Spanish Sofrito Recipe

These aromatic vegetables enhance and deepen the flavor of countless dishes. Make a batch, then spoon it into anything you want.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated June 08, 2023
Cooked sofrito in a skillet.

Serious Eats / Liz Clayman

Why It Works

  • Adding a small amount of salt early helps draw out moisture from the vegetables and speeds up their cooking.
  • Reducing the heat once browning is underway produces the most melting, sweet results.

Sofrito is an aromatic vegetable base used in many Spanish dishes to enhance their flavor. The main ingredients are onions, garlic, bell peppers, and tomato, all cooked down until sweet and caramelized. Many variations exist depending on personal preference and the recipe in question, including countless Latin American and Caribbean versions, like this Puerto Rican sofrito. This one is along the lines of what you'd be most likely to find in Spain. You can use it as a flavorful base for soups, stews, braises, rice dishes like paella, and sauces; it can even be spooned onto sandwiches and snacks as a condiment.

September 2019

Recipe Details

Spanish Sofrito Recipe

Active 60 mins
Total 60 mins
Serves 16 servings
Makes 2 cups
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 5 medium cloves garlic, minced

  • 4 medium yellow onions (1 1/2 pounds; 600g), finely diced

  • One large (8-ounce; 225g) green pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced

  • One large (8-ounce; 225g) red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced

  • One medium (10-ounce; 285g) leek, white and light green parts only, washed well and finely diced (optional)

  • Kosher salt

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) tomato paste

Directions

  1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic, onion, green pepper, red pepper, and leek (if using), season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring, until vegetables have released their liquid and are beginning to brown lightly on the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes.

  2. Lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring and scraping frequently, until sofrito is sweet to the taste and a deep golden brown color, about 45 minutes longer. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. You should have about 2 cups. You can refrigerate the sofrito in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Special Equipment

3-quart saucier or saucepan

Make-Ahead and Storage

The sofrito can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
87Calories
7gFat
6gCarbs
1gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories87
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g9%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 62mg3%
Total Carbohydrate 6g2%
Dietary Fiber 1g3%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 37mg186%
Calcium 13mg1%
Iron 0mg2%
Potassium 133mg3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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