Costa Rican Gallo Pinto
Gallo Pinto is Costa Rica’s signature rice and beans dish. It’s all about giving leftover rice and beans a second life—mix them together with a sofrito and Salsa Lizano, and you’ve got the country’s most iconic comfort food.
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Large pan (or skillet)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ¼ cup red bell pepper chopped
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- ¼ cup celery chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 5 cups cooked white rice
- 2 cups fully cooked black beans
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
- Fresh cilantro and culantro to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium heat, add the oil, onions, peppers, and celery. Cook for 3–5 minutes, or until the vegetables look translucent and fully cooked. Add the cumin and finely chopped garlic, and cook for another 2–3 minutes—just be careful not to burn the garlic. This mixture is called sofrito, and it’s the base for many Costa Rican dishes.🌱
- Next, add the rice. Since we’re using rice from previous days, it might clump together or form little hard balls. Just break them apart with a spatula and stir constantly into the sofrito. Cook the rice for about 3–5 minutes, or until it starts turning slightly reddish from the bell peppers.🧅
- Add the beans—these can be black, red, or even pinto beans. Make sure you only add the beans and not their broth; otherwise, your Gallo Pinto will turn mushy (unless that’s the texture you’re aiming for). Once the beans are in, stir everything together and check your rice-to-bean ratio. If you feel it needs more rice or beans, adjust it now.🧄
- Start adding the remaining ingredients: black pepper, Salsa Lizano (optional but highly recommended), oregano, and salt. Stir well to combine and let everything cook together for about 5 minutes so the flavors can really develop and make your Gallo Pinto taste amazing.🍚
- Turn off the heat and add the final touch: the fresh herbs. In Costa Rica, we call them both culantro. One is the cilantro you usually find in stores, and the other is culantro ancho, which you can often find in Mexican or Asian markets. Stir them in one last time before plating.🌶️
- To plate your Gallo Pinto the traditional way, grab a small bowl and fill it to the top with the rice and beans. Place the plate you’ll be serving on top of the bowl, flip both upside down, then lift the bowl to release the rice. You’ll have a neat little dome of Gallo Pinto, perfect to pair with fried plantains, fried cheese, scrambled eggs, or anything else you’d like.🌿
Notes
- Make the rice and beans a day or two before making Gallo Pinto. Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them.
- Gallo Pinto was created as a way to use up leftover rice and beans. If you don’t have day-old rice and beans, make sure to let them cool off completely before mixing them together. Otherwise, the texture will be different.
- You can prepare the sofrito ahead of time to reduce cooking time.
- If you don’t have Salsa Lizano, just add a bit more of the other spices like oregano, black pepper, and cumin.
- Feel free to add a touch of chile picante (hot peppers like cayenne, chipotle, or any other type). This is your Pinto—make it the way you like it!