Casado is a dish you will see everywhere. It’s rice and beans with a salad, pico, usually fried plantains, and a side of meat. Casado in Costa Rica means marriage. It gets its name because the married women would make this meal, wrap it up in banana leaves (they didn’t have ziplock bags or tupperware!), and bring it to their husbands working in the farms and ranches.

There were lots of vegetarian casados that I was able to find when we traveled to Costa Rica. This recipe is a vegetarian version to make it a bit simpler, but if you are looking for a delicious protein to go with this casado, you should make our Garlic Herb Chicken to have on the side. Different versions of casado were served with nearly every dinner we ate in Costa Rica.

For breakfast, the traditional dish is Gallo Pinto which translates as the spotted rooster. It’s a breakfast dish in Costa Rica that is essentially the casado beans and rice mixed together, often served with eggs.

Check out our travel tips and itinerary for the rainforests to the beaches of Costa Rica here!

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Casado - Costa Rican Cuisine

Mixed Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked rice

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1/2 red onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup cilantro

2-3 TBSP veg oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup meat of your choice, cooked and chopped (optional)

Directions:

Chop up bell peppers, onion and garlic (I like to use a food processor to make them pieces really fine). Heat up a frying pan. Pour in oil and chopped bell peppers, onion and garlic. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning and sticking. Take out 1/4 cup of mixture and set aside. Pour in rice, meat (if you’re adding that in), sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix together. Chop up cilantro and incorporate into mixed rice.

Costa Rican Beans

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans black or small red beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup pepper/onion/garlic mixture (set aside from above)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Simmer all ingredients together in a small pot for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

Salad - very simple

Ingredients:

2 cups lettuce, shredded

3 baby carrots, chopped

Directions:

Toss together.

Pico

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1/8 cup cilantro

1/2 lime (for juice)

few dashes of salt and pepper

Directions:

Toss together.

Fried Plantains

Ingredients:

2 plantains, sliced

3 TBSP veg oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat up a skillet on the stove to medium high. Pour in oil and plantains. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Time to Put it all together!

Get a scoop of rice, side of beans, handful of salad, a few spoonfuls of pico, a portion of plantains and place next to each other on a banana leaf (or a plate if you don’t have a banana leaf handy!).

*Other optional additions: fried egg, fresh pineapple & papaya, side of fish or meat.