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Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans)

Name: Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans)
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 package (450 g / 16 oz) dry beans (black beans preferred); 1 onion, chopped; 1 red pepper, chopped; 1 bulb garlic, minced; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp cumin; Olive oil; Salt to taste; Pepper to taste; 1–2 whole dried or fresh hot peppers (optional); 1–2 cups uncooked rice (you can use the same amount of rice than beans; this is, 3 cups of beans for 3 cups of rice).

The main Costa Rica staple, known as gallo pinto, consists of rice and black beans, which in many households is eaten at all three meals during the day. Gallo pinto is also known in some Southern Areas of Costa Rica as burra, though still recognised the name is rarely used as it is mostly referred to as gallo pinto. Also, Costa Rican gallo pinto is made with black beans, while Nicaraguans use red beans traditionally.

From Wikibooks CookbookNo reviews yet· 0 commentsMedium0 made it

If you eat

serving

438kcal · 22% of your day

Protein: 17 g · 14% of 120 g
Carbs: 73 g · 33% of 220 g
Fat: 8 g · 12% of 65 g

2 g
Fibre: 3 g
Sugar: 92 mg
Sodium: 265 g
Serving size

Calculated from all 8 ingredients by weight.

Serving size estimated by Ma Kitchen. The source gives no serving count, so the recipe is split into 4 servings of about 267 g, the usual size for a main dish. If your portion is bigger or smaller, set how much you eat above and the macros follow.

The cooking fat is not counted. The source gives no amount for the oil or butter this is cooked in. Calories and fat will be higher than shown.

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Ingredients

Makes

1 package (450 g / 16 oz) dry beans (black beans preferred)
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 bulb garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1–2 whole dried or fresh hot peppers (optional)
1–2 cups uncooked rice (you can use the same amount of rice than beans; this is, 3 cups of beans for 3 cups of rice).

Ingredients for 4 servings (1.1 kg) · the original recipe

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Method

1
Beans: Soak beans overnight, or, bring them to a boil and let sit for 1 hour.
Stovetop
2
In a Dutch oven or large pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until onions are translucent.
OvenStovetop
3
Add red pepper, and sauté for a few minutes more.
4
Add beans and enough water to cover all ingredients.
5
Add spices, bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover, stirring occasionally until done (1–2 hours, depending on the age of your beans).
Stovetop
6
Rice: Add rice and twice as much water to a pot (e.g. 1 cup rice + 2 cups water, 1 ½ cups rice + 3 cups water, etc).
7
Cook at a rolling boil until the water has boiled down to the level of the rice.
Stovetop
8
Reduce heat to a light simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Stovetop
9
Serve the beans over the rice and enjoy!

Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.