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Authentic Gallo pinto Recipe Costa Rica, Central America
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
As a dish invented to salvage the leftovers from the day before — namely, black beans and rice — gallo pinto barely needs a recipe, if you ask the Costa Ricans. If you decide to make it from scratch, note that the first step is soaking the dried beans overnight: this will soften their skin and shorten the cooking time. The beans are then cooked on medium heat for about three hours or until tender, and a small amount of water they were cooked in needs to be set aside. Next step is to fry the rice in some vegetable oil, and sauté it with some finely chopped onions and bell peppers: some recipes even suggest adding minced ham or sausage to this mixture. The rice and vegetables are then cooked in chicken broth or water until they become tender. Finally, some of the water the beans were cooked in is added to give the dish its specific color, and all the ingredients are sautéed once again. If pre-cooked beans and rice are used, it is enough to sauté them with ... Read more
Cooking tips
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beans
Typical beans used for the Costa Rican gallo pinto is the small, black kind which is usually sold dried. Therefore, it needs to be soaked in water overnight before cooking. To prevent bloating, some recipes suggest changing the water two or three times. Since it takes up to 3 hours to fully cook the beans, a pressure cooker might come in handy to shorten the process. -
rice
If you make gallo pinto with uncooked rice, fry it shortly on vegetable oil before adding the peppers and onions. Glazed rice holds more taste, and cooking it in chicken broth, rather than water, will make it even richer. -
serving
Gallo pinto should always be served hot, straight out of the pan. Paired with scrambled eggs and tortillas, it makes a full breakfast, which can be enhanced with some sausages or ham.
Recipe variations
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Classic Gallo Pinto
Ready in 4hThe following is the classic gallo pinto recipe, consisting of black beans, rice, onions, pepper, cilantro, and chicken broth. Serve the gallo pinto with natilla (sour cream drink), vinagre chilera (banana-based vinegar with chopped vegetables) and Salsa Lizano (store-bought sauce with an acidic-sweet flavor).
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Quick Gallo Pinto
Ready in 20minSince gallo pinto was invented as a dish composed from leftover beans and rice, this recipe relies on the fact that you will have these basic ingredients cooked and ready before preparation. To make this typical breakfast dish even more satiable, the recipe suggests adding either sausage or ham to the gallo pinto or serving some scrambled eggs on the side.
Classic Gallo Pinto
PREP 10min
COOK 3h 50min
READY IN 4h
The following is the classic gallo pinto recipe, consisting of black beans, rice, onions, pepper, cilantro, and chicken broth. Serve the gallo pinto with natilla (sour cream drink), vinagre chilera (banana-based vinegar with chopped vegetables) and Salsa Lizano (store-bought sauce with an acidic-sweet flavor).
Ingredients
Classic Gallo Pinto
1 lb (450 g) black beans (fresh or dried)
8-10 sprigs cilantro (fresh or frozen, not dried)
1 small or medium onion
1/2 small red or yellow sweet pepper (optional)
3 cups (700 ml) chicken broth or water
2 cups (350 ml) white rice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying the rice)
1-3 tbsp oil (for frying the gallo pinto)
Preparation
1
Classic Gallo Pinto
Step 1/6
If you use dried beans for this recipe, soak them in water overnight. If you use them fresh, rinse them with some water.
Step 2/6
Drain the beans. Put them in a pan and cover with fresh water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook for approximately 3 hours, or until the beans are soft. Add salt. Keep 1/2 to 1 cup of the water the beans have been cooked in for later preparation.
Step 3/6
Finely chop the onion, sweet pepper and cilantro. Divide in two.
Step 4/6
Take a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and sauté dry rice for 2 minutes. Add half the amount of chopped onion, peppers, and cilantro and sauté for 2 more minutes. Then, pour in water or chicken broth and bring to boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 20 to 35 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Step 5/6
To assemble the gallo pinto, place cooked rice, cooked beans and the remaining half of chopped onions, peppers and cilantro in a large pan. Sauté on 1-3 tbsp vegetable oil for a few minutes and add some of the water reserved from cooking the beans.
Step 6/6
Decorate with some fresh chopped cilantro and serve.
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