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Authentic Jamaican rice and peas recipe? This Caribbean easy one pot rice and kidney beans recipe is packed full of flavor, delicious, and makes a perfect side dish. Learn how to make rice and peas from scratch.
Jamaican rice and peas is a popular rice dish in the Caribbean. It’s their most common side dish and usually served with curry goat or oxtail stew. This rice dish derived from Ghanaian Waakye is infused with coconut milk, herbs, and spices. The peas used in this dish are traditionally pigeon peas but commonly substituted with kidney beans.
Caribbeans refer to beans as peas hence the name rice and peas or peas and rice as it’s called in the Bahamas.
Rice and peas make a perfect side dish for lunch, brunch, or dinners. It is my favorite side to go with goat curry, curry chicken, Jerk chicken, and oxtail stew. It is rich in protein, carbs, and nutrients.
I love the coconut flavor and the burst of spices. Every mouthful of this Caribbean peas and rice is a pleasure and my family loves it.
Rice and Peas Recipe
This rice and peas recipe is easy, simple, and straightforward. I used raw Kidney beans for this post but you can use canned beans or use my instant pot kidney beans recipe to make it ahead and cook faster.
You can cook the beans in large quantities and store make-ahead beans in the freezer so anytime you want to make this dish you save time.
Making rice and peas from scratch can be time-consuming if you are making the coconut milk from scratch or cooking the beans, to cut down the time I use canned coconut milk and it has never failed me.
You can make this Jamaican rice and peas without coconut milk. With coconut milk or without, you will love this rice dish.
To cook this in the instant pot, check my instant pot rice and beans post.
Ingredients for Jamaican Rice and Peas
Kidney beans – Substitute with Pigeon peas.
Rice – I use easy cook long grain rice or Golden sella basmati
Coconut milk
Thyme – Fresh is best but you can use dried thyme.
Spring onions – Also known as scallions
Jerk Seasoning
All spice
Scotch bonnet
Salt
How to make Rice and Peas
This rice and beans recipe is easy to follow. First, get all the ingredients ready.
Wash the beans in warm water twice.
Add beans in a pot, add water to cover the beans by 3 inches, cover the pot, and leave to cook till soft. The beans should be soft but not mushy.
Add more water during cooking if need be to maintain 1 inch above.
When the beans are tender, add in coconut milk, jerk seasoning, spring onions, thyme, washed rice, salt, and scotch bonnet. Stir, cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
If using canned beans, add everything to the pot at the same time.
To cook it without coconut milk, substitute for water or broth.
After 30 minutes, when the rice is soft and liquid dried up, stir the rice and beans together.
Remove the spring onions and thyme.
Take off heat and serve.
What to serve with Rice and Peas
Jerk chicken
Curry chicken
How to Store
When the rice and beans is completely cooled, pour in an airtight container or Ziploc, and store
In the fridge for up to 5 days.
In the freezer – It will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat– You can reheat in the microwave or on the stove. If reheating in the microwave, reheat on high heat from frozen. If on the stove, leave to defrost/thaw then add in a pot with a bit of water and steam on low heat for about 4 minutes or till it’s heated.
Tips for making the best Rice and Peas
- If you suffer bloating from eating beans you can benefit from soaking the beans first or you can parboil the beans before adding fresh water to finish cooking.
- Precook the kidney beans or use canned beans to cut down the cooking time.
- You can use canned beans rather than cooking the beans from scratch. If you drain the canned beans the color of the rice and peas will be subtle.
- Cook the peas in a pressure cooker to cut down the cooking time.
- To cook without coconut milk