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Tacu Tacu: Practical and Delicious Peruvian Rice and Beans

Peruvian Tacu Tacu Recipe Eatperu

If there was ever a competition for recipes made with leftover ingredients, tacu tacu peruano would probably make it into the top 5! Let us introduce you to the deliciousness that is tacu tacu: leftover rice and beans jazzed up with a mix of onion, garlic, spicy ají amarillo and herbs, topped with a fried egg, a fried ripe plantains and accompanied with the Peruvian onion relish sarza criolla. No wonder even renowned British chef Jamie Oliver has lauded this quintessential Peruvian rice and beans recipe. Learn about its origins and many potential variations or scroll straight down to the recipe to get cooking!

Tacu Tacu With Fried Platain Egg Salsa Criolla

What’s in tacu tacu?

Within Peruvian cuisine, there are many gastronomical sub-groups, usually classified according to the region of Peru they hail from. This dish is a prime example of what is known as cocina criolla, Creole cuisine, used to refer to dishes with influences from different parts of Peru. Cocina criolla often contains culinary traditions from other parts of the world. 

The name tacu tacu is believed to be a form of the word takuy from the indigenous Andean language, Quechua, which means “to mix two things together”. But the original recipe bearing this name is completely different than the present-day tacu tacu, created by the inventive hands of African slaves. The recipe came about when these workers improvised ways of using leftover rice and beans. They transformed them into a tasty new dish by adding some ingredients to improve the flavor (enter the garlic, onion, and Peruvian spicy chilli ají amarillo) and lightly sautéeing everything in a skillet. The recipe has probably survived all those years because it offers a practical and tasty solution to revive two leftover staples of Peruvian cuisine – beans and rice – and doesn’t require additional ingredients.

Tacu Tacu With Criolla Sauce

Highly versatile & Incredibly Tasty

Another reason why tacu tacu is likely to have become so popular is the fact that it is incredibly versatile. The ingredients of the most basic version are rice and Peruvian canary beans (also known as mayocoba beans), seasoned with a few simple ingredients and accompanied by fried plantain. But it’s almost invariably served as tacu tacu montado, where the rice is topped with a fried egg, steak, fried fish, lomo saltado or even cabrito a la norteña. 

If soaking and cooking beans sound too laborious, use canned beans. It’s also not a problem to change the type of bean used: canary beans aren’t available everywhere and they’re easily replaced by navy beans, or lentils, pinto beans or black beans. Plus, if you wanted to make your tacu tacu vegetarian and vegan, you’d just omit the egg and meat altogether and still be left with a really delicious dish. Surely you’re convinced by now that you have to give this recipe a try, so let’s get a move on and make some tasty tacu tacu!

Tacu Tacu With Fried Platain Egg Salsa Criolla
Print Recipe
4.67 from 3 votes

Tacu Tacu Recipe

Tacu Tacu: leftover rice and beans jazzed up with a mix of onion, garlic, spicy ají amarillo and herbs, topped with a fried egg, a fried plantain and accompanied with the Peruvian onion relish sarsa criolla.
Prep Time45 mins
Cook Time3 hrs
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Peruvian
Keyword: beans, rice
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 1250kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cups uncooked navy beans or 4 cups of precooked canned navy beans (or mayocoba beans if available)
  • 1½ cups white rice
  • ½ large red onion
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 teaspoon parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 ½ tablespoon garlic paste
  • 2 teaspoons ají amarillo chili pepper paste
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 plantains
  • 4 fried steaks optional
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Sarsa criolla relish (optional)

  • 1 onion jullienned
  • 1 small limo chili pepper finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon parsley finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Soak the raw beans for overnight, adding a tablespoon of salt. Change the water and boil until soft (cooking time here will depend on the type of bean and cooking pot used, usually 1 to 2 hours).
    dried beans in metal bowl
  • Set soaked beans aside to cool.
    beans after soaking overnight
  • Finely chop the onion, tomato and parsley for the tacu tacu.
    chopped tomatoes and onions on cutting board
  • Measure the ají amarillo chili pepper and garlic paste.
    ají amarillo chili pepper and garlic paste
  • Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the onion and garlic. Sautée the ingredients for 2 minutes.
    olive oil onion and garlic
  • Add the oregano
    oregano added to garlic and onion
  • Add tomato and ají amarillo chili pepper paste to sautée for another 3 minutes or until cooked.
    sautee with tomato and ají amarillo chili pepper
  • Turn off the heat, add the cooked beans, crushing them lightly, and mix well.
    add cooked beans
  • Add the rice, mix well. Leave the mixture to sit for at least 15 minutes for the ingredients to soak into the rice well (this is very important in order to achieve the right texture!).
    add rice to cooked beans
  • Set aside the mixture, and for each individual serving, return about 2 cups of the mixture to a hot skillet with ½ a tablespoon of olive and lightly fry.
    stir rice into beans
  • Make sure the mixture achieves a compact texture as you can see in the photo.
    individual fried beans and rice serving
  • Prepare the sarsa criolla by mixing the jullienned red onion, finely chopped limo chili pepper, parsley, olive oil, lime juice and salt. Serve the tacu tacu, topped with a fried egg (or steak, chicken, fish fillet or any other topping of your choice), a fried plantain, and the sarsa criolla onion relish. Enjoy your wonderful tacu tacu!

Notes

1 serving = 500g

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Tacu Tacu Recipe
Amount Per Serving (500 g)
Calories 1250 Calories from Fat 423
% Daily Value*
Fat 47g72%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Cholesterol 302mg101%
Sodium 197mg9%
Potassium 2195mg63%
Carbohydrates 146g49%
Fiber 16g67%
Sugar 31g34%
Protein 67g134%
Vitamin A 2652IU53%
Vitamin C 60mg73%
Calcium 159mg16%
Iron 9mg50%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Facts
Tacu Tacu Recipe
Amount Per Serving (500 g)
Calories 1250 Calories from Fat 423
% Daily Value*
Fat 47g72%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Cholesterol 302mg101%
Sodium 197mg9%
Potassium 2195mg63%
Carbohydrates 146g49%
Fiber 16g67%
Sugar 31g34%
Protein 67g134%
Vitamin A 2652IU53%
Vitamin C 60mg73%
Calcium 159mg16%
Iron 9mg50%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tacu Tacu Recipe: Peruvian fried rice and beans
Tacu Tacu Recipe: Peruvian fried rice and beans
Peruvian Food Lover
Eat Peru

Peruvian foodie. I’ve been writing about the food of Peru for over 10 years. Read more about the Eat Peru team here

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Luis E Monge

    January 6, 2021 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    Muy buena receta y buenas fotos.

    Reply
    • Eat Peru

      January 6, 2021 at 10:23 am

      Gracias, Luis

      Reply
  2. TF

    March 18, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    4 stars
    Thanks for a nice recipe. I think you could write in the instructions that the rice has to be cooked.

    Reply

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