Tacu Tacu, Peruvian Style Leftover Beans and Rice

Lomo a la Pobre con Tacu Tacu, the best leftovers you have ever had!This post may contain affiliate links. Use of these links supports My Gluten Free Miami at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

I understand, and I have the answer.

We’ve all been there. You just made an awesome dinner, such as my Louisiana Style Red Beans and Rice, you eat till your stuffed and then you have just a little bit leftover. Now, I have no issues eating leftovers, but I have more than one friend whose husband will not eat leftovers. Talk about frustrating.

No worries, Peruvian’s have figured out a way to solve this leftover beans and rice problem.

Tacu Tacu is the answer.

What is Tacu Tacu?

Tacu Tacu is Quechuan for, well, I don’t know. I don’t speak Quechuan and I forgot to ask my mother in law, so let’s just say it means:

The most delicious way to use leftover beans and rice to create a great tasting meal that you won’t believe is leftovers.

I think that is pretty accurate. The first time I had it, I had no idea it was leftovers. You can really use and leftover beans and rice, but I have to tell you, the tacu tacu we made with the Louisiana Style Red Beans and Rice with First Fresh Hot Italian Chicken Sausage was THE best I had ever had. So much flavor in every bite.

Hand down, Tacu Tacu is the best use of leftover beans and rice you have ever tried! Share on X

In order to create the tacu tacu, we usually saute some onion (though the Red Beans and Rice already has onion, so this can be skipped) and a teaspoon of Aji Amarillo (if you don’t have it, no worries, it will be okay) in a bit of oil or bacon grease (if you use bacon than just add the bacon you cooked to the mix), then mix that in with a cup and a half of leftover beans and about a cup of rice. Make it into patties and fry in a bit of oil (or bacon grease), and that’s it!

Lomo a la Pobre Con Tacu Tacu

Loosely translated this means Steak with an Egg on top and  Tacu Tacu. Now, despite the immense flavor that comes from the Tacu Tacu, we want to make this a complete meal. In order to do that we add a piece of steak and a fried egg. Quick easy and delicious. I used just a thin cut steak that was on sale, seasoned with salt and coarsely ground pepper. Nothing complicated. The great thing about making the tacu tacu with my Red Beans and Rice is that you have so much flavor from the seasonings, plus the sausage mixed in. It’s heaven in every bite!

Recipe Notes

Just a few notes about this recipe.

The Beans and Rice

• We used the Louisiana Red Beans and Rice for it. It was perfect, but you can use any leftover beans you may have. If you choose to use a different kind of leftover beans, be sure to check your seasoning. The First Fresh Chicken Sausage has a lot of flavor. Without sausage, you may need a bit of extra salt, pepper, and aji amarillo.

Aji Amarillo

• If you have read any of my recipes, you know that we use aji amarillo ALOT. It’s a Peruvian yellow pepper paste. It has become much more common. One of my readers just found it in Kroger’s in Knoxville, Tennessee. I’ve found it in Orange City, Florida. If you can’t find, just grab a jar on Amazon. It’s amazing. You will love it. You need it in your life.

The Steak

• Use whatever kind of steak you find on sale. I like to use a thin cut, but you can use whatever you like.

Happy Gluten Free Eating!

Print Recipe

4 from 3 votes

Tacu Tacu, Peruvian Style Leftover Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups leftover Louisiana Style Red Beans
• 1 cup leftover rice
• 1 Tablespoon oil or bacon grease
• 1 teaspoon aji amarillo
• 1 pound thin sliced steak
• 4 fried eggs

Instructions

• Saute aji amarillo in oil.
• Stir into Louisiana Style Red Beans and Rice.
• Mix in Rice.
• Stir well.
• Shape into four patties.
• Fry Patties in a small amount of oil until crunch on both sides.
• Serve with cooked steak and fried egg.