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Central American

Gallo pinto

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Day-old rice fried with black beans, onion, sweet pepper and cilantro, seasoned with a tangy brown sauce — a breakfast staple in Central America.

Gallo pinto is a Central American rice dish, ready in about 45 minutes and made with long-grain white rice and black beans (cooked or canned). It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Gallo pinto
Photo: Gmasmcal / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-4.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
35 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
347

Plus chilling the rice overnight.

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    If you have no leftover rice, cook the rice in about 400 ml water, spread it out to cool quickly and refrigerate, ideally overnight.

    Food safety: Cool cooked rice within 1 hour and keep refrigerated; use within 1 day.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion (opens in a new tab) and pepper until soft. Add the garlic (opens in a new tab) for 1 minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the beans with their liquid, the Salsa Lizano (opens in a new tab) and salt and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid reduces by half.

    • 4 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Add the cold rice and fold over and over until every grain is coated and speckled and the mix is hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro (opens in a new tab).

    • 5 min
    • medium heat

  5. Step 5

    If you like, top each serving with an egg (opens in a new tab) fried in a little oil over medium heat until the white is set.

    • 4 min
    • medium heat

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedBoth Costa Rica and Nicaragua consider gallo pinto a national dish and claim it; Nicaraguan versions often use red beans.Also popular in Costa Rica
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Rice dishes · Side dishes
Cooking method
Boiled, Pan-fried
Taste
savoury, earthy, tangy, herby
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Uses leftovers · Budget-friendly · Everyday
Cook more with
Long-grain white rice · Black beans (cooked or canned) · Onion · Red bell pepper · Garlic · Salsa Lizano
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling · Simmering · Reduction

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
  • May contain: Mustardfrom salsa lizano

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

347 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 204 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 11%
  • Carbohydrate 69%
  • Fat 20%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy347 kcal170 kcal
Protein9.5 g4.7 g
Carbohydrate60 g29.4 g
Net carbohydrate53.2 g26.1 g
Sugars2.9 g1.4 g
Added sugars——
Fibre6.8 g3.3 g
Fat7.6 g3.7 g
Saturated fat0.7 g0.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium550 mg269 mg
Salt equivalent1.4 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
435 mg
Calcium
56 mg
Iron
4.1 mg
Magnesium
62 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
37 µg
Vitamin C
24 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
298 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: egg.
  • Salsa Lizano: Worcestershire sauce used as a stand-in; Lizano is a similar thin, sweet-sour brown vegetable sauce.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Cold, day-old rice stays separate; freshly cooked rice turns mushy.

Serve with

  • Serve with fried eggs, sweet plantain, sour cream and corn tortillas for a Costa Rican breakfast.

Food safety

  • Reheat rice only once and until piping hot throughout.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 1 day.

Reheating

  • Reheat thoroughly in a pan with a splash of water until steaming hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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