, this was so very yummy, full of flavor, scrumptious with the homemade tortillas, and Mexican rice and salsa made with avocado (your recipes of course). People wait for me to get to the parties with your recipes."

Key Ingredients

Beef. Beef is the star of this dish, so choose cuts that love low and slow cooking. Well-marbled, tougher cuts with plenty of connective tissue break down beautifully into tender, flavorful bites. I prefer chuck steak or chuck roast, but beef round, shoulder, or any labeled “stew meat” all work well. Trim any large, hard pieces of fat, but leave some marbling for richness.
Adobo Seasoning. A classic Latin American spice blend that brings salty, garlicky, savory flavor to the beef. It’s a quick way to build that “tastes-like-it’s-been-simmering-all-day” flavor.
Aromatics & Sofrito. Onion, green bell pepper, homemade sofrito, and garlic form the flavor base of the stew. You can swap in hotter peppers for more heat, and use fresh garlic or garlic powder.
Sauce & Seasonings. Tomato sauce (or fresh roma tomatoes), dried oregano, bay leaves, achiote oil, olives, capers, and a bit of water or beef broth create the rich, savory gravy that defines carne guisada.
Root Vegetables. Potatoes and carrots add body and make the stew extra hearty, though you can also work in other roots like turnip, parsnip, or rutabaga if you like.

How to Make Carne Guisada - the Recipe Method

Trim beef into 1-inch cubes, pat dry, and season with adobo, salt, and pepper.
Brown beef in oil over medium-high heat in batches - set aside.
In the same pot, cook onion, peppers, and sofrito for 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Stir in oregano, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, water or broth, achiote oil, olives, capers, and bay leaves.
Return beef to the pot, bring to a boil, then simmer 20-30 minutes.
Add potatoes and carrots, bring to a boil again, then cover and simmer 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and sauce thickens.

Browning beef in a large pot and cooking down peppers and onions in the pot to make Carne Guisada

Simmering the stew beef with stock in a Dutch oven, then adding chopped carrots and potatoes to make Carne Guisada.

Boom! Done! Time to serve up some of this outstanding Carne Guisada! It really is the ultimate beef stew recipe, so huge on flavor, very hearty, and very, very satisfying.

Recipe Tips & Notes

The Beef. Tougher cuts of beef are ideal for this recipe, but you can make it with leaner cuts. You just won't need the longer simmering time. I recommend a good stew beef, though, as the resulting flavor and texture is unrivaled.
Simmering Time. Simmer longer for more tender beef. Gauge the recipe based on the tenderness of the beef and the flavor, not time alone.
Recipe Variations. There are many ways to make a great carne guisada beef stew recipe. This is a Puerto Rican version with lots of those wonderful flavors, like adobo seasoning and sofrito. However, you can make a Mexican version, Cuban version, Caribbean or any Latin American version with your favorite local seasonings and ingredients, like sweet raisins or peas.
The Root Vegetables. Toss in other root vegetables, like sweet potatoes, rutabaga, squash and more.
The Heat Factor. This is not meant to be a typical "hot and spicy" dish, though it is HUGE on flavor. It traditionally calls for milder peppers, though you can very easily add in hotter peppers.

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy your wonderfully hearty carne guisada. It's really hard to wrong with a good beef stew, especially with all those alluring Latin American flavors.

Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Carne Guisada Recipe

This carne guisada recipe is the ultimate Latin beef stew with chunks of tender beef simmered low and slow with Puerto Rican flavors. Easy and hearty!

Save Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican, Puerto Rican

Keyword: adobo, beef, sofrito, stew

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1

Calories: 461kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings:

Tap or hover to scale

4.90 from 28 ratings

Leave a Review

Ingredients

2 pounds beef roast use beef round of chuck steak
1 tablespoon adobo seasoning or more to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped (or use hotter peppers, if desired)
¼ cup sofrito
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
8 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon achiote oil
½ cup olives
1 tablespoon capers
2 bay leaves
1 pound potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large carrot peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Trim the beef and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Dry the pieces with paper towels. Season the beef with adobo seasoning and salt and pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Sear the beef in batches to brown all sides. Remove to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, peppers and sofrito. Cook for 5 minutes to soften the vegetables.
Add the garlic and cook another minute, until you can smell the gorgeous garlic blooming.
Stir in the oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, tomato sauce, water, achiote oil, olives, capers, bay leaves, and seared beef.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Add the potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the beef is fall apart tender. The liquid should reduce and concentrate.
Serve!

Video

Notes

Serving Carne Guisada

Carne Guisada pairs perfectly with warm flour tortillas, Mexican rice and beans. Try it with pico de gallo, guacamole, or a tangy cabbage slaw for a lighter dish.

Serve as-is in a bowl, or over rice. It's really good over grits. It's also perfect as a breakfast taco filling or for topping mashed potatoes. It's so good!

Storage and Leftovers

Store any leftover carne guisada in airtight containers in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 5 days. To enjoy again, warm it gently in a pot on the stove, covered.

You can also freeze it. I freeze mine in airtight freezer containers. It reheats very nicely and will last a good 6 months in the freezer.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 461kcal Carbohydrates: 21g Protein: 32g Fat: 29g Saturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 104mg Sodium: 547mg Potassium: 1073mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 4g Vitamin A: 2011IU Vitamin C: 37mg Calcium: 67mg Iron: 5mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS

Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 140.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 3/12/25 to include new information. It was originally published on 12/7/20.