Costa Rican Inspired Shrimp and Rice (Arroz Con Camarones) is a traditional Costa Rican recipe that’s so easy and flavorful!
Shrimp and Rice (Arroz Con Camarones)
As I mentioned when I shared my recipe for Gallo Pinto, how much I fell in love with Costa Rica! From the friendly people, the monkeys and sloths, gorgeous beaches and of course, the cuisine! I had this shrimp and rice dish for lunch at a fun restaurant not far from where we went to visit the waterfalls, which had an airplane attached to it that’s rented as an airbnb. Here is my rendition of it! To make it higher in protein, I like to cook my rice in bone broth which also gives it great flavor. And you can’t forget the Salsa Lizano, a staple in Costa Rica! More Latin dinner ideas you will love, try my Pollo Guisado, Picadillo or my Arroz Con Pollo.
Why I Love This Shrimp and Rice Recipe
Rice when cooked right, is one of my favorite things to eat! When I went to Costa Rica, I loved trying the local dishes. This was one of the dishes I really enjoyed and was able to easily recreate in my kitchen. The key ingredient in this is the Salsa Lizana, but if you don’t have it, just add a little more salt, to taste.
- High in protein! This shrimp dish has 29.5 grams per serving!
- Dietary Restrictions: This healthy shrimp recipe is high-protein, gluten-free, dairy-free and Weight Watchers-friendly.
If you make this healthy shrimp and rice recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook!
What You’ll Need
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this healthy shrimp and rice recipe! See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Virgin olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Uncooked long grain rice, I use Canilla extra long grain
- Chicken bone broth
- Sazon seasoning with achoite
- Bell pepper
- Cilantro
- Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Salsa Lizano
How to Make Costa Rican Shrimp and Rice
Here’s how to make this easy traditional Costa Rican recipe. For the complete instructions, see the recipe card below
- Saute onion, cilantro and garlic in olive oil
- Add rice, bone broth and sazón seasoning.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Do not open the lid.
- After 15 minutes, shut the flame off and let it sit at least 5 more minutes without opening the lid. Then fluff with a fork.
- While rice is cooking, heat remaining oil in a skillet. Add the remaining onions and bell peppers and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook until opaque and cooked through.
- When the rice is done transfer it to the skillet with the shrimp and add the salsa Lizano. Stir until mixed and garnish with cilantro.
What to serve with Shrimp and Rice
I serve this with a house salad with lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days in an airtight container.
More Shrimp Recipes You Will Love
- Grilled Shrimp Scampi Skewers
- Shrimp Tacos
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Perfect Air Fryer Shrimp
- Blackened Shrimp and Grits
Shrimp and Rice (Arroz Con Camarones)
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 small onion, chopped and divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced and divided
- 1 1/4 cups uncooked long grain rice, I use extra long grain
- 2 1/2 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 teaspoon Sazon seasoning with achoite
- 1 medium bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided plus more for garnish
- 1 1/4 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon salsa lizano
Instructions
- In a medium heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil on medium heat and saute half of the onion, half of the cilantro and half of the garlic for about 2 minutes, until tender.
- Add rice, bone broth and sazón seasoning.
- Bring it to a boil on a high heat stirring only once at this point. As the water boils down and evaporates and just barely skims the top of the rice, reduce the heat to very low and cover 15 minutes. The steam will cook the rice so do not open the lid. After 15 minutes, shut the flame off and let it sit at least 5 more minutes without opening the lid. The steam will finish cooking the rice without burning the bottom. Then fluff with a fork.
- While rice is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining onions and the chopped bell peppers and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Add the shrimp and cook 3 minutes, until opaque and cooked through.
- When the rice is done cooking, transfer it to the skillet with the shrimp and add the salsa Lizano. Stir until mixed and garnish with cilantro.
This is the best way to cook rice I’ve ever come across!!! I love this dish but I now also use this method of cooking rice all the time
Made this last night for dinner and my husband loved it. Such good flavor! Had to make my own sauce but used the recipe found on line with honey, worchestershire sauce, ketchup and hot sauce. Will make this again!
Great recipe. I think I messed everything up on this recipe possible (made the rice before hand because I was meal prepping, forgot the bell peppers and added them later, couldn’t find lizano anything so used saffron sazon) and it was still amazing. I made 3 servings instead of 4, which still kept it under 600kcal. Will make again.
Is there any way that this could be prepared as a “one pot” meal – with everything cooking together?
Oh, this is gooood! I made some mods because that’s just what you do, right? I used poblano peppers because I’m not fond of cooked bells, marinated the shrimp in a couple dollops of chili crisp, and added more Linzano, because, hello deliciousness. This makes A LOT, and I’m hoping it freezes well because I’m going to try that.
Do keep track of your rice. Don’t be an idiot who is yammering on the phone and forgets to set a timer so that you have some crunchy bits. D’oh!
It was delicious, but I wanted a bit more spice. Not heat, per se, not salt.
I subbed a restaurant salsa for the salsa lizano…and chipotle chile powdered for the lizano seasoning. The taste was really good but needed a little more seasoning to make it great. I would take recommendations! And I plan to make it again
Hi! I know it’s not Costa Rican but I found using a bit of Cajun seasoning added the right amount of extra flavor.
This quickly became one of our favorites! Very flavorful and a bit different than my usual repertoire. I really liked the salsa Linzano so doubled the amount the second time I made it.
My whole family loved this! I added more Sazon and more Lizano. Definitely going in the rotation. We’re going to add peas next time.
This recipe was so good. My family really enjoyed it. I am from Costa Rica, and I have been living in the States for a couple years and definitely this recipe brought me memories. Thank you
This was so good! I have been in a cooking slump (like very minimal for the last year or so). I might have missed something. I didn’t have the Lizano Salsa (searched multiple stores) so used a regular non-chunky kind. I was hoping it would have a bit of spiciness so I think I may have done something wrong. The flavor was fantastic though. Thank you for breaking the slump!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe was so bomb. I love Sazon but it’s not the healthiest so I appreciated that the recipe called for less than a packet. This was my first time using Salsa Lizano and it was SO good. I think next time I may use part of the Lizano, some lemon juice, chile pepper, granulated garlic, and pepper to marinate the shrimp for an hour or two before cooking. I think that may add an extra punch of flavor to this otherwise fantastic recipe.
This was very good, next time I would cook the rice less and double the seasonings.
I messed this up in just about every way possible. I measured the rice wrong. I measured the broth wrong. I did not have bone broth, so I used vegetable broth. I didn’t measure the sazon at all; I just threw in a packet. I could not find salsa lizano, so I used pickapeppa sauce. I did the first part in the rice cooker instead of on the stove. And it still turned out great. Perhaps a little bland but that could be because my measurements were off. Next time I may use more pickapeppa.
Really good and easy! I’ve never cooked with Sazon or the salsa Lizano. Loved both! I would double the the seasoning next time.
I really liked this recipe. The garlic flavor came through and was delicious. Of course my grocery store didn’t have salsa lizano. I did substitute the honey, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and some Sriracha (I didn’t have any hot sauce). I wanted the shrimp to have a tad more flavor so I added some Cajun seasoning as well. After the chopping was done, the recipe came together quickly. This tasted wonderful with black beans. I’m so glad I have leftovers for lunch. Yummy yummy
Followed the recipe exactly, turned out perfect. The whole family liked it, will make again.
Delicious!!! Will definitely be making again. As always, thank you for you recipes.
Thanks Pat!
Super easy to make and delicious! My 7 yr old LOVED it and said it’s her fav dinner meal. Def making this a part of my dinner rotation
Thank you so much. I have never used Sazon and it is delicious. I did not have the salsa, but I will try it next time. My family really enjoyed it!
Great!
I really enjoyed this, I’ll add it to my regular rotationn of meals. Thanks!
So happy to hear
This is so so good! Thanks for this recipe for my intro to Sazon seasoning. This is yummy! I will look for the salsa lizano if it makes this even better.
Thanks, your recipes are always great.
Yes it really adds something to it!
Oh my gosh. This is so wonderful. Thank you for the recipe!!!!
My pleasure!
I made this after ordering Salsa Lizano (from Amazon) for the Shrimp Rice recipe. Anyway, this is a great dish for a side or for breakfast like pictured!
I didn’t have the salsa Lozano but it was still delish and super satisfying!
We enjoyed this meal! My son commented that it was similar to arroz con pollo. I doubled the recipe and think I should have added salt. I appreciate the reviewer below who recommended the Gallo Pinto recipe too for using that Salsa Lazano! Thanks, Gina!
Yes Lazana is a must for Costa Rican food!
I have not made it yet, though I want to. However, we only use brown rice, both because it’s much healthier but also because we strongly prefer the taste. Can you please give instructions for brown rice? I’m guessing that I can do everything the same and simply adjust the rice cooking time. Will that work? Thanks.
Exactly… cook it longer with the amount of liquid you normally use.
Which brand of Sazon seasoning do you use. I too fell in love with Costa Rican cuisine and can’t wait to make this.
Can vegetable broth be used instead of bone broth? Or would there not be enough flavor?
What can I use instead of the salsa lizano? I live in the UK and I can’t find it anywhere.
In the Gallo Pinto recipe, Gina recommended Worcestershire sauce if unable to find Lizano.
I found salsa Lizano on Amazon. $6 for a huge bottle.
I cannot wait to make this! I just went to put Lizano Salsa Sauce in my cart and it was already there. I forgot I wanted to make Gallo Pinto when I saw it lol so looks like it’s going to come in quite handy!
Finally got around to making this and I just love it! I get the comparison of the salsa sauce to Worcestershire sauce now, but the Lizano is SO much better! Made with a simple salad and it was very filling with some leftovers as well.
YES!!!