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.
We love this recipe with a few modifications!! I omit the coconut milk but add a 15 oz can of tomato sauce and another can of diced tomatoes. Oh and I DOUBLE the Carribian spice!! Great with Andouille sausages or w/o sausage!!
A great dinner for the two of us!!
Thank you for sharing those tips, Thom! Have a great day!
Delicious!!!! My family and I more than enjoyed it!
Great! Thanks for letting us know.
I have already made this rice dish few time. I always make Jerk chicken with it, which is spicy, therefore, I avoid adding any hot spicy to the rice, it turns out great. It’s a big hit with my family and friends.
Hurray! Thank you for letting me know, Misty! 🙂
Great recipe! I was hesitant about using kidney beans but went with it. Taste great and I went with the 2.5c of water, 1 can of coconut milk and my version of the creole spice. Thanks for sharing!
You’re most welcome! And thank you for dropping by, Leila!
Delicious !!! Thank You!
I made this tonight in combination with your Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe which I used to make jerk chicken. What can I say.. OMG so good. I sauteed boneless free range thighs with red onion and crushed garlic (used olive oil for both btw, but added a tablespoon of coconut oil to the chicken). Put in about a tablespoon per pound of your jerk seasoning, a 1/2 TBSP more brown sugar and I am now happily drowning in a bowl of Jamaican food. Your blog is lovely, easy to read, few annoying pop-ups. I will be coming back to scope more recipes! (I’m also bringing some of this to my friend at work who’s from Grenada tomorrow 🙂
Kristen
P.S. forgot to rate 5 stars!
Yowzaa!!
This is super. Just finished cooking it and can’t wait to serve for dinner. I googled jasmine rice and black beans and your recipe was the second one in line. So glad I checked it out. Not sure how current this is, but I can’t wait to try MANY more .
Your presentation, photography and video are amazing. Love your website. I will pass it on to my daughters to check it out. Your visuals and written directions couldn’t be better. Blessings to you.
Awww, thank you so much for being around, Fran and welcome to the site. Can’t wait for you to try some of my other recipes. Enjoy! 🙂
Going to Make this tonight for the first time. Going to switch out the Creole seasoning with Cajun thought. Its what I have at hand lol. Looks amazing, making it with jerk chicken and a veggie.
That sounds like a plan. Happy cooking !!!!
This recipe came out very good! My husband was floored that I made this which tastes better than the peas and rice we buy from our local restaurants. Awesome recipe thank you so much!
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
hi, how will the recipe turn up if i use just water and no milk? I always wanted to try Jamacan rice but in our family coconut milk is a delicious ingredient in deserts but a big No No in dinners. Many Thanks
It’ll be just fine. Give it a try!
Oh I can’t wait to cook the beans and rice and goat curry . Beans are still growing in the garden at the moment, a wild goat was scored recently so the goat curry will be first off the block.
Fresh beans and wild goat? YUM!
I made this tonight on such a freezing winter’s eve. It was delicious. The coconut milk provided the perfect creaminess and balanced out the heat from the pepper beautifully, while the lime cut through with a resounding zing. This will be a regular staple in my household. Thank you so much for sharing, Imma!
Hi Heather! Just love the way you describe this – makes me want to make it tonight . Thanks Girl!!!
I am making this tomorrow for a NYE dinner along with jerk pork and mango slaw. Followed by rum cake. I have lived in the caribbean for 23 yrs and home now in Ireland for the holidays..treating the family to a taste of the caribbean!
Awesome! That sounds Scrumptious ! Wishing you a fabulous New Year’s Eve Dinner! Happy Cooking Joan!
I have attempted a few rice and peas recipes and ended up with mush or bland rice.
I tried this last night and followed it to the letter and used the tip of less water.
It came out perfect. This will be my go to recipe. Thank you for adding the step by step pictures, that really helped.
I was about to give up on this dish, so I am so happy I found your recipe on line and gave it one more go 🙂
Awesome!! Glad to hear you didn’t give up. So kind of you to take the time out to let me know. Have a great weekend !
This was delicious! Didn’t have any scotch bonnets so replaced with 2 small jalapenos finely diced. Used brown basmati rice, and a whole onion. Thank you for such a tasty recipe!
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
I want to try this tonight w/the canned dark red goya beans… do I use one can or two? I am only making it really for 2 people……was not sure if I had to alter the recipe much. I am looking forward to trying it! Looks super yummy.
You use one . If you are making this for two you might have to cut the recipe in half it feeds about 5 people. You can go ahead and use the whole can of beans.
Was really good.
Thanks Girl!
What about using pinto beans
You sure can. Makes no difference.
Hi this looks great! I just want to make sure I’m on the right track since I have seen some comments about the liquid to rice ratio. So to have it turn out like the rice in the photos use 2 cups of rice, 2 cups of water or broth, and 1 3/4 cups of coconut milk?
2 1/4 cups of broth and 1 3/4 coconut milk, is the amount I used . The ratio of rice to liquid is 1 cup rice – 2 water. So 4 cups altogether. Add a little more if you want it creamier.