Finding gluten free, wheat free and dairy free food in Costa Rica
It’s the winter of 2024 and I’m currently freelancing. I realize I can look for and interview for a job from anywhere, so my boyfriend and I decide to leave our mild Northern California winter behind and spend 9 weeks in Costa Rica. Because why not? What an adventure! It’s the longest I’ve been away from home and a good test of both me being able to realize my dream of living abroad for a year and of our relationship.
The country is filled with monkeys and waterfalls and beaches and hikes and as much hot weather as you can handle. Come along on our adventures and food journeys.
Paraiso, Junquillal, Playa Negra and Playa Avellanas
Our adventure begins in January 2024. We’ve rented a tree-top home in the jungle from friends. We expect to stay here the whole 9 weeks of our trip and take a few weekend side trips, but things don’t work out…
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Nuevo Arenal
After five weeks of being in the heat and wind of the Nicoya Peninsula, we escape to the mountains for a weekend in Nuevo Arenal. We book a room for three nights at a B&B, The Agua Inn, and like…
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Playa Carrillo and Samara Beach
We’re down to just a few weeks left on our 9-week adventure. We’re sad to leave the cool mountains around Lake Arenal, but looking forward to what’s ahead. We’ve booked ourselves into what will be the most luxurious accommodations of…
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Surfside Potrero
With two weeks left in our journey, we drive north to Surfside Potrero where we’re renting an Airbnb in a condo complex. I’m not sure I am going to like such “normal” housing, but it turns out to be absolutely…
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Playa Hermosa
The last town we stay in on this 9 week trip is Playa Hermosa, the sleepy cousin of the lively Playa del Coco. On the way, we stop in Playa del Coco for coffee and lunch and to kill time…
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Tamarindo
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you may gather that a crowded, touristy town like Tamarindo isn’t somewhere I’d choose to spend a lot of time. And you’d be right. We find ourselves stopping in this town quite…
Keep readingCosta Rican food: gluten free, wheat free and dairy free
Local cuisine:
Many sodas (like diners) and restaurants serve typical (tipical) Costa Rican food and were safe for gluten-free and dairy-free dining. Casados consist of protein (I usually had fish, but sometimes chicken), with rice, beans, salad and fried plantains (Usually just plantains fried in oil). Platos Fuertes were also safe, similar to casados, but without the beans and fried plantains, sometimes with a side of veggies. They also typically have a variety of fried rice dishes like arroz con pollo. And be sure to try patacones. Some restaurants do them better than others but they were always good and usually covered in guacamole. I was skeptical at first that they are gluten free, but after making them myself, I can say they are.
Markets:
Everywhere from the smallest mini super to the big chain grocery stores had some types of shelf stable dairy free milk and some gluten free/dairy free cookies or crackers. And the prices vary widely. My go-to cookies for the trip were Gullón Gluten Free Cookies with Chocolate Chips. Some stores sold them for 4000 + colones (over US $8). Some sold them for 1600 colones (about US $3). And anywhere in between. Same for oatmilk. Rude Health was anywhere from $4.50 – $7.50. We eventually switched to Member’s Select (like Costco’s Kirkland) oatmilk to save some money as we were going through a lot of it, drinking tons of coffee and tea and eating cereal. This brand ranged from $3-$4 per carton.
Finding Friendly Food 