Bacalao Guisado (Stewed Salt Codfish)
There’s nothing like Puerto Rican style Bacalao Guisado. It’s a super rich and cozy stewed salted codfish in a tomatoey broth. Loaded with onions, peppers, olives, and flaked fish, it’s an island classic, traditionally served over white rice with yuca.
If you’re looking for a comforting dish to add to your roster this Winter, look no further than this cozy codfish stew.
My family recipe for Bacalao Guisado is loaded with Caribbean flavors like sofrito, sazon, and olives, plus a hearty serving of salted white fish. It’s a staple in Puerto Rican cuisine for good reason.
How to Make Codfish Stew
Prepping the Salted Codfish
We’re using a trick I discovered when writing the recipe for these Codfish Fritters to prep the fish for this recipe. Soaking the fish in cold water for 30 minutes before draining and boiling means we don’t have to soak the fish overnight.
This shortcut means this Codfish Stew can come together the day of (in about 90 minutes) instead of requiring prep work the day before.
More Caribbean Stews
Buen Provecho,
Bacalao Guisado (Stewed Salt Codfish)
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree, Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
- Method: Stewed
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Latin, Caribbean
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
There’s nothing like Puerto Rican style Bacalao Guisado. It’s a super rich and cozy stewed salted codfish in a tomatoey broth. Loaded with onions, peppers, olives, and flaked fish, it’s an island classic, traditionally served over white rice with yuca.
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen salted codfish
- 1 tbsp olive oil or achiote oil
- 1 white onion, sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp sofrito
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup pimento olives
- 1 tsp sazon
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 6 sprigs cilantro and/or culantro
Instructions
- Prep & cook your cod: Rinse off any loose salt from the frozen cod before adding to a stockpot and covering with water. Soak for 30 minutes, drain and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and cool the fish before flaking.
- Cook the veggies: Heat oil in a caldero over medium heat before adding sliced onion and peppers. Cook for a couple minutes before adding in the garlic and sofrito and sautéing until fragrant.
- Build the sauce: Add in the tomato sauce, olives, sazon, pepper, oregano, water and the flaked codfish. Stir to combine everything before topping with the cilantro or culantro.
- Stew: Cover the pot and simmer on medium low for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve over white rice or yuca.
