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.
Beth R says
This recipe was easy and delish! Love love it! Will make it again and again. Followed the recipe, and turned out perfect.
Imma says
Thank you much for the lovely feedback. Stay tuned and have many more amazing recipes:)
Andrea D says
I have made this recipe so many times. It is a great staple that everyone raves about! Thank you for sharing this and your other incredible recipes.
Imma says
Aww, Thank you so much for your support. Would love to have you try my other recipe and share your experience. On a lighter note if you can spare a few moments to add ratings to the recipe it will be helpful for new readers:)
Festus McGinty says
Imma, this is a great recipe but I question your straight across substitution for the Instant Pot without using less liquid. My rice came out delicious but very wet, so if you have a lower water addition I would appreciate it greatly and change this 4 stars to 5 stars for the Instant Pot/pressure cooker version. Keep up the great work!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Festus! You can use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of broth/water if you do not like it very moist. I will be sharing my instant pot version of this recipe soon, so stay tuned :)!
Kristy moran says
I l9ve the earthy flavors in the recipe.
Imma says
Thank you, Kristy! stay tuned to have more flavourful recipe:)
Patry says
This is an AMAZING recipe!!! Oh my goodness, am I glad that I found this ❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for making this delicious food!!!
Imma says
Oh, thank you so much for your love. It’s really mesmerizing to read such feedback:) Stay tuned to have more amazing recipes:)
Joanne says
Can this be done in a rice cooker? Has anyone tried that?
Imma says
Rice cookers are quite versatile and can do more than rice. Some people even use it to cook eggs. I would sauté the onions, garlic, thyme, and hot pepper first. Then put all the ingredients in the rice cooker like you usually do, and go for it.
Ryan O says
Can you freeze this?
Imma says
Yes, you can freeze it. I do add a little water when reheating it because the rice dries out a bit.
TC says
Hi, I noticed the amount of water doesn’t change when you change the serving amount. If I make a serving of 12 should I do 4 cups of water instead of the 2-3 suggested?
TC says
Nevermind I see where the amount changes. Can’t wait to make it!
Amina says
Great to hear that. Thank you;)
Amina says
Glad to see your other comment. Sure try it and don’t forget to share your experience 🙂
Lydia says
This is IT!! I left out the scotch bonnet and unfortunately had to sub for the coconut milk too because what I had in the pantry was coconut *cream*… but I can’t wait to make this again with it! This was a hit with a picky husband and an even pickier toddler.
Amina says
Yeah, having pickier family members make cooking tougher hahaha. But happy to hear that your hubby and little one like it. Try more recipes I am sure they would love your cooking and turn out to be the easy choosers. Much love for your little one , happy family!
Smarm says
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times now (I made it exactly as written the first time round), and it’s always great and forgiving even if you do gentle, sensible tweaks – like subbing in Habanero for the Scotch Bonnet, or not using a pepper at all, or using smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. I tend to double the seasoning because my spices are pretty old and I like strong flavours.
I also add more beans for my personal preference – 2 cans of beans for 3 cups of rice, and I add the bean liquid as well (since its low sodium). I always use homemade chicken stock because it adds a nice flavour and richness.
Its a really great recipe and so easy to do. I crave it regularly!
Lynne says
I really like the flavor but the rice has too much moisture I want it to look more like the picture
Kim says
Once it’s finished cooking & the liquid has been absorbed, turn the stove off, leave the top on. It will kind of “steam” the rest of the way, maybe about 5-10 minutes & then remove the top & fluff the rice with a fork. I hope that helps. It’s how I cook regular rice.
Dexter Tucker says
this is a great recipe my family loved it will make it again
Cas says
One of my favorites!! So hearty and delicious. I really appreciate it that it doesn’t take much time to put together 🙂
Kylie says
So so good! Thanks so much. This recipe will be keeper.
Rosa says
I have made your awesome rice many, many times. Making it right now as I type this message! My whole family enjoys it every time I make it. I don’t change a thing to the recipe. I serve it with jerk chicken. Went on vacation to Playa del Carmen. Found a small Jamaican restaurant. Ordered the jerk chicken and rice. Well your rice tastes exactly like the one from that restaurant! Thanks again.