Caribbean Rice and Beans
Enjoy a flavor explosion with my Caribbean rice and beans recipe. Garlic, onions, and delicious spiciness from bay leaves, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, and coconut milk create an incredible one-pot meal!
I want to say that with what the world is experiencing right now, every day should be a gratitude day. So, I’m beyond thankful for this gift of life and my beloved family by my side.
And while I’ve been daydreaming about my next Caribbean trip, a tropical food trip in my kitchen, starting with this rice and beans recipe, will have to do. Or if you’re into Jamaican food, it’s rice and peas.
What Type of Beans Works Best
Traditionally, Caribbean rice and beans use red kidney beans. However, it’s just as delicious with black or pinto beans or pigeon peas. The look may change slightly, but that’s about it.
How to Make Caribbean Rice and Beans
- Wash rice until the water runs clear, then drain. (Photo 1)
- Sauté the onions, garlic, thyme, and hot pepper for about a minute. (Photo 2)
- Stir the rice into the pan, then add the beans and cook for about 2 minutes. (Photos 3-4)
- Pour in the coconut milk, bay leaf, bouillon powder, Creole seasoning, and broth, and simmer until rice is cooked (about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent burning. (Photos 5-7)
- Serve – Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves. Enjoy! (Photo 8)
Recipe Notes
- Swap the Creole seasoning with jerk seasoning for a different flavor profile.
- Please don’t skip rinsing the rice because it removes excess starch and keeps it from getting sticky.
- Pigeon peas, kidney beans, and black beans are all conventional choices. You can also use other beans, such as pinto beans, red beans, or lentils.
- Replace the meat-based broth with vegetable broth for a delicious vegan version.
- Taste the rice to avoid overcooking. It should be tender but still have a slight bite, and the beans should be tender but not mushy.
- Almost any chili pepper, such as habanero and jalapeño, will work if you don’t have a scotch bonnet.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Cool the rice and beans after cooking and freeze them in meal-size portions in airtight containers for 2-3 months. They’ll last in the fridge for 3-4 days—the same for leftovers.
Thaw frozen rice and beans in the refrigerator overnight. Then simmer (stirring occasionally) in a pot until it bubbles. Add water or broth as needed to keep it from burning—a microwave works, too.
What to Serve With Caribbean Rice and Beans
It’s traditionally served with chicken, beef, or pork. It goes wonderfully with brown stew chicken, Jamaican curry goat, and jerk chicken. Fried sweet plantain and Caribbean coleslaw are wonderful sides.
More Popular Jamaican Dishes to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in February 2014 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Caribbean Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups (320g) uncooked long-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil (any neutral-flavored oil works)
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 15.5-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (about 1¾ cups)
- 2 small bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons (9-10g) Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon (3g) paprika (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (4g) chicken bouillon or vegetable bouillon for a vegetarian version (optional)
- 2¼ cups (530ml) chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water (see notes)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash rice until the water runs clear, then drain and set aside.
- Heat a saucepan with the oil. Then add the onions, garlic, thyme, and hot pepper, and sauté for about a minute.
- Add the rice to the pan, followed by the beans, and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add coconut milk, bay leaves, bouillon powder, Creole spice, and paprika with 2¼ cups of broth or water.
- Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer until rice is cooked (20 minutes, more or less). Stir occasionally (but not too often) from the sides to prevent burning, and add more water as needed.
- Discard the bay leaves. Adjust seasonings for salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Tips & Notes:
- Use 3 cups of liquid for really moist rice and beans. If you want your rice to look just like in the picture, use 2 cups of liquid. Too much liquid and stirring will make your rice mushy.
- Vegetable bouillon and broth are a quick hack for a vegan version.
- I used paprika and Creole salt to enhance the rice’s flavor. It’s not traditional, so feel free to omit them.
- If you don’t like coconut milk, replace it with 2 cups of water.
- I use uncooked long-grain rice. No need to parboil; just rinse until the water runs clear. One of our readers used Japanese short-grained rice and loved it. Brown long-grain rice works, too.
- For an Instant Pot, a reader shared this: sauté everything like you usually would and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure with a natural pressure release.
- You can add your favorite cooked protein to the mix, like shredded smoked turkey, diced chicken, ground meat, sausages, and so on.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
I’m making a crazy fusion dinner but your rice works so well with it. Caribbean pork taco with pineapple, mango and avocado salsa and your rice and beans. I appreciate your easy to follow delicious recipe that makes us so happy
Sounds amazing! Thanking you for stopping by, Kelli!
Hi there I love this recipe so much, we’ve started doubling the beans. How should the recipe be adjusted for double the beans? For more of a standard rice than a mushy rice.
I just wanted to swing by to tell you how amazing this recipe is!!! I’ve lost count how many times I’ve made it over the years. This recipe has never let me down. Thank you so much for sharing.
My pleasure, Layka :)!
Oh! I for got to rate your recipe! I was only allowed to give it 5 stars, but I really want to give it 11.
Thanks, Elizabeth ❤️!
Greetings! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. My husband cannot get enough of it.
One quick question. Because coconut milk is rather hard to come by where I live, do you think warmed whole milk would work well as a substitute, or would it run the risk of curdling since the recipe needs to come to a boil?
