Beef braised and shredded into a rich tomato-pepper sofrito — Cuba’s national dish, named "old clothes."

Where does Ropa Vieja come from?

Ropa Vieja is a Cuban dish from Havana, Cuba.

Can Ropa Vieja be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Ropa Vieja recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Ropa Vieja take to make?

About 170 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 6.

Recipe

Name: Ropa Vieja
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 170 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: 2 lbs flank steak; 1 each red + green bell peppers, sliced; 1 large yellow onion, sliced; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 14 oz can crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1.5 tsp each ground cumin + dried oregano; 1/2 cup green olives; 2 tbsp capers; 2 bay leaves; 3 tbsp olive oil; for 6 white rice + black beans + fried sweet plantains, to serve

North America → 🇨🇺 Cuba → Havana

Ropa Vieja

Cuban · medium · serves 6

prep 20 min · cook 150 min

~674 cal · 43g protein · 68g carbs · 25g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Shredded beef ropa vieja in tomato-pepper sauce with rice and plantains

🇨🇺 Havana

The name comes from the shredded beef’s resemblance to tattered rags, and the legend from a man who cooked his own clothes to feed his family and found them transformed. Havana serves it over rice with black beans and sweet plantains — completeness on one plate.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 6 —

•

2 lbs flank steak

•

1 each red + green bell peppers, sliced

•

1 large yellow onion, sliced

•

5 cloves garlic, minced

•

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

•

2 tbsp tomato paste

•

1/2 cup dry white wine

•

1.5 tsp each ground cumin + dried oregano

•

1/2 cup green olives

•

2 tbsp capers

•

2 bay leaves

•

3 tbsp olive oil

•

for 6 white rice + black beans + fried sweet plantains, to serve

Instructions

Sear the flank steak hard on both sides; cover with water, add bay leaves, and simmer 2 hours until it shreds. Keep the broth. (Jackfruit: skip ahead.)

Make the sofrito: cook the onion and peppers slow in oil 10 minutes; add garlic, cumin, and oregano.

Add tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, and a cup of the beef broth; simmer 10 minutes.

Shred the beef (or jackfruit) with two forks and fold it in with olives and capers. Simmer 20 minutes until the sauce clings like, well, old clothes.

Serve over rice with black beans and sweet plantains.

Havana criollo tradition.

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Havana. Crumbling grandeur and kitchens that make magic from little.

🗺️

Cuba. Sofrito, rum, and recipes that outlasted everything.

🌍

North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →