The Most Important Meal of the Day in Costa Rica

In Costa Rican, breakfast is the great leveler. It is the most egalitarian and universal of cultural experiences. Whether you are a volunteer in Costa Rica living in the home of a local, a backpacker staying at a hostel, or a tourist with accommodations in a four start hotel, you will almost certainly have the same thing for breakfast.

The corner-stone of almost every Costa Rican breakfast is a large helping of gallo pinto. This is true regardless of whether you are eating at McDonalds, where you can order up a McPinto Deluxe, or at a fancy restaurant. On its most basic level, gallo pinto is simply rice and beans. The speckled appearance of the dark beans in light rice is what inspired the name gallo pinto, which means “spotted rooster.”

The pre-cooked rice and beans are fried together, along with onion, peppers, and cilantro if they are available. While it can be eaten alone, it is often served with sweet and sticky fried plantains, an egg (usually scrambled), and some salty white cheese. Sour cream is also a common side as are tortillas and fresh fruit.

A traditional breakfast drink is agua dulce, or sweet water, which is made from boiled down sugar cane juice which is then hardened. This is then scraped off and dissolved in hot water or milk. But of course coffee is also ubiquitous. The coffee is usually brewed in a chorreador, a wooden stand with a cloth filter which holds the coffee grounds through which hot water seeps, emerging one drip at a time on the other side as a thick stimulant.

If you volunteer in Costa Rica or work there for an extended period of time, you will likely consume allot of gallo pinto and it often becomes a staple in the breakfasts of expats even once they return home. If you are visiting for a short trip, however, don’t skip breakfast. Afterall, it is, as mom always said, the most important meal of the day.