Caribbean Rice and Beans
Caribbean Rice and Beans delivers a flavor explosion with garlic, onions, and intensely delicious spices. Infusing it with bay leaves, thyme, scotch bonnet, and coconut milk creates an incredible rice meal!
I would like 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
When making this scrumptious meal, I don’t have any favorites, so whatever is in the pantry works. Traditionally, Caribbean beans and rice 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.
Recipe Ingredients
- Rice – Long-grain separates more easily. However, medium-grain, jasmine, and basmati rice work just as well.
- Seasoning – Garlic, onion, hot pepper (scotch bonnet peppers are my fave), Creole seasoning, thyme, bouillon powder, bay leaves, optional smoked paprika, and good ol’ S&P pack a flavor punch.
- Kidney Beans – Dried beans are cheaper, but for convenience’s sake, I’ve gone with canned. Choose which is best for you and your Caribbean red beans and rice.😉
- Coconut Milk – Full-fat coconut milk provides liquid to cook the rice and a tropical taste.
- Chicken Broth delivers the rest of the needed liquid and adds extra flavor.
How to Make Caribbean Rice and Beans
Follow along with my numbered instructions below to see how to make Caribbean rice and beans in your own kitchen.
- Wash rice until water runs clear. Drain water.
- Sautee Aromatics – Heat a saucepan with oil. Then add onions, garlic, thyme, and hot pepper, and sauté for about a minute. (Photos 1-2)
- Simmer – Stir the rice into the pan, then the beans, and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add coconut milk, bay leaf, bouillon powder, Creole spice, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until rice is cooked (about 20 minutes). (Photos 3-4)
Note: Stir occasionally to prevent burning, adding water as needed. - Serve – Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves. Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Jerk Rice and Beans – For even more spice, add a teaspoon of jerk seasoning to the traditional recipe.
- Bean Swap – 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.
- Vegan Version – Replace the meat-based broth with vegetable broth; done.
Tips and Tricks
- Test 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.
- Don’t skip rinsing the rice because it removes excess starch and keeps the rice from getting sticky.
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. It will last in the fridge for 3-4 days—the same works 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.
FAQs
Caribbean rice and beans definitely have a West African influence. Enslaved Africans brought the recipe to the Caribbean, and it quickly became a staple in many Caribbean cuisines.
It depends on who you ask and where you are in the world. In Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, it’s known as rice and peas. That’s because, in the West African Akan language, the word for pea refers to most legumes, including beans.
Rice and beans are a nutritious meal. So you can serve it as a complete meal or add meat and sides, such as ripe fried plantains.
What to Serve With The Recipe
It’s traditionally served with chicken, beef, or pork. It goes excellent with brown stew chicken, Jamaican curry goat, or jerk chicken. Fried sweet plantain and Caribbean coleslaw are wonderful sides.
More Popular Jamaican Dishes to Try
Conclusion
This Caribbean rice and beans recipe takes rice to a whole new level. Would you like more African-based recipes? Then follow me on Facebook for more! ❤️
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
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 2 cups uncooked long grain rice
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (about 1¾ cups)
- 1 15.5-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 small bay leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2¼ cups chicken broth or water (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon (optional)
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
Instructions
- Wash rice until water runs clear. Drain water.
- Heat a saucepan with oil. Then add onions, garlic, thyme, and hot pepper, and sauté for about a minute.
- Stir in rice to the pan, followed by beans, and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add coconut milk, bay leaf, bouillon powder, and Creole spice with 2¼ cups of broth or water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid, and simmer until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes (more or less). Stir occasionally from the sides to prevent burning add more water as needed.
- Adjust for salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves You have to stir occasionally to be preventing any burns.
- Serve warm.
Tips & Notes:
- Use 3 cups of water or broth for really moist rice and beans. If you want your rice to look just like in the picture, use 2 cups of water or broth.
- I used paprika and Creole salt to enhance the rice’s flavor. It’s not traditional, so if you want traditional rice, omit the paprika and use regular salt instead of Creole salt.
- Feel free to switch the coconut milk with 2 cups of water.
- If you want to make it vegan, vegetable broth is fine.
- If using dry pigeon peas, boil them until tender, then replace beans with pigeon peas in the recipe instructions. You may also use pinto or black beans instead.
- I use uncooked long-grain rice. No need to parboil; just rinse it until the water runs clear. One of our readers here has used Japanese short-grained rice, and it works. Brown long-grain rice works, too.
- Too much liquid and stirring would make your rice mushy.
- You may cook it ahead and refrigerate it. It heats up very well the next day.
- If you don’t have chicken bouillon, you may leave it out or use half of a Maggie cube and add it to the pot.
- For those who want to cook it using an Instant Pot, one of the readers shared this: saute everything like you usually would and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure with a natural pressure release.
- No Creole spice? You can use my jerk spice.
- 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.
Ooh what is the rice and beans served with in the video? I love this dish but think it would be great as a side with another dish too! ❤️
Hi, Ruby. I paired it with this Curried Goat Stew (https://www.africanbites.com/curried-goat-stew/). Thanks for stopping by.
I have made this now a dozen times. It always comes out spectacularly. It is so easy and do very good. Have turned several friends on to it. Thanks for posting such an amazing recipe.
