Costa Rican Olla de Carne is a healthy vegetable beef soup that combines beef short ribs, acorn squash, sweet potato, chayote, corn on the cob, and, of course, Costa Rican spices. Served with fresh white tortillas and Costa Rican white rice -there’s a reason this is the Costa Rican national dish!  

I remember returning to Costa Rica after a long absence- my husband and I had immigrated to the United States to get married and start our professional lives.

The first years in the United States were marked with frenzy- starting careers, building a home, and making new friends. The last thing on our minds was cooking, even though food had always been a huge part of our relationship. We missed Costa Rica, and especially Costa Rican food.

When we returned to San Ramón for Christmas, we could hear the hiss of the pressure cooker before we even arrived at the doorstep to my husband’s childhood home. Olla de carne was on the stove for us when we arrived, and I have never had such a delicious meal as that first one back.

Since then, we make it a point to share this recipe with friends and family in Costa Rica and the United States. Olla de carne was the first food for our daughters, a meal we share with new parents, and one that we prepare and share with fellow Costa Rican ex-pats.

The soup is not just a meal- it’s a symbol of the pura vida life. Because in the end, what is more “pure life” than sharing a healthy meal with those we love the most?

Olla de Carne Recipe

Ingredients: 

For the beef stew/broth:

• 1 tsp olive or vegetable oil
• ½ white onion, chopped
• ¼ red pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lb beef stew meat and 2 lb beef short ribs (or 4 lbs beef stew meat)
• 1 Tbsp sea salt 
• 8 cups of water
• ⅓ bunch cilantro
• 1 Tbsp chicken bouillon

For the vegetables (in a large stock pot)

• 1 tsp olive or vegetable oil
• ½ white onion, finely chopped
• ⅓ red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 12 cups water
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
• 3 red potatoes, quartered
• 3 sweet potatoes (or yams), quartered
• 2 chayote squash, quartered
• 4 carrots, cut into thirds
• 1–2 plantains (halfway between green and ripe), sliced
• 1 acorn squash, seeded and quartered
• ¼ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 yucca, peeled and cut into 3–4 large pieces
• 1 ear of sweet corn, cut into thirds

Instructions:

Cooking the meat:

Heat oil in a slow cooker or pressure cooker (I use an Instant Pot). Sauté the chopped vegetables until tender. Add the meat and sear each side, cooking just until brown. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pour water on top. You should have about 6 inches of water above the meat- this soup needs a good amount of broth.

Cook in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours, on low for 6-8 hours. If using a pressure cooker (preferred method) cook for 20 minutes after the pressure starts to rise.

Cooking the vegetables:

As with the meat, heat the oil in a large stockpot, and then sauté chopped vegetables until just tender. Wash the vegetables, peeling if desired (vegetables are typically not peeled in Costa Rica). Quarter the potatoes, yams, and chayotes. Peel the yucca and cut into 3-4 large pieces (cortadas en trozos granted). Cut the carrots and sweet corn into thirds. Slice the squash in half, remove the seeds, and then quarter each half into four large pieces. Place all vegetables into the pot, and sprinkle with salt. Cover with water and boil on medium heat (fuego lento) until all vegetables are tender- about 1 hour.

Serving the soup- In a large bowl, place 1-2 pieces of meat with the bone, and fill about half the bowl with beef broth. Place the desired vegetables on top, and cover with the vegetable broth. Serve hot with a spare plate for bones and vegetable peels. Costa Rican Olla Carne is often served with white rice, either at the bottom of the bowl or on the side.  

About Olla de Carne – Costa Rica

Olla de carne is the most popular of the Costa Rican soups- a beef and vegetable stew that is a staple in Costa Rican homes -and it’s super healthy and gluten-free. (Paleo too!) You won’t always find it on the menu at restaurants, but I have often dined with ticos who ask, “do you have olla de carne today?” and it miraculously appears.

It is a beef-based soup full of large chunks of all types of Costa Rican vegetables, making it a perfect Fall harvest meal here in the States, and a delightfully messy soup to eat. Feel free to check out your local farmer’s market for fresh produce! In Costa Rica, meat is sold in different cuts, but you can just ask for carne para la olla or carne para sopa, and you’ll get what you need.

It’s usually served in an extremely large bowl, sometimes with white rice on the bottom. Other times, the rice is on a small separate plate (which is how I like to eat it). There is a separate empty plate served with the soup, and it is for the beef bones and vegetable rinds that aren’t eaten.

I go through tons of napkins eating olla carne, since most people use their hands to extract the edible parts from the non-edible parts.

About The Cooking Process

It is most traditional to make the olla de carne in a pressure cooker, but I have adapted this recipe to use a slow cooker and a traditional large stockpot.

There are several theories about adding the different types of vegetables to the soup, depending on the amount of time it takes to get them soft.

The vegetables in this soup definitely fall apart with each serving (this is the type of soup that tastes better the more times you heat it up, so we definitely make a huge “ollón” and eat it for days). But you know me, I like to keep it simple, so I just add all of the vegetables in at the same time, but make sure they are cut into large pieces.

I also cook the beef and its broth separately from the vegetables and their broth, and then combine them to serve. I think this gives the broth an incredible and unique flavor, but it is definitely not the most “traditional” preparation of the dish.

Finally, the salt sold in Costa Rica is sea salt, which has a slightly saltier flavor. I make sure to use sea salt for the recipe because I think it tastes much better.

*Note: A traditional olla de carne would include tiquizque and ñampí, but I do not include those vegetables here because I can’t get them in the United States!

Clearly, I could write for days about the olla de carne and the traditions surrounding its preparation – but before I digress even further, here is the recipe!

More Costa Rican Soup Recipes:

• Garbanzo Bean Soup Recipe
• Traditional Costa Rican Black Bean Soup
• Sopa Azteca- Costa Rican Tortilla Soup

Substitutions

You can use chicken stock instead of beef stock. 

If you can’t get beef short ribs, you can always use either beef stew meat or a chuck roast and cut it into smaller pieces. You can also try flanken beef ribs, like in this flanken beef short ribs recipe.

If you’re out of potatoes, another root vegetable you could try is the taro root. Peel and cube two taro roots and prepare as part of the vegetable recipe. They’re a great source of starch and fiber, and taste similar to a sweet potato.

If the onion is too strong, swap in a whole diced shallot for a milder flavor.

Variations

This is a really easy soup to make into a vegan recipe or a vegetarian one. Just omit the beef and use vegetable stock. 

If you want to make a traditional Costa Rican meatball soup (sopa de albondigas Costa Rica), just use meatballs in place of the beef and make it in the same manner.

Serving Suggestions

Serving the soup- In a large bowl, place 1-2 pieces of meat with the bone, and fill about half the bowl with beef broth. Place the desired vegetables on top, and cover with the vegetable broth.

Serve hot with a spare plate for bones and vegetable peels. Costa Rican Vegetable Beef Soup is often served with white rice, either at the bottom of the bowl or on the side.  You can also serve with this Costa Rican Arroz Arreglado Recipe.

Of course, lots of people add extra flavor to their soup by using Salsa Lizano. Yum!

Printable Recipe

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