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 for Caribbean Rice and 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
- 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 Caribbean Rice and Beans
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
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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.
Nattralg says
I usually just make my own version but I got a request from a friend for beans and rice Caribbean style, found this recipe and it came out great. It’s very tasty and I friend was pleased. Thanks
Aaron says
Great recipe, easy method to follow, I made it with white basmati rice and used sweet pepper instead of the scotch bonnet, as the curry goat I served with it was already packing a punch, came out delicious, great flavours! My Jamaican Grandma was very impressed! Saved and will be using regularly! Many thanks!
Nini says
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s amazing. I always use chicken broth and the coconut milk, and always leave out the scotch bonnet pepper….ion like spicy lol
Heather L. says
Imma – you are fantastic! I found your website through this recipe and not only has this become a staple for us, but I love exploring and trying your other recipes. I share your site whenever I can. Just delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
HI Heather! Thanks for sharing! Glad you liked my recipes!
Bonice says
I absolutely LOVE this recipe and the flavor. I happen to be a huge fan of Caribbean food- across countries and this was authentic. I added a little coconut flake too . Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Bonice! Thank you! And I am so happy you liked it! I love Caribbean too!
Lisa Harley says
Can I use scotch bonnet pepper instead of the actual
Scotch bonnet pepper? I’m unable to find it.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Lisa! If you mean what to substitute with scotch bonnet pepper, you can use Cayenne Pepper, Fresno Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Pequin Peppers, Serrano Peppers, or Thai Peppers.
Lisa Harley says
I have the scotch bonnet pepper sauce because I couldn’t find the pepper. Would that work or should I just use a green pepper I have?
ImmaculateBites says
You can use approximately 1/4 teaspoon of it. Alternatively, you can also use Jalapeño or serrano peppers.
Lisa Harley says
This was awesome!!! Made it tonight!!! So fragrant and full of flavor! Thank you!!
D says
Thanks imma. Made this a few times now along with the curried goat. In one word “ Incredible “
Sierra says
Delicious, I added 1 stalk of celery, 1 orange bell pepper, Aleppo pepper (dried) instead of scotch bonnet, and whole onion instead of half. My husband said it’s one of the best things I’ve made.
Jasmin says
I recently found your site through Pinterest and I am so happy I did. This dish was amazingly delicious! My mom and husband raved about it. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you!!!!
Sue Kubecka says
I’m looking forward shortly to trying this recipe as I was privileged enuf to live in the Carribbean some time ago. Now I’m in a small town in Texas and items such as coconut milk and scotch bonnet are not available in my one store Texan town and I hate to use just plain milk. Any advice to make this recipe almost as good?
Sandra Sego says
Hi Sue, you can order both from websites like Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/ORGANICALLY-Scotch-Jamaican-Heirloom-Non-GMO/dp/B07KQ11GJY/
https://smile.amazon.com/Thai-Kitchen-Organic-Coconut-Unsweetened/dp/B00M8VSKW4/
Karen Andrews says
Sue Kubecka, I keep a small bottle of Coconut extract and add just a couple drops to a cup of regular or plant-based milk. (I usually use soy milk since I can’t tolerate dairy.) The coconut extract might be with the vanilla extracts; hopefully your store carries one. With this substitution, I can always make coconut milk and don’t have to worry about buying separate cans from an online source. One bottle of extract lasts a long time. Good luck!
Amina says
Thank you for sharing your story. It’s always good to know substitutes that turn well for the recipe.
Amanda Brown says
I was never much of a cook before. I made this rice to go with jerk chicken. It came out so good I pat my own self on the back! I’ve made this recipe several times since and it always come out delicious.
ImmaculateBites says
Nice nice! I am happy to know that the recipe works well for you!
Rhys says
This has become one of my go-to recipes! The taste is amazing and that creole spice is awesome
I use Brown Basmati rice and it’s amazing, and obviously healthier as its whole Grains
Jones c says
Is the red kidney beans the already cooked version or do they need to be raw?
Linda says
This is excellent!!!! Everyone loves it!!!
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Linda! I have another Beans recipe that you might want to give a try, too – Southern Baked Beans with Bacon 🙂
Lauren Ann says
This rice was absolutely incredible! I didn’t have a scotch bonnet pepper but I did have scotch bonnet hot sauce and was able to sub that in. Will definitely be adding this to my rotation of dishes
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Lauren! Enjoy! 🙂
Rebka says
I just made this. Followed the recipe exactly and used Habanero peppers. It’s is sooooooo good!
Thank you for the recipe ❤