Costa Rican Casado
Costa Rican Casado is a traditional Costa Rican dish, known for its vibrant combination of fresh ingredients. This hearty meal includes rice, black beans, fresh salad, fried plantains, and roasted chicken. It is a delicious weeknight dinner, or easy make-ahead lunch.
Costa Rican Casado has all of your favorite things!
Costa Rican Casado is one of the most beloved and traditional dishes in Costa Rican cuisine. If you love bold flavors, fresh ingredients, and simple, wholesome meals, you’re going to fall in love with this gluten-free, tropical feast.
This dish is probably one of the best meals we have ever had on a vacation. And yet, it is SO simple. We ate it almost every single day on our vacation to Quepos, Costa Rica while on a summer vacation. This gluten-free recipe is not only incredibly flavorful, but it’s also flexible. You can easily customize it with your choice of protein (chicken, beef, fish, or even just eggs), and it can be made with local or seasonal ingredients depending on where you are in the world.
If you’re looking for more easy dinner recipes, you will LOVE my Vegan Taco Salad, and my easy sheet pan roasted chicken and potatoes!
It’s amazing how simple it is, you just have to prepare each component of the meal, and then put it all together to customize your own casado. The combination we had in Costa Rica was just rice, black beans, chicken, and fried plantains. That’s your base, that’s it. It doesn’t sound fancy, but I promise it is amazing. The plantains are the component that really sends it over the top, in my opinion.
Once you have those main components, you can start adding whatever sauces or toppings you want. I went with pico de gallo, a little sour cream, and avocado. I’m telling you, the toppings just add something special!
Substitutions & Variations
You can easily customize this dish to fit your needs and preferences!
Rice – use any type of rice you like, it can be brown, white, jasmine. And you can mix up the herbs that are mixed it in too, if you don’t like cilantro, use parsley!
Beans – Black beans are the most traditional one for this dish, but pinto beans are delicious too!
Greens – I like to use a mixed salad green combo, but you an use all spinach, or even kale.
Protein – Chicken is my favorite for this because it is so versatile. But you can use steak, any type of fish, or even eggs!
Plantains – If you didn’t want to take the time to pan fry the plantains, you can easily substitute chips. But I promise, you will be missing out if you don’t include the plantains, they are the star of the show!
Toppings – Have fun with the toppings! Sour cream, pico de gallo and avocado are always my go-to, but you can also do salsa, or even make an avocado cream sauce!
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Costa Rican Casado
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
- 2 cups broth (or water)
- 1 (15oz) can black beans
- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 large plantains (very ripe)
- 1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 3 cups mixed greens
- 1/2 tsp each, salt & pepper
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp paprika
Optional Toppings
- sour cream
- sliced avocado
- pico de gallo
Instructions
- In a medium size pot, combine the rice and broth (or water), season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover, bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat when done and stir in the chopped cilantro.
- While the rice cooks, prepare the chicken. Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. Chop up the chicken breasts into bite size pieces, then season with the paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the pan in an even layer (you may have to work in batches in order to not crowd the pan), and let it cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, remove from the heat and set aside.
- Rinse and drain the black beans, then add them to a saucepan with 3-4 tbsp of water. Season with salt and pepper, turn the heat to low and let them slowly heat through as you cook the plantains.
- Lastly, prepare the plantains. Peel and slice the plantains on a bias, then preheat the skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut oil, then add the plantains. Let them cook on one side for about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You want the plantains to turn golden brown. Work in batches so that you don't crowd the pan. Once they have turned golden brown on both sides, transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and immediately season them with a pinch of salt while they are still hot and oily.
- To assemble: lay down a handful of greens on a plate, then spoon the rice, beans, and chicken over the top. Add a few pieces of plantain to the plate, then top with your desired toppings (pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado, more cilantro)
“On your back” is RIGHT! This meal is AWESOME!
Well yummm!!! I gonna make it this week!!!!