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Gallo Pinto is the delicious national dish of Costa Rica. I’m told Costa Ricans might eat it at any of the three meals of the day, because its main ingredients are leftover beans and leftover rice, so it can be prepared really fast. The name “gallo pinto“, translated into English, means “spotted rooster“, due to its speckled appearance. Just look at this gorgeous, affordable, vegetarian dish!
Isn’t this a gorgeous bowl? So delicious!
Our economy is NOT becoming any more affordable, and so it’s important to me to provide you with dishes that make good use of leftovers, and whose ingredients aren’t particularly expensive. This Gallo Pinto recipe is a great choice, because beans and rice are some of our most affordable ingredients, and lots of folks grow peppers in their gardens in summer, and are looking for bell pepper recipes. This “speckled rooster” recipe is downright inviting in its appearance, too!
I found this recipe via Cooks Illustrated, and adapted it to my liking. The tips I’ve included are my own.
A pot of black beans, being cooked with a bundle of cilantro, and some delicious spices.
Can I Use Canned Beans?
You absolutely CAN use canned beans. Just add a bit of the spices in the recipe to your canned beans, to doll them up a bit. Obviously, you would add a smaller amount of spices to one can of beans than you would to a whole pot of dried beans.
Why Should I Try Cooking With Dried Beans?
I find cooking my own pot of dried beans to be infinitely better than using canned beans. Dried beans I’ve cooked myself tend to have a creamier texture, and be more flavorful. If you can soak your bag of dried black beans overnight, the night before you cook them, you’ll find they cook pretty quickly, too.
Using regular grocery store black beans will work just fine, but for my favorite varieties, I highly recommend Rancho Gordo beans. For this recipe you might want to try their Midnight Black Bean variety.
A bit of prep work to do in advance: minced garlic, measured spices, and a tied up bundle of cilantro stems.
Did You Say Use LEFTOVER Rice???
Leftover rice works best for this recipe, because you don’t want big moist clumps of rice. If your rice has cooled and dried a bit, the beans mix easily throughout the grains of rice.
What If I Don’t HAVE any Leftover Rice?
In a pinch, you can cook the rice while the beans are cooking, and then spread the rice grains out on a big rimmed baking sheet and place them in the fridge. I’ve done this plenty of times, and it works great.
The Special Sauce: Lizano Salsa Sauce
The special sauce you simply MUST have: Lizano Salsa Sauce. It adds a note of sweet, and a bright beautiful acidity that awakens the flavor of the dish. Linking it via Amazon below the recipe, for your convenience.
This sauce is ESSENTIAL to this dish. It simply would not be the same without it. It wouldn’t be as delicious without it.
Here in the States, we often think of salsa as being tomato based and spicy; adding heat. Lizano Salsa Sauce is not like that. It is vegetal, but adds a mild sweetness and some delightful acidity to the dish. (I wouldn’t eat it alone, or on a tortilla chip. But it’s perfect with the beans, peppers and onions.)
If you have a grocery store that is well stocked with international items, it might be available to you there. However, I just ordered mine off of Amazon, and voilà, it was delivered to my doorstep. How convenient is that??? I’m putting an Amazon link to it below the recipe, for your convenience.
The Cooking Process
Once the beans are cooked, and the rice is done, you’re ready to throw the dish together.
We start out by sautéing our brightly colored bell peppers and onions together.
Once the peppers and onions are tender, add in the garlic and cook for a minute more. (Please note the artistic reflection of the pan in the bean pot, courtesy my husband the photographer.)
Add in the rice. (Oooooh….more reflection!)
Finally, we stir the beans and salsa sauce into the veg and rice mixture. This rooster is looking speckled! Gallo pinto!
You can serve it in a bowl.
Here, I used the Gallo Pinto to make a gorgeous taco. I added in some avocado slices seasoned with Lawry’s garlic salt, and decorated with fresh cilantro leaves.
And if you do it right, your Gallo Pinto taco will smile at you.
The Recipe for Gallo Pinto
Gallo Pinto: Black Beans and Rice from Costa Rica
A very Costa Rican version of Black Beans Rice, Gallo Pinto needs a special sauce called Salsa Lizano, which you can find in many international grocery sections, or order through Amazon. It's delicious, and affordable!
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. dried black beans, rinsed, soaked and brined
- (or 1 can black beans)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, for brining
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons lard (or vegetable oil), divided
- 1 large white onion, chopped finely
- 6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" chunks, divided
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" chunks, divided
- 3 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
- 3 cups cooked white rice, cold
- OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: flour tortillas, chopped avocado, sour cream
Instructions
- If using dried beans: Combine 1 quart of cold water with the beans and sea salt, and allow them to soak for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse well.
- The Bouquet Garni: Chop cilantro stems off of the cilantro leaves. Tie a string around the cilantro stems, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves.
- Chop cilantro leaves finely, and refrigerate, for later.
- The Sofrito: Melt 1 tablespoon of lard (or vegetable oil) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add half of the chopped onion, (reserve the rest!) half of the garlic (reserve the rest), 1 teaspoon sea salt, chili powder, freshly ground black pepper, coriander cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Adding the Beans: increase heat to high under the sofrito, and add drained beans, cilantro bundle and 1 3/4 c. water. Bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are soft, an liquid has begun to thicken. (Start taste checking their texture at about an hour.) Remove the herb bundle (the bouquet garni). Strain the beans, but reserve abou 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of lard in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of red pepper (reserve the rest!), 1 cup of yellow pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, remaining onion, and remaining garlic. Cook this vegetable mixture until softened, and lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in Salsa Lizano. Add rice, and cook, stirring constantly and breaking up any rice clumps, until mixture is warm, about 2 minutes.
- Add beans and that 1/2 cup of bean cooking liquid that you reserved. Fold ingredients together until well mixed.
- Off the heat, add reserved chopped cilantro and remaining bell peppers. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Serve with more Salsa Lizano, and hot sauce if you desire.
Notes
Cooking Dried Black Beans: The black beans can be soaked and brined overnight to encourage faster cooking. Or you can follow the directions on a package of beans for doing a quick soak, which only requires a couple of hours, and add salt, making it a quick brine.
Substituting Canned Black Beans: If you choose to use already cooked canned black beans, make the sofrito, but only do a low simmer of the beans for about 10 minutes: you don't want to overcook already cooked beans, but you do want the herb and spice flavors to "marry" the beans.
No Cold Rice On Hand?: You can cook the rice a couple of hours ahead, and then spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet, and stick it in the fridge. By the time your beans are cooked, and the veggies are prepped, the rice will be cool.
No Salsa Lizano?: If you want to try this recipe WITHOUT the Salsa Lizano (which I don't recommend, because the flavor of the Salsa Lizano is wonderfully unique) you could try adding some Worcestershire sauce, for adding umami.
Gilding the Lily/Garnishing: we like ours served on a tortilla with chopped avocado, and sour cream. But lots of folks top their bowls of gallo pinto with a sunny side up fried egg.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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OXO Enhanced 12" Frying Pan Skillet, PFAS-Free Ceramic Nonstick, Durable Hard Anodized Cookware, Scratch Resistant, Stainless Steel Handle, Good Grips, Dishwasher & Oven safe, Black -
Lodge L9OG3 Cast Iron Round Griddle, Pre-Seasoned, 10.5-inch - Made in USA, Compatible with Stovetop, Oven, Grill & Campfire -
Lizano Salsa Sauce With Vegetables and Spices, 21.1 fl oz (Pack of 1)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 363Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 474mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 8gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g
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Gallo Pinto: Black Beans and Rice from Costa Rica