What Is a Casado? Costa Rica’s Classic Lunch Plate Explained

If you eat one meal like a local in Costa Rica, make it this one. The casado is cheap, filling and on the board at almost every soda in the country.

A casado is Costa Rica’s everyday lunch plate: white rice, black beans, your choice of chicken, fish, beef or pork, a small cabbage salad, fried sweet plantain and usually a scoop of picadillo, a hash of finely diced vegetables. Casado means “married” in Spanish. At a neighborhood soda, one of the small family-run diners found in every town, a casado costs roughly ₡2,500 to ₡5,000 (about $5 to $11), often with a fruit drink included. Expect to pay more in tourist towns.

This guide covers what comes on the plate, where the name comes from, how to order in Spanish, what you should pay and where to find a good one.

Costa Rica casado	At a glance
What it is	A lunch plate of rice, beans, a protein, salad, plantain and picadillo
Meaning	Casado is Spanish for “married”
When	Lunch, though many sodas serve it all day
Where	Sodas, market food stalls and many casual restaurants
Price	About ₡2,500 to ₡5,000 at neighborhood sodas; ₡5,000 to ₡7,000 or more in tourist towns
Drink	Often includes a fresco, a fresh fruit drink
Vegetarian?	Ask for a casado vegetariano or con huevo (with eggs)

On the plate

What’s on a Costa Rican Casado?

Every soda makes its own version, but a classic casado almost always includes:

• Rice: plain white rice, cooked separately from the beans.
• Beans: usually black beans, sometimes red, served whole or as a thin stew.
• A protein: chicken, fish, pork chop or thin-cut beef, grilled, fried or stewed.
• Picadillo: finely chopped vegetables such as potato, chayote squash, green papaya or green beans, cooked with onion, sweet pepper and cilantro, sometimes with a little ground meat.
• Salad: shredded cabbage and tomato, often with just a squeeze of lime instead of dressing.
• Plantain: sweet ripe plantain, fried until caramelized.
• Extras: a corn tortilla, a slice of avocado or a fried egg, depending on the soda.

The name

What Does Casado Mean?

Casado means “married” in Spanish, and nobody agrees on exactly why the dish carries the name. The usual explanations:

• The pairing theory: the plate “marries” rice and beans with a main dish and several sides.
• The married man’s meal: single men eating out asked for a full, home-style plate, the kind of lunch a married man would get at home.
• The joke: if you can cook a good casado, you are ready to get married.

Whatever the origin, the dish is always el casado, masculine, even though you will see “casada” in some English-language guides.

Ordering

How to Order a Casado in Spanish

Ordering is simple: you pick the protein and the kitchen does the rest. Many sodas list the day’s options on a board instead of a printed menu.

On the board	What you get
Casado con pollo	Chicken, often stewed or grilled
Casado con pescado	Fish, usually the best choice in beach towns
Casado con bistec	Thin-cut beef steak, often cooked with onions
Casado con chuleta	Pork chop
Casado vegetariano	No meat; usually egg, cheese or extra picadillo and plantain

Three phrases cover most of it: “Un casado con pollo, por favor” (a chicken casado, please), “¿Qué trae el casado hoy?” (what comes with the casado today?) and “¿Incluye fresco?” (does it include a drink?). A fresco is a fresh fruit drink, such as cas, mango or blackberry, made with water or milk. Our list of Costa Rican expressions has more.

Prices

How Much Does a Casado Cost in Costa Rica?

• ₡2,500–₡5,000Neighborhood soda
• ₡5,000–₡7,000+Tourist towns and beach strips
• ~$9A ₡4,000 casado at recent exchange rates

Chicken is usually the cheapest option, and fish and steak cost a little more. Prices climb in Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio, Santa Teresa and the main strip in La Fortuna. A casado at a resort or a sit-down tourist restaurant can cost several times what the soda down the street charges.

By law, menus must show the final price, including tax and any service charge. Some places still list prices “plus tax,” so check the bill. The 10% service charge applies only when staff serve you at the table.

Pay in colones if you can; small sodas often don’t take cards. Our guides to tipping in Costa Rica, Costa Rica’s currency and saving money on a Costa Rica trip cover the rest.

Where to eat

Where to Eat a Casado

The best casados come from sodas, not resorts. Look for one that is busy at lunchtime, especially with workers and families. A soda near a bus terminal, a market or the town soccer field is often a good bet.

• San José: The Mercado Central is packed with small sodas serving casados at the counter.
• Small towns: Ask where people eat lunch. Locals can usually point you to the soda known for its casado.
• Beach towns: Skip the beachfront strip and walk a few blocks inland for better prices.

Our guide to Costa Rican sodas explains how they work and what else to order, and our piece on pulperías and sodas covers the corner stores you will see next door.

Don’t mix them up

Casado vs. Gallo Pinto and Other Rice Dishes

Dish	When	What it is
Casado	Lunch	Rice and beans side by side, with a protein, salad, plantain and picadillo
Gallo pinto	Breakfast	Rice and beans fried together, usually with eggs, sour cream and tortillas
Arroz con pollo	Any time	Rice cooked with shredded chicken and vegetables
Chifrijo	Bar snack	Rice, beans, fried pork and tomato salsa in a bowl

See our guides to gallo pinto and sopa negra, another bean-based staple, and our Costa Rica food guide for the rest of the menu.

Around the country

Regional Differences

The casado is consistent across the country, but local ingredients show up:

• Caribbean coast: Around Limón and Puerto Viejo, you may get rice and beans cooked together in coconut milk instead of plain rice and beans. Our guide to Afro-Caribbean culture in Costa Rica has more on the region’s food.
• Guanacaste: Corn tortillas and corn-based sides are more common.
• Beach towns: On both coasts, fresh fish is usually the strongest option on the board.

Good to know

Casado FAQ