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🇨🇷 Traditional dishes from Costa Rica

3 dishes people actually cook in Costa Rica: what they are, how long they take, and what you need to buy.

🇨🇷

The dart landed on Costa Rica. Drag to spin the planet.

Casado

45 min · medium · 10 ingredients

Casado, a traditional dish from Costa Rica

A colorful and hearty Costa Rican plate!

  • 300 g white rice
  • 400 g black beans
  • 400 g chicken breast
  • 2 sweet plantains
  • 1 avocado
  • 200 g cabbage
  • 50 ml salsa Lizano
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Gallo pinto

30 min · easy · 8 ingredients

Gallo pinto, a traditional dish from Costa Rica

A vibrant and flavorful Costa Rican rice and beans dish.

  • 400 g cooked rice
  • 400 g black beans
  • 1 onion
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 20 g cilantro
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Olla de carne

120 min · medium · 11 ingredients

Olla de carne, a traditional dish from Costa Rica

A hearty beef stew packed with fresh vegetables.

  • 800 g beef chuck
  • 200 g carrots
  • 400 g potatoes
  • 150 g green beans
  • 150 g corn
  • 100 g onion
  • 3 garlic
  • 1000 ml beef broth
  • 30 g cilantro
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

What do people eat in Costa Rica?

The three dishes from Costa Rica documented in Copper are Casado, Gallo pinto and Olla de carne. Black beans and cilantro each appear in more than one recipe. All three are fried. Not one needs an oven — they cook entirely on the hob. Between them they use 21 different ingredients.

What ingredients do you need for cooking from Costa Rica?

The three recipes need 21 ingredients between them, of which 4 are shared by more than one dish. Black beans and cilantro are the hardest to find: of the 588 dishes in Copper's atlas, 9 use black beans and 21 use cilantro. Every ingredient list on this page is complete, with quantities, and free to read.

How long do recipes from Costa Rica take?

Gallo pinto is the quickest at 30 minutes. Olla de carne is the longest at 120 minutes, most of it unattended. The median is 45 minutes — a weeknight, not a project.

Which dish from Costa Rica is easiest to make at home?

Gallo pinto is rated easy — start there. The full method is on its recipe page, step by step, free to read.

Get the step-by-step recipes