52 Reviews of Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans)

From: kolibri

On Nov 21, 2005

Oh fantastic! This is so fabulous I could eat this whole week: prefect balance of spices. I used brown rice and canned black beans, very easy and very tasty. Will wrap some into tortillas tomorrow and eat them for lunch.

From: Big Sis

On Nov 24, 2005

This was just wonderful. I used Pinto Beans,I did not use the coriender (just did not have any on hand) My son really is not ba bean person, he so surprised us, he kept commenting and ate seconds. Thank you for a keeper!

From: TheMom51

On Dec 22, 2007

Just thought I'd add my Costa Rican daughter-in-law's recipe. It uses the traditional Salsa Lizano (you can order it over the Internet) which is probably why Matoszinho didn't think this recipe was quite right: Gallo Pinto Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of oil 1 tablespoon of Salsa Lizano 1 1/2 cups of cooked black beans 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice 2 tablespoons of bell pepper, chopped 2 tablespoons of chopped onions 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander Saute onion and bell pepper for about 2 minutes. Add the black beans and salsa and simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then, add the cooked rice and mix in the coriander. Cooked bacon, pork, chicken or sausage can be added. For breakfast, scrambled eggs can be added.

From: TatiLu

On Jun 25, 2007

Hello! I'm from Costa Rica!! The recipe is just fine, just the way we make it here! To add an extra touch you can use also chopped red bell pepper. We usually eat this for breakfast as it is a very filling dish. The best gallo pinto is made with left over beans, not freshly made ones. An other important observation; we don't exactly use worcetershire, we use a local version of it called salsa Lizano, a very traditional sauce, made by a local family, which resembles worcestershire, you can find it in the internet on costarican sites. It's great with sourcream or scrambled eggs.

From: ladypit

On Feb 13, 2005

Very nice and fairly easy family dinner (when your kids will eat beans as mine will). I too used olive oil (though only 1 tbsp.) and regular worcestershire sauce (2.5 tbsp) plus brown rice. Some of us ate if with tortillas, cheese, and fat free sour cream while some just ate it on its own. Really good. Thanks!

From: Roosie

On Nov 28, 2004

Nice, simple rice and beans recipe! Very quick and easy especially if you have cooked beans and rice on-hand and an excellent dish to make from leftovers. I made the same substitutions that Evelyn did, using olive oil and regular worchestershire sauce, but we also added a scant tsp of minced fresh ginger (added with the spices), which added a nice extra bite. I also used brown rice (we don't eat white rice). We garnished with cilantro as suggested, which was really nice. We also added some sour cream- yummy! I used all organic ingredients. Really good, yet not overly pungent spicing. I have to agree with Evelyn as well that the proportion of rice to beans was right on-target. Very well balanced dish. Great if you want something simple and tasty. Thanks for another nice one, Kozmic!

From: evelyn/athens

On Oct 3, 2004

These beans were delicious. My only changes were to use olive oil and regular Worcestershire Sauce, other than that, followed the recipe to the letter. The proportion of beans to rice was right on (I find there's usually too little of one in relation to the other) and the seasoning was very, very savoury and good. Quick and easy to make. All in all, a great, beany meal.

From: Aishwariya

On May 9, 2006

MMMMMMMM this was absolutely FANTASTIC ! I LOVED it!!! Thanks for posting I will definitely be making this again and again and again! (I added 3 onions only because I love onions and I also added the cilantro and tons of green onions to garnesh)

From: Julie Tremmel

On Apr 14, 2006

In my 3rd year of spanish class we were able to make authentic spanish recipes a few times that year and this was one of the recipes we enjoyed. I forgot how much I enjoyed this simple dish. I would say this is comfort food and brought back good memories. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.

From: Wolf Göttin

On Oct 25, 2006

This was a great recipe! It's fast, simple, and flavorful. I added two chopped tomatoes to mine, as I had them on hand. Very tasty!