If you’re someone who’s nervous about improvising at the stove, sofrito is one of those recipes that can unchain you from your cookbook shelf. Knowing this foundational recipe is more like learning a skill than following a set of instructions.
You can use it as a veggie side, a filling for tacos or savory pastries, blend it into a sauce, or use it as a topping on a flatbread or pizza. It can also be a base for soup, rice or pasta dishes. Honestly, the options actually are endless here.
I love having some sofrito stashed away in my fridge for meal prep, and it’s great to batch out and tuck away in the freezer.
If you’ve got no interest in a recipe that’s easy to make, easy to store, and easy on the taste buds, move along. Otherwise, your future dinners just got a whole lot tastier.
Feel Good Vibes
- Antioxidant heavy: tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic bring vitamin C and lycopene to support normal immune function.
- Veggie based fiber: this adds fiber and flavor without gluten or grains.
- Made with heart healthy olive oil: extra virgin olive oil adds cardiovascular friendly monounsaturated fat.
Ingredient Substitutions
- No olive oil: avocado oil, grapeseed oil or butter
- No Vidalia onions: white, yellow or red onions
- No red peppers: green, yellow, orange or purple
- No fresh tomatoes: canned diced tomatoes, drained
- No fresh garlic: ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- No smoked paprika: sweet paprika if you don’t mind losing that smoky flavor.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Sofrito is one of those dishes that somehow manages to get even better the day after you cook it, so it’s great to make it ahead of time in a big batch.
- Quality ingredients are important here. Make sure you’re using good extra virgin olive oil and fresh vegetables.
- Sofrito is to Spanish cooking what mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery) is to French and the trinity (onions, bell peppers, celery) is to Creole. It’s a great foundational recipe. Use the flavor profile this creates to put a twist on some of your own favorite creations.
- Low and slow: I know I say this a lot, but cooking this recipe low and slow is worth it. Break out the crock pot if you have to, this one is not trying to be rushed.
- In a small crock pot, add the olive oil, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper to a small slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 4–5 hours, stirring once or twice if you’re around, until the vegetables are completely soft and collapsed.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking on high for 30–60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until some of the excess liquid cooks off and the sofrito is soft, saucy and jammy. For a thicker texture, transfer it to a pot and simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes.
Sofrito Serving Suggestions
- Easy Weeknight Meal: Serve with Roasted Chicken Thighs and Carolina Gold Rice.
- Get Saucy: Blend it up and serve with Chickpea Panisse.
- Fish Friday: It’s sooo good with this Almond & Parmesan Crusted Flounder recipe.
- Brekkie: Serve it with fried or scrambled eggs.
Storage and Shelf Life
Make Ahead: Highly recommend making this recipe ahead of time. Like most slow cooked recipes, it tastes better the next day.
Refrigerate: Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezer: Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Reheat Instructions
Place the desired amount in a pot and reheat on medium heat, stirring frequently until completely warmed through.
Final Thoughts
Making sofrito is like capturing all that delicious summer sunlight in an airtight container to store in your fridge. For me, it was love at first sight with this one.
I remember being smitten by sofrito when I was a student at the Culinary Institute of America. I was dead broke and I would make a big batch of this and just eat it by the bucketful, mostly with fresh tortillas and eggs from the local tienda in Poughkeepsie, New York.
I just never got sick of it. At the time I was very much obsessed with everything Latin American culture, an unavoidable reality after meeting so many amazing students from Mexico and South America. I’ve never really recovered honestly. Traveling through Spanish speaking countries is one of my favorite pastimes. In between trips, eating sofrito is a way to visit without leaving my kitchen.
Have you tried this recipe yet? If so, tell us how it turned out in the comments below. I hear that leaving positive comments on recipe websites is an easy way to bank some good karma. And don’t forget to sign up for the Everyday Alchemy newsletter here.
Sofrito
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cups Vidalia onions sliced (about 2 medium)
- 1 ½ cups red peppers cored and sliced thin (about 2 small)
- 1 ½ cups fresh tomatoes cored and sliced thin (about 3 romas)
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make the sofrito, in a medium sized dutch oven heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the 1 ½ cups each sliced onions and red peppers and turn the heat down to medium low. Season with a little sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring often, then add 1 ½ cups sliced tomatoes, 2 cloves of sliced garlic and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. The vegetables should be starting to get tender, but if they are browning at all, turn the heat down.
- Cover and continue to cook for another 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables are completely tender. Remove the lid and cook on low for 15-30 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked off. The consistency should be soft, saucy, and concentrated, with jammy vegetables that still hold a little texture.
- Check for seasoning. Serve hot, or cool down and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.
Hi, I’m Julia.
I’m a chef and wellness advocate passionate about helping others live well through nourishing food. I trained at the Culinary Institute of America and now work as a personal chef and community food advocate in Atlanta.
Want to know what inspired me to start Everyday Alchemy? Click the link icon below to read more.