The name is said to originate in the multi-colored or speckled appearance that results from cooking the rice with black or red beans.

[1][2][3] Gallo pinto is one of many various Latin American plates that involve the preparation of the most integral ingredients for many cultures: rice and beans.

Gallo pinto is considered to be a product of mestizos; a combination of beans, cultivated by Indigenous people of pre-Columbian time, and rice, a grain introduced by the Spanish.

[6] Rice, originally from Asia, was introduced by Arabs in Spain and became a main but versatile ingredient in the 15th and 16th centuries.

There are also two main variations: In Nicaragua, gallo pinto, is their national dish and is traditionally prepared with red silk beans and onions, usually cooked in vegetable oil, although animal fats are occasionally used.