Costa Rican Food - 9 Best Recipes | Multicultural Kid Blogs (2024)

Costa Rican cuisine is diverse, mouthwatering, and unlike anything you’ve ever tasted!

The base is white rice and black beans. How these are prepared, varies by region and province (there are seven provinces in Costa Rica). I’ve often read that the “Holy Trinity” of food from Costa Rica consists of garlic, cilantro, and onion. These ingredients, plus the unique and indispensable Salsa Lizano (a popular condiment used in cooking)give Costa Rican food a unique flavor.

In my opinion, the national dish of Costa Rica is ‘Gallo Pinto’ (Costa Rican beans and rice), and ‘Chicken with Rice’ is a close second. From breakfast to dinner, coffee traditions to appetizers at the bar, Costa Rican cuisine is as diverse as it is delicious. Do keep in mind, though, that Costa Rican food is very rarely, if ever, spicy.

Here’s a roundup of some favorite recipes from Costa Rica. This is not an exhaustive list- just some favorites to get you started with exploring our unique cuisine. Enjoy, or as we say in Costa Rica:buen provecho.

The basics- rice and beans

Costa Rican White Rice Recipe – Pura Vida Moms

Costa Rican Slow Cooker Black Beans Recipe– Pura Vida Moms

Some popular main dishes…

Picadillo de chayote – Pura Vida Moms
Sopa de garbanzos – Pura Vida Moms

Snacks and desserts…

Cheese Empanadas – All Done Monkey
Costa Rican Taco – Pura Vida Moms
Tamal de masa dessert– Pura Vida Moms

And finally, a post full of our FAVORITE Costa Rican Food Photography from Pura Vida Moms. The casado is the most common lunch dish; a perfect combination of many of the recipes above served up hot and tasty!

So tell us- which Costa Rican recipe do you most want to try?

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Looking for more recipe posts from Multicultural Kid Blogs?

5 French Recipes to Cook with Kids
Argentine Empanadas Recipe
Mofongo With Spanish Olives

We are so excited for our sixth annual Hispanic Heritage Month series and giveaway! Through the month (September 15 – October 15), you’ll find great resources to share Hispanic Heritage with kids, plus you can enter to win in our great giveaway and link up your own posts on Hispanic Heritage!

September 15
Embracing Diversity on Multicultural Kid Blogs: 10 Fun Facts About Dominican Republic

September 18
Spanish Mama: Nazca Lines – Exploratory Art Project

Hispanic Heritage Month Giveaway!

Giveaway begins September 15 and goes through October 15, 2017. Enter below for a chance to win one of these amazing prize packages! Some prizes have shipping restrictions. In the event that a winner lives outside the designated shipping area, that prize will then become part of the following prize package. For more information, read our full giveaway rules.

Grand Prize

From Mariana Iranzi: A digital copy of her new CD Primavera
From Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer: A print copy of Cántale a tu bebé with music download – US Shipping Only
From 123 Andrés: A copy of the CD Arriba Abajo (digital copy if outside the US)
From Spanish Playground: Set of books, crafts, and toys from Latin America – US Shipping Only
From Carole P. Roman: Set of If You Were Me and Lived In… books on Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Portugal, and the Mayan Empire – US Shipping Only
From Mister G: A copy of the new CD Mundo Verde/Green World (digital copy if outside the US)
From World Music with Daria: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Musical Craft and Coloring E-Book
From Gus on the Go: Spanish Alphabet Print (US Shipping Only) & single-use promo code for Spanish for kids language app
From Lectura Para Niños: A set of printable little readers, one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet. Designed to last the entire school year, with one new book each week plus several review weeks included throughout the set

1st Prize

From Mariana Iranzi: A digital copy of her new CD Primavera
From Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer: A print copy of Cántale a tu bebé with music download – US Shipping Only
From 123 Andrés: A copy of the CD Arriba Abajo (digital copy if outside the US)
From Spanish Playground: Set of books, crafts, and toys from Latin America – US Shipping Only
From Carole P. Roman: Set of If You Were Me and Lived In… books on Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Portugal, and the Mayan Empire – US Shipping Only
From Mister G: A copy of the new CD Mundo Verde/Green World (digital copy if outside the US)
From World Music with Daria: Set of maracas and a Spanish fan – US Shipping Only
From Gus on the Go: Spanish Alphabet Print (US Shipping Only) & single-use promo code for Spanish for kids language app

2nd Prize

From Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer: A print copy of Cántale a tu bebé with music download – US Shipping Only
From 123 Andrés: A copy of the CD Uno, Dos, Tres, Andrés! (digital copy if outside the US)
From Spanish Playground: Set of books, crafts, and toys from Latin America – US Shipping Only
From Carole P. Roman: Set of If You Were Me and Lived In… books on Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Portugal, and the Mayan Empire – US Shipping Only
From Mister G: A copy of the new CD Mundo Verde/Green World (digital copy if outside the US)
From Lee and Low Books: Martí’s Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad; Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del arcoíris; Mamá the Alien/Mamá la extraterreste; Marisol McDonald and the Monster/Marisol McDonald y el monstruo – US Shipping Only

3rd Prize

From Carole P. Roman: Set of If You Were Me and Lived In… books on Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Portugal, and the Mayan Empire – US Shipping Only
From Mister G: A copy of the new CD Mundo Verde/Green World (digital copy if outside the US)
From Sarah Aroeste: A copy of the new Ladino/English bilingual picture book Ora de Despertar/Time to Wake Up – US Shipping Only
From Arte Público Press: Picture books Esteban de Luna, Baby Rescuer! / Esteban de Luna, ¡rescatador de bebés!, The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, Dalia’s Wondrous Hair / El cabello maravilloso de Dalia, Grandma’s Chocolate / El chocolate de Abuelita, I Kick the Ball / Pateo el balón, Level Up / Paso de nivel, A Surprise for Teresita / Una sorpresa para Teresita – US Shipping Only

Bonus Prizes

We are giving away an extra copy of the CD Mundo Verde/Green World from Mister G (US Shipping Only) and up to 10 digital downloads of this brand new album: Watch a video of the title track!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

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Bio
Latest Posts

Christa Jimenez

Founder at Pura Vida Moms

Hi, I'm Christa- writer, photographer, world traveler, foodie, voracious reader and bilingual mom. I love all things Costa Rica- including my soccer loving husband and two bicultural daughters. You can find me at www.puravidamoms.com

Latest posts by Christa Jimenez (see all)

Breakfast Around the World - March 29, 2022
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Celebrating Latino Culture during Hispanic Heritage Month With The Best Of MKB Kids! - September 16, 2019