Costa Rican Green Bean Hash

Picadillo de vainica is an essential dish in Costa Rican homes, made with finely chopped green beans sautéed with vegetables and ground beef.

Together with soups, picadillos have traditionally been the most common way to eat vegetables in Costa Rican cuisine.

Costa Rican Green Bean Hash

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• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings
• Category: Side dish
• Cuisine: Costa Rican

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

• 500 g of green beans, finely chopped (about 1.1 lb)
• 300 g of ground beef (about 10.5 oz)
• 2 of potatoes, in small cubes (optional)
• 1 of onion, chopped
• 1 of sweet bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• to taste of salt and pepper
• to taste of fresh cilantro, chopped

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Instructions

1. Cook the green beans, boil the chopped green beans in salted water for 5 minutes, until tender but firm. Drain.
2. Brown the meat, in a skillet with oil, brown the ground beef until fully cooked.
3. Sauté the vegetables, add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, cooking until tender.
4. Add the potato (optional), if using potato, add it pre-cooked and cubed small.
5. Add the green beans, stir the drained green beans into the skillet, mixing well with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Season, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook a few more minutes to blend the flavors.
7. Finish, add the chopped fresh cilantro at the end.
8. Serve, serve hot, as a side dish or gallo filling.

Tips for getting it right

• Briefly cooking the green beans before sautéing preserves their green color and firm texture.
• Browning the ground beef well before adding the vegetables gives the dish more flavor.
• Chopping the green beans finely is key to achieving this picadillo’s characteristic texture.
• Fresh cilantro at the end gives the dish its distinctive aroma.

Traditional variations

• There’s a vegan version without meat, and another combined with chopped carrot.
• It’s served as a side for casado or as a filling for tortillas in gallo form.

How to serve

Picadillo de vainica is served hot, as a side for casado or as a filling for gallos with tortilla.

It’s one of the most commonly eaten picadillos in Costa Rican homes.

Recommended sides

• Rice and beans
• Corn tortillas

Did you know?

Picadillos, together with soups, have historically been the traditional way Costa Ricans eat vegetables.

Picadillo de vainica can be made vegan, without meat, or combined with chopped carrot.