Gallo Pinto is a favorite meal for our family. It’s easy to prepare, can be made in stages, and keeps well for several days—making it ideal for weekly meal prep. While there are many recipes available online, I’m sharing my favorite one below. I’ve also included a link to Amazon for Salsa Lizano sauce, a key ingredient in this dish.
Table of Contents
Open Table of Contents
Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice)
Serves: 4 to 6
Total Time: 1½ hours, plus 8 hours soaking
This recipe requires soaking the beans overnight. Day-old rice works best; in a pinch, cook the rice 2 hours ahead, spread it on a rimmed baking sheet, and let it cool before chilling it for 30 minutes. Worcestershire sauce can replace Salsa Lizano.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon table salt for brining
- 30 sprigs fresh cilantro (1 bunch)
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil, divided
- 1 large white onion, chopped fine (1½ cups), divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 1¼ teaspoons table salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1½ cups), divided
- 3 tablespoons Salsa Lizano, plus extra for serving
- 3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cold
- Hot sauce
Instructions
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Combine 1 quart cold water, beans, and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl, and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
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Remove thick stems from cilantro sprigs and reserve. Chop leaves and thin stems fine (you should have about ¾ cup) and refrigerate until needed. Using kitchen twine, tie reserved stems, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves into a bundle.
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Melt 1 tablespoon lard in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add half of the onion, half of the garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, chili powder, pepper, coriander, and cumin, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Increase heat to high; add drained beans, cilantro bundle, and 1¾ cups water; and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are just soft and liquid begins to thicken, 1 to 1¼ hours. Remove from heat. (Beans can be refrigerated in their cooking liquid for up to 3 days.) Strain beans through a fine-mesh strainer, reserving ½ cup of cooking liquid.
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Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons lard in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup red bell pepper, 1 cup yellow bell pepper, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, remaining onion, and remaining garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in Salsa Lizano. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly and breaking up rice clumps, until the mixture is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
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Add beans and reserved cooking liquid. Gently fold beans into rice until combined and warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, add reserved chopped cilantro and remaining bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing hot sauce and Salsa Lizano separately.
