Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Casado
The soda-counter plate that "marries" rice, black beans, sweet plantains, salad, and a griddled protein.
Costa Rican · easy · serves 3
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~1007 cal · 53g protein · 137g carbs · 28g fat · 15g fiber · 25g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The casado is the everyday plate of Costa Rica, the meal you find at every soda, the small family-run eateries that dot the country. Its name means "married man", a play on the idea that the components are wedded together on one plate and, like a good marriage, never divorce.
The marriage is a reliable, balanced one: rice and black beans, sweet fried (maduros), a simple cabbage-and-tomato salad, sometimes a nub of fresh cheese or a tortilla, and the protein of the day, grilled chicken, fish, a beef stew, or pork. The portions are generous and the price is modest.
More than lunch, it is a small daily expression of pura vida, the easygoing Costa Rican philosophy of living well and simply. Wholesome, filling, and quietly proud, the casado is Costa Rican identity served on a single plate.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally 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 3
3 cups white rice, cooked
2 cups black beans, cooked, with broth
2 very ripe , sliced
3 chicken breasts (the day’s protein)
1 lime
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin (the marinade)
2 cups cabbage
1 tomato
a handful cilantro (the salad)
2 tbsp Salsa Lizano (or Worcestershire-style sauce)
4 tbsp
Instructions
1
Marinate the chicken (or tofu) in lime, garlic, cumin, and Lizano, 20 minutes; griddle until charred and cooked through.
2
Warm the beans with a splash of Lizano; keep them brothy.
3
Fry the plantain slices slow until caramel-sweet.
4
Toss the cabbage, tomato, and cilantro with lime and salt.
5
Plate everything in its own territory, rice, beans, maduros, salad, protein. The marriage works because nothing touches until you decide.
San José soda tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
San José. The soda is the format rather than the dish: a small family-run counter serving a set lunch to whoever turns up, the day's casado chalked on a board and no menu of any length. The cooking is fresh rather than fiery, with hot sauce left on the table for anyone who wants it.
🗺️
Costa Rica. Coffee made the country. Planting began in the Meseta Central in 1779, the nineteenth-century government handed out plots to anyone who would grow it, and by 1829 coffee had passed cacao, tobacco and sugar as the main export. The revenue built the railway to the Atlantic coast and paid for the National Theatre in San Jose.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Costa Rica
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.
Cajeta de CocoA dense coconut-and-milk fudge cooked down to chewy squares, a traditional Costa Rican homemade candy.
Browse all Costa Rica recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Griddle or flat pan.
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Costa Rica meal
Agua de SapoDrink
Cajeta de CocoDessert
Sopa NegraLunch
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Casado?
The soda-counter plate that "marries" rice, black beans, sweet plantains, salad, and a griddled protein.
Where does Casado come from?
Casado is a Costa Rican dish from San José, Costa Rica.
Can Casado be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Casado 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 Casado 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 Casado take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 3.
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