Chayote Soup Recipe From Costa Rica
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About This Chayote Soup Recipe
Soups are very popular in Costa Rica- they are easy to make in the pressure cooker, generally low calorie and filling, and of course perfect for a winter rainy day.
Chayote squash is a small green squash with a large white seed inside. It is a bit watery with a tough exterior. The squash grows like a weed across Costa Rica, making it a cheap and easy ingredient for all kinds of dishes.
It’s in one of the national dishes, Olla Carne (vegetable beef soup) and it’s the star of this simple white bean and pork soup popular among home cooks in the Central Valley. This is generally not a recipe you will see on a menu.
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This soup is a twist on a traditional white bean soup in that it uses pork with vegetables. White beans are not as traditionally consumed in Costa Rica as red and black beans, but they are nonetheless delicious in this easy and filling soup recipe.
This is a traditional lunch recipe in Costa Rica but makes a great dinner recipe too.
White Bean and Chayote Soup Recipe
Printable recipe below
Ingredients
- Chayote squash
- Carrots
- Corn on the cob
- cilantro
- red pepper
- onion
- garlic
- Pork butt or boneless pork ribs
- Olive oil
- salt
- dry white beans- Great Northern or Cannellini. “Frijol blanco” in Costa Rica.
- water
Instructions
Finely dice onion, garlic, red pepper, and cilantro. Heat a pressure cooker or instant pot on medium-high heat. Add a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil to the pan and stir in the red pepper, cilantro, onion, and garlic until just tender.
Cut pork into 2 x 2″ chunks. Next, sear your pork and reduce heat to low or remove from heat altogether. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of salt during this step. I sprinkle it over the pork as it is cooking.
Cut the corn, carrots, and chayote into large pieces- about 3″ long or so. Wash and set aside.
Rinse the dry white beans and set aside.
Add the chayotes, beans, corn, and carrots. Cover with water and store in 1 tablespoon of salt if you salted the meat, and 2 tablespoons if you did not.
Close the pressure cooker or Instant Pot and pressure cook for 25 minutes after the pot reaches full pressure. Allow to sit for up to 20 minutes before releasing the pressure to serve. Pura Vida!
Substitutions
You could substitute garbanzo beans for the white beans.
If you don’t want to cook the white beans, you can use 2 14.5 cans of cannellini beans or Great Northern beans.
You can add any vegetable to this that you want, but corn on the cob, chayote, and carrots are the most common. Baby red potatoes would be good in here too!
Some people substitute the pork for either pulled pork or ground beef, but that is not very traditional in Costa Rica.
Variations
You can omit the pork altogether for a vegan or vegetarian recipe.
You can make this stovetop, but you need to boil the pork and beans for about 3-4 hours and then serve.
It works to substitute vegetable broth for the water.
Serving Suggestions
This dish is traditionally served with white rice as a side dish, homemade tortillas, and a traditional Costa Rican drink.
Related post: Costa Rican Tres Leches Recipe
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Costa Rican White Bean and Pork Soup
This Costa Rican white bean and pork soup with chayote squash is the perfect winter soup!
Ingredients
- 2 Chayote squash
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Corn on the cob
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 lbs Pork butt or boneless pork ribs
- 1 tbsp live oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 lb dry white beans- Great Northern or Cannellini. “Frijol blanco” in Costa Rica.
- water
Instructions
- Finely dice onion, garlic, red pepper, and cilantro. Heat a pressure cooker or instant pot on medium-high heat. Add a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil to the pan and stir in the red pepper, cilantro, onion, and garlic until just tender.
- Cut pork into 2 x 2″ chunks. Next, sear your pork and reduce heat to low or remove from heat altogether. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of salt during this step. I sprinkle it over the pork as it is cooking.
- Cut the corn, carrots, and chayote into large pieces- about 3″ long or so. Wash and set aside.
- Rinse the dry white beans and set aside.
- Add the chayotes, beans, corn, and carrots. Cover with water and store in 1 tablespoon of salt if you salted the meat, 2 tablespoons if you did not.
- Close the pressure cooker or Instant Pot and pressure cook for 25 minutes after the pot reaches full pressure. Allow to sit for up to 20 minutes before releasing the pressure to serve. Pura Vida!
Christa Jimenez
Welcome! I’m Christa, a Spanish teacher married to a handsome Costa Rican and mother of two bilingual daughters. We’ve spent over 25 years living in and traveling to Costa Rica with our daughters, and this website is my love letter to all things Costa Rica- and to bilingual parenting too. You can read my full story here. Thanks for stopping by!
