Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Chorreadas con Natilla
Sweet-savory fresh corn pancakes, crisp at the edges, served with a dollop of cool natilla (sour cream), a Costa Rican country breakfast.
Costa Rican · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~333 cal · 8g protein · 50g carbs · 14g fat · 4g fiber · 15g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Chorreadas are the fresh corn pancakes of Costa Rica, a country breakfast and afternoon treat that celebrates sweet young maize at its peak. They are homey, rustic food, especially associated with the rural heartland.
Fresh corn is ground into a coarse, naturally sweet batter and poured (chorreado means poured) onto a hot griddle, where it cooks into a pancake crisp at the edges and tender within. Some versions lean sweet, others more savoury with a little cheese.
The classic pairing is a dollop of cool natilla, Costa Rica's slightly sour cream, whose tang balances the corn's sweetness. Chorreadas con natilla are simple, comforting food, the taste of a Costa Rican country morning and the season's fresh corn.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, 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 4
3 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cornmeal (to bind)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup natilla (sour cream), to serve
to taste
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Blend the corn kernels with the milk to a coarse, thick batter, then stir in the cornmeal, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
2
Let the batter rest 5 minutes so the cornmeal hydrates and thickens it.
3
Griddle spoonfuls in a little oil, spreading into rounds, until golden and set on both sides.
4
Serve the chorreadas warm with a generous dollop of natilla on top.
Costa Rican countryside cooking.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 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. Casado has two explanations and neither is settled: that it was the plate a married man was fed at home, or that it describes the marriage of several dishes on one surface. Whichever, it is rice, beans, plantain, salad and a protein, and the bottle of Salsa Lizano on the table is the specifically Costa Rican element, going into gallo pinto as much as onto it.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with 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.
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, Blender.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Costa Rica meal
Agua de SapoDrink
Cajeta de CocoDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
KisserChad
Arepas con Quesito & HogaoColombia
Arepa di PampunaCuraçao
Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)Finland
Varškės Blynai (Curd Cheese Pancakes)Lithuania
Marshallese Banana PancakesMarshall Islands
Cuisine
Diet
Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World
Gluten-Free Recipes from Around the World
Nut-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Vegetarian Breakfasts from Around the World
Gluten-Free Breakfasts from Around the World
Nut-Free Breakfasts from Around the World
Egg-Free Breakfasts from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Chorreadas con Natilla?
Sweet-savory fresh corn pancakes, crisp at the edges, served with a dollop of cool natilla (sour cream), a Costa Rican country breakfast.
Where does Chorreadas con Natilla come from?
Chorreadas con Natilla is a Costa Rican dish from San José, Costa Rica.
Can Chorreadas con Natilla be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chorreadas con Natilla 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 Chorreadas con Natilla 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 Chorreadas con Natilla take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.