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Lechona Tolimense

Name: Lechona Tolimense
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 150 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 lb pork shoulder, bone-in; 2 cups white rice; 1 cup dried yellow split peas, soaked overnight; 1 onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 scallions, chopped; 1 bunch cilantro, chopped; 1 tbsp achiote (annatto) powder; 1 tsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Tolima’s legendary feast: pork slow-roasted until it falls apart, with a savory rice-and-pea stuffing that soaks up every drop of jus.

⏱ 30 minPrep time

🔥 2 hr 30 minCook time

🍽 8Servings

🏷 Colombian KitchenCategory

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Lechona is the grand dish of Tolima, a whole pig stuffed with rice, peas, and spices, roasted for hours until the skin crackles. At home, a bone-in pork shoulder delivers the same soul — melting meat, golden skin, and the famous savory stuffing — without the twelve-hour vigil.

A fiesta on a platter, from the Tolima highlands

The pork turns deeply tender with a sticky, amber crust, while the stuffing is moist and fragrant with annatto, garlic, and cumin. It is rich, festive, and unapologetically generous — the dish Colombians order when there is something to celebrate.

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Step by stepInstructions

The night before, soak the split peas; the next day, cook them in salted water for 30 minutes until just tender and drain.
Make a marinade by mashing the garlic, achiote, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of salt into a paste; rub it all over the pork and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion and scallions for 3 minutes; stir in the rice, cooked peas, cilantro, and 3 cups of water, and simmer 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300°F; place the pork in a deep roasting pan and pack the rice-and-pea filling around it, adding 1 cup of water to the pan.
Cover tightly with foil and roast for 2 hours, or until the pork is fork-tender and falling apart.
Rest 15 minutes, then serve slices of pork with the savory rice filling spooned over.

💡 Chef tips & storage

Look for a pork shoulder with the skin on if you can — it crisps into the best part. Leftovers keep 4 days refrigerated and reheat well in a covered pan with a splash of broth.

Recipe details

Prep30 min

Cook2 hr 30 min

Servings8

CategoryColombian Kitchen

PublishedAugust 17, 2026

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

Lechona Tolimense

A fiesta on a platter, from the Tolima highlands

Step by stepInstructions

💡 Chef tips & storage

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Lechona Tolimense

A fiesta on a platter, from the Tolima highlands

Step by stepInstructions

💡 Chef tips & storage

Rate this recipe

Recipe details

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

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