The recipe is well worth the long drive to get coconut milk, but I never thought to hurt to ask.
Many thanks for gifting us all with you wonderful recipes. Please, take care and stay awesome!
Hi, You say it can be reheated the next day, how would you reheat it? Thanks.
Hi Dave. You can heat it up in the microwave or on your stove.
I have been making this rice for years now and my family loves it with the stew chicken recipe. I omit the scotch bonnet so that my kid will eat it. My husband and I just put sambal chili garlic paste on ours for a little kick. Always turns out great. I also use less water as we like it firm not mushy. The creole spice, coconut milk, and paprika give it a great flavor. I have used Lawry’s season salt when I don’t have the creole spice and it works too. We heat leftovers just fine the next day. I have made several of Imma’s recipes and I love them all. Thank you for sharing your love for cooking with others who love to cook and try new flavors. I highly recommend this recipe and trying the stew chicken.
Hello Shassy! Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
I tried it once and I’m hooked. I absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing!
I loved rice and peas growing up. We ate it EVERY Sunday and special holidays like Christmas. Taste is amazing
Couldn’t agree more! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Rachel!
Just made this for the first time today and it is so delicious! I made tofu with jerk seasoning on the side. Will definitely make again. Great comfort food! Also, used long grain brown rice and just added more broth and cooked another 25 min.
Hi Paula,
I’m thrilled to hear that your Caribbean rice and beans turned out deliciously, especially with the unique addition of tofu seasoned with jerk spices. The tofu must have added a lovely texture and a flavorful kick, complementing the rice and beans beautifully. Using long grain brown rice is a healthy choice, and it’s great to know that adjusting the broth and cooking time worked well for you. This dish indeed sounds like wonderful comfort food with a delightful twist. I’m glad you’ll be making it again, and it’s always fantastic to experiment with such versatile recipes!
Wow!!!! Used habanero and stayed true to the rest of the recipe-great flavor, easy to make, leftovers are gonna be a treat!
Great! I’m so glad you loved it. And thanks for stopping by:)
This is absolutely delicious! I two small diced jalapenos as that’s what I had on hand in the garden, and adzuki beans. I added just a bit more creole spice. Mine came out really creamy, almost like a risotto, which I am perfectly fine with. I will definitely be making this one again. Hands down, this is my favorite recipe site for exceptional flavor!
Wow, thank you for such high praise! I’m thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit for you. Your tweaks sound absolutely delicious—diced jalapeños for a kick, adzuki beans for a unique twist, and a bit more Creole spice for that extra flavor punch. ️
The creamy, risotto-like texture you described sounds divine, and it’s wonderful that you enjoyed it that way. That’s the beauty of cooking; you can make a dish your own with just a few adjustments.
Hi Robin,
Thank you for sharing your experience and for your kind words about the recipes. I’m honored to be your go-to site for flavorful dishes. Can’t wait for you to try more recipes and share your culinary adventures! ️✨
Should the pepper be left whole or chopped up?
Hi Kris,
If you want to infuse a dish with a mild pepper flavor without making it too spicy, you can leave the pepper whole or just prick it with a fork. This allows the pepper to release some of its flavors without overwhelming the dish. Remove before serving.
If you’re looking for more heat and a pronounced pepper flavor, chopping it up will do the trick. The smaller you chop it, the more heat and flavor will be released into the dish. Hope this helps
Do you use the creole seasoning as the salt? I put 1 tsp of salt to every cup of rice so I can still use the creole seasoning plus the salt
If using salt-free Creole seasoning, I add salt. But feel free to adjust the salt to your family’s tastes.
This is my go to meal when I’m tired but want something delicious and nutritious that my family will also eat.
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
Ohhhhh my!! Immaculate Bites is my go to website for all recipes Jamaican or Caribbean. This one did not disappoint. In the words of my husband “that’s a so again!!” We had it over your oxtail recipe. Both of us are stuffed!! And I followed this recipe to the detail (using canned kidney beans!$
You are so sweet, thank you!
I’ve made this dozens of times and it’s one of my favorites! I love it especially with fried plantains and it’s amazing with the jerk chicken recipe that I also got from this site. But it’s a itself for sure! Thanks so much for this easy but flavorful rice recipe!
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback and support. Stay tuned for more amazing recipes 🙂
I tried it in the Instapot with dry beans. First cook the dry beans, covered in water, for 8 minutes in the Instapot. Then I drained them & covered with water again & cooed for 21 minutes before adding them to the recipe. They were perfect!
Amazing!!!!! That looks absolutely delicious!! Glad you loved it. Looking forward to you trying more of my recipes.
Cajun and creole are two different things.
True, but they’re similar enough to be interchangeable.
I use a rice cooker, can I just put the ingredients in the rice cooker? If not, if I precooked the rice, would I just cook it for less time in the pan with everything mixed in?
Thanks
You sure can, as long as you’re using canned beans. Sauté your veggies and then put all the ingredients in the rice cooker. How long it takes will depend on your rice cooker. Please let me know how it turns out for you.
I made it today and I love it. I tried making beans and rice before but I always get the ratios from beans to rice off. Next time I will add and extra can of beans and turkey sausage
That is some tasty additions. Glad to hear it worked out well for you.