Calentado Paisa (Colombian Breakfast Rice and Beans)
Yesterday's rice and beans fried together with hogao until warm and slightly crisp, crowned with a fried egg and served with chorizo, arepa and avocado. The hearty breakfast of Antioquia.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Cook the chorizos
In a large frying pan over medium heat, fry the chorizos for 10–12 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through. Set aside and keep warm, leaving the pan with its drippings.
- 4 chorizos
✅ Done when: chorizos are browned all over and no longer pink inside
Make the hogao
In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions, tomatoes, garlic, cumin and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until softened; this quick tomato-and-onion sauce is called .
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 scallions
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
✅ Done when: vegetables are soft and the tomato has broken down into a sauce
Warm the rice and beans
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Fry the eggs
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Serve
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Cook the chorizos
In a large frying pan over medium heat, fry the chorizos for 10–12 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through. Set aside and keep warm, leaving the pan with its drippings.
- 4 chorizos
✅ Done when: chorizos are browned all over and no longer pink inside
Make the hogao
In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions, tomatoes, garlic, cumin and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until softened; this quick tomato-and-onion sauce is called .
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 scallions
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
✅ Done when: vegetables are soft and the tomato has broken down into a sauce
Warm the rice and beans
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Fry the eggs
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Calentado means 'reheated': it was born as a way to use the rice and beans left over from the previous day's lunch. In the paisa region around Medellín, where beans are eaten daily, it became a breakfast institution.
Today it's served in fancy hotel breakfasts as proudly as in family kitchens.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's filling, thrifty and full of flavour — a breakfast that keeps farm workers going until lunch.
💡 Fun Fact
Many Colombians insist that calentado tastes better than the original meal, because the beans soak into the rice overnight.
Antioquia (Medellín)
6.24°N, -75.58°W
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