Cheap Tuna Recipes Made Fancy: Sofrito Tuna Rice Bowls

When you need cheap tuna recipes that actually slap, this sofrito tuna rice bowl is your answer — we're talking pantry staples turned into something that tastes like your Abuela spent all afternoon on it. Canned tuna gets sautéed with sofrito, olives, and tomato paste until it tastes like it has no business being this good. It's the kind of meal Miami kitchens were built on: bold flavor, zero waste, and done in 30 minutes flat.

Ingredients

• 3 cans (5 oz each) tuna in water or oil, drained
• 2 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked
• 4 cups water or chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons sofrito (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 1 teaspoon sazon seasoning (1 packet)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges for serving

Instructions

1. 1Start your rice first so everything lands at the same time. Bring 4 cups of water or broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the rice and a pinch of salt, stir once, then drop the heat to low, cover, and let it cook undisturbed for 18 minutes. No peeking — trust the process.
2. 2While the rice does its thing, heat your oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sofrito and let it sizzle for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it smells incredible and starts to deepen in color.
3. 3Add the tomato paste and stir it into the sofrito. Cook that together for another minute — this step is important, it wakes up the tomato paste and adds a little richness you can actually taste.
4. 4Add your drained tuna to the pan, breaking it up gently with a spoon. Sprinkle in the sazon, cumin, and garlic powder, then stir everything together so the tuna gets coated in all that flavor.
5. 5Toss in the sliced olives and cook the whole mixture for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring here and there, until the tuna is heated through and everything looks like one cohesive, beautiful thing. Taste it and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
6. 6Fluff your rice with a fork, then build your bowls — rice on the bottom, sofrito tuna on top, a handful of fresh cilantro if you have it, and a good squeeze of lime over everything before you eat.