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Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash)
Small cubes of potato boiled just tender, then cooked with chorizo, onion, garlic, achiote, grated carrot and cilantro into a soft, orange-tinted picadillo served with rice, beans and tortillas.
Costa Rican · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~441 cal · 15g protein · 47g carbs · 21g fat · 6g fiber · 4g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Picadillos, finely chopped vegetables cooked with seasoning and often a little meat, have a special place in Costa Rican cooking, above all in the Central Valley. They are made from potato, chayote, green beans, green papaya or arracache, a local root, and the Costa Rican tourism board even promotes a Ruta del Picadillo to the towns best known for them.
Picadillo de papa is the most familiar. The potatoes are cut into small cubes and boiled just until tender, so they hold their shape, then cooked with a sofrito of onion, garlic, sweet pepper and cilantro coloured with . Some cooks add shredded beef; this version uses crumbled chorizo, as many Costa Rican home cooks do, with a little grated carrot.
It is served alongside the lunchtime rice and beans or in a casado, and it is also eaten rolled in a hot corn tortilla, a gallito, at parties and with afternoon coffee.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-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
- 1 kg (2 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
- 225 g (1/2 lb) fresh chorizo, casings removed, Costa Rican or Mexican-style fresh chorizo; check the label, as some contain wheat
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp () paste or ground
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 sweet pepper (chile dulce or red bell pepper), finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- to taste salt and black pepper
- 8 corn tortillas, to serve, optional
Instructions
- 1Boil the potato cubes in salted water for 6 to 8 minutes, until just tender but still holding their shape. Drain, keeping a cup of the cooking water.✎ Chef’s noteStop while they still have a little bite; they finish cooking in the pan.
- 2Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and stir in the achiote until the oil turns orange. Add the onion, sweet pepper, garlic and half the cilantro and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until soft.
- 3Add the chorizo and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through.
- 4Fold in the potatoes and carrot with a few spoonfuls of the potato water. Season, cover and cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the potatoes are soft and have taken on the colour and flavour.
- 5Stir in the rest of the cilantro and serve hot beside rice and beans, or rolled in warm tortillas.
Costa Rican home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
San José. Gallo pinto is the national breakfast, and the Costa Rican version uses black beans, cooked separately from the rice and then fried together with onion, sweet pepper and a splash of Salsa Lizano, the mild brown sauce that has become a fixture. Nicaragua makes its own with red beans and the argument goes on.
🗺️
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. 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
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.
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: Skillet or frying pan.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Costa Rica meal
Agua de SapoDrink
Cajeta de CocoDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash)?
Small cubes of potato boiled just tender, then cooked with chorizo, onion, garlic, achiote, grated carrot and cilantro into a soft, orange-tinted picadillo served with rice, beans and tortillas.
Where does Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) come from?
Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) is a Costa Rican dish from San José, Costa Rica.
Can Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Picadillo de Papa (Costa Rican Potato and Chorizo Hash) take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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