My first experience with Gallo Pinto was while visiting the beautiful country of Costa Rica! Perhaps you’ve just returned from Costa Rica and you’re trying to figure out how to recreate those glory days in your own kitchen? That was me, too. It’s the ultimate comfort food!
What is Gallo Pinto?
Gallo Pinto is translated as “spotted rooster,” as the appearance of the black beans against the white rice resembles just that! Costa Rica’s national cuisine, Gallo Pinto, is a flavorful rice and bean dish that can be served alongside breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
During the last stretch of my 7 weeks in Costa Rica, I stayed with friends at their lovely casa in Zancudo. I ate an unbelievable amount of Gallo Pinto while I stayed with them, my friend Bonny always had a big batch prepared in the fridge at any given time. One afternoon, she gave me the run-down on how it’s made so I could enjoy the Costa Rican flavors once I returned home!
The special ingredient that makes it all come together is Lizano Salsa. There isn’t a substitute for it, nothing else tastes quite like it.
I started making my own version of “Lizano,” because fresh sauce always tastes so much better! For this recipe you can use store bought Lizano (Mexican grocery stores will carry it) or try my easy-to-make homemade “Lizano” Salsa!
Is Gallo Pinto a side dish or a filling?
It can be either! Many meals in Costa Rica are accompanied by gallo pinto. Often it’s served as a side for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – maybe even with all three meals in the same day! Sometimes I just heat up a small bowl as a quick snack.
For breakfast, traditionally it’s served alongside scrambled eggs (tofu eggs for me!), fresh fruit, and fried plantain.
Gallo Pinto can also be used as a flavorful filling! I use it for:
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Tosadas
- Enchiladas
- Taco salad
Beans, beans, the musical fruit. . .
Beans are known as the musical fruit, but they have such powerful health benefits that I like to think of them as magical! Beans are loaded with fiber, protein, folate, vitamins, and minerals. Beans (and plant-based foods for that matter) can protect you against not only diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, but also cancer!12
Being on a plant-based diet, sometimes I get asked where I get my protein. Protein is everywhere in the plant-based diet but beans are especially rich! There’s about 15 grams of protein in 1 cup of cooked beans. I wrote an article on the protein topic if you’d like to dive more into that:
Being low in fat and calories, beans can contribute to weight loss and since they are high in fiber they keep you feeling full longer.
Beans and other legumes lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising your HDL (good) cholesterol, resulting in lower blood pressure, inflammation, and reducing your risk to heart disease.3
Seriously, beans are like a magical food!
For an antioxidant boost…
I intentionally don’t cook the bell peppers with the rest of the veggies to preserve the nutritional value! Bell peppers are packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium and also contain iron, folate and fiber.
Bell peppers are vulnerable to heat so cooking immediately reduces the amount of antioxidants. Red bell peppers contain the most nutrients, with 11x more beta-carotene and 1.5x more vitamin C than green bell peppers!4 Print
Costa Rican Gallo Pinto
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Costa Rica’s national cuisine, Gallo Pinto, is a flavorful rice and bean dish that can be served alongside breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Cooked white rice, cooked the day before and refrigerated overnight (Cook about 1 1/4 cups dry rice)
- 3 cups Cooked black beans or 2 (15 oz) cans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
- 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Jalapeño (omit half or all seeds depending on spice level)
- 1 tsp Ginger, grated (optional)
- 1/3–1/2 cup Lizano (more to taste)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté onions and jalapeño in a splash of water or oil until onion is translucent.
- Add in garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Stir in cooked rice, cooked beans, and Lizano salsa.
- When mixture is fully heated, turn off heat and stir in red pepper and cilantro. Add anything more to taste!
Notes
- Gallo Pinto can be used as a taco, burrito, or tostada filling or as a side dish.
- Store in a well-sealed container for up to 6 days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Costa Rican
Did you enjoy this Gallo Pinto? I’d love to hear! Leave me a comment below! 🙂