I love the flavors of this dish and just need some guidance to perfect it. I used a can of coconut milk, 2 cups of chicken broth, and jasmine rice. I didn’t stir the rice at all while it cooked. My rice turned out mushy! Any suggestions?
Hello,
Be sure to drain all the water from the rice before adding to the pot . Maybe try cutting back on the broth- about 1 2/3 cup and go from there. Hope this helps.
I can imagine this with all its flavours is amazing, mine however ended up with mushy rice. Can you point me in the right direction please
So sorry to hear that. I would suggest decreasing the liquid by a1/2 cup and drain the rice throughly before adding to the pot. It might be too much water or stirring. Hope this helps.
I only have dried black beans. I know it isn’t traditional but do you think it would be okay?
Of course it would. Boil the beans first until tender before using in the recipe.
I have been following your post thanks a lot for impact in my life. Please ma where can i paprika in Nigeria.
It’s available in most supermarkets. Just ask , sometimes it is available in open markets.
Hello
If I am using the chicken bouillon cubes how many do I use for this recipe?
Thanks in advance!!
One would do just fine.
I’m going to make this recipe
My fiancé made jerk chicken tonight and I was looking for a more flavorful version of red beans and rice for accompaniment. Imma, I will be adding this recipe to my regular rotation. I love a one-pot recipe; this was perfect. Looking forward to trying your jerk chicken recipe next
Great! Glad it worked out well for you Taylor.
This is our go to when we have Jerk Chicken. Never fails! I just swap out the scotch bonnet for some Susie’s Hot sauce and i’ve always got the ingredients on hand Thank! Thank you!
Hi…I recently discovered your blog, and have saved quite a few of your recipes already. Would it be possible for you to make it easier to “pin” them using pinterest? A lot of blogs have a nifty little “pin” button near the top or bottom of their recipes which make the process a whole lot easier. Thanks!
Hi Tripp! Thank you for the suggestion. Please could you check your page again and see if the “pin” button is visible now? Thanks.
I made this recipe with all the listed ingredients in a Caldero. The flavors were phenomenal, best recipe I have come across for Rice and Peas. I will try your Jerk Chicken recipe next.
Fantastic! I am glad you loved it, Jess. Thank you for the feedback !
I grew up in Jamaica – I’m in the US now – and with everything that is going on, I *really* needed a comfort food to go with dinner tonight <3. I'm trying your recipe for the first time – it looks wonderful, and I love how you point out the flexibility of it – all the little changes that a person can make, depending on their preferences and what they have in their kitchen. Thank you!
Hi Michelle! I totally understand where you are coming from. And I know things will get better.
In the meantime, I am really looking forward to you trying out this recipe. I hope you love it too :).
Do let me know how it works out for you. Take care.
The first time I made this I used too much water as in the instructions it said to add 3 cups. I found that 2 cups was the perfect amount for the way I like my rice! This is definitely the best recipe I have found and will definitely be using it at least once a week! I used Cajun seasoning And added a bit of ground allspice and it came out amazing! Thanks again!
Awesome! I am glad you were able to tweak it to suit you, Matty! Thank you for the feedback 🙂
Hi, I can only find “Cajun” seasoning at the grocery store. No creole or jerk. Will this work?
Yes it would do just fine.
A quick note to Instapot users. I got a “BURN” warning before this dish was finished cooking. It wasn’t a big deal really. I just had to stop the process and deglaze the pot. The next time (and there will be a next time!) I’ll make sure to deglaze the pot after the sauteing and before I begin the pressure cooking cycle. I’m going to try your brown stew chicken recipe next!
Hi Shirley. This is great advice! Thank you for taking the time share :)!
I cooked the scotch bonnet whole in the rice and took out at the end. Is this right or would you chop it up
Hi Emma! It really depends on your heat tolerance. If you would like it a little other, you can just give the scotch bonnet a little squish in the pot. If you really want to go all out on the heat, then you can chop it up before adding to your pot. 🙂
Just finished making the recipe I don’t care for hot but I do like heat so I did not do scotch bonnet I just did a few shakes of red pepper flakes excellent little bit of heat no hot
Hi Decota! I am glad you were able to make this recipe work for you. Thanks for stopping by :).
The red beans came out delicious,I used fresh from scratch,First time using coconut milk and what a different I did add smoke ham southern twist and chicken broth and and touch of liq smoke .those beans are now one of my favorite.Thank you sooo much.
Oh my!! That sounds absolutely Delicious. Thanks for sharing your tips Evelyn
I just looked in my pantry and then googled Rice, Beans, Coconut Milk. This recipe popped up. I love when I find recipes that have almost all ingredients I have on hand. I’m going to fix it later this week. I will just need to substitute the pepper for a cayenne, and use spices I have on hand for the creole spice. I will let you know how it turns out!!
Awesome!! Looking forward to your feedback, Mary 🙂 !
This has become a staple in our household! Really good! The only complaint I get is that it’s too oily… I have tried less oil and cooking it down longer. Any suggestions?
Hi Kaitlyn. Try using as little oil as possible. About 1-2 tablespoons of oil. It will still turn out great! Happy Cooking 🙂 !
You need you own cooking show
Working on that! Stay tuned 🙂 !