Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Olla de Carne
Costa Rica's weekend pot of meat: beef simmered with a rainbow of root vegetables, corn, chayote, and plantain into a rich, nourishing broth, served with rice.
Costa Rican · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 150 min
~620 cal · 43g protein · 57g carbs · 23g fat · 5g fiber · 9g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Olla de carne, literally pot of meat, is Costa Rica's great weekend stew and for many ticos the taste of childhood and family. Beef, ideally a bony cut like shank or short rib, is simmered for hours with a rainbow of local vegetables until the broth turns rich and nourishing, and families gather on Saturdays and Sundays to share steaming bowls with rice, tortillas, and conversation.
Its glory is the sheer variety of ground that go in: (), tiquisque (), camote (sweet potato), chayote, ayote (squash), corn on the cob, carrots, potatoes, and green or ripe . They are added in stages by how long they take to cook, so nothing turns to mush, and fresh cilantro and culantro go in at the very end.
Traditionally it was slow-cooked over an open flame, and although a couple of hours on the stove now does the job, the principle is unchanged: build a deep beef first, then let the vegetables cook down into it. It is always served with a bowl of white rice alongside.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 lbs bone-in beef shank or short ribs, cut in chunks
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb (), peeled and cut in pieces
2 carrots, in thick pieces
2 ears corn on the cob, cut in thirds
1 chayote, peeled and cut in chunks
2 potatoes, in large chunks
1 sweet potato, in chunks
1 green , in thick slices
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
to taste salt
to taste black pepper
Instructions
1
In a large pot, cover the beef with water and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that rises. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and half the cilantro.
2
Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 1.5 hours, until the beef is becoming tender and the broth is rich.
✎ Chef’s note
Let the meat and bones simmer well before any vegetables go in; that long first stage is what gives the broth its depth.
3
Add the yuca, carrots, and corn and cook for about 20 minutes.
4
Add the chayote, potatoes, sweet potato, and plantain and simmer another 20 to 30 minutes until everything is tender.
5
Stir in the remaining cilantro, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a bowl of white rice on the side.
San José soda tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
San José. San Jose's soda kitchens serve the casado, a plate of rice, black beans, plantain, salad, and a protein whose name means "married" - some say for the married man fed like this at home, others for the way the dish marries so many things on one plate. Gallo pinto starts the day, and Costa Rican cooking stays fresh, mild, and vegetable-forward.
🗺️
Costa Rica. Costa Rican food is fresh and wholesome, built on the casado plate of rice, beans, plantain, and salad, and gallo pinto for breakfast. Tropical fruit and a 'pura vida' ease define its unfussy, produce-driven table.
🌍
North America. Almost every regional cooking here records who arrived and on what terms. Enslaved West Africans brought rice, okra, black-eyed peas and the techniques behind Lowcountry and Creole food; Chinese railway labour and later Italian, Jewish, Mexican and Vietnamese arrivals built the way the cities eat; and Indigenous foodways sit underneath all of it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Costa Rica
CasadoThe soda-counter plate that "marries" rice, black beans, sweet plantains, salad, and a griddled protein.
Chorreadas con NatillaSweet-savory fresh corn pancakes, crisp at the edges, served with a dollop of cool natilla (sour cream), a Costa Rican country breakfast.
ChifrijoA layered bowl of rice, beans, crisp fried pork, and pico de gallo with tortilla chips, Costa Rica's favorite bar snack.
Browse all Costa Rica recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Olla de Carne?
Costa Rica's weekend pot of meat: beef simmered with a rainbow of root vegetables, corn, chayote, and plantain into a rich, nourishing broth, served with rice.
Where does Olla de Carne come from?
Olla de Carne is a Costa Rican dish from San José, Costa Rica.
Can Olla de Carne be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Olla de Carne recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Olla de Carne safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Olla de Carne take to make?
About 180 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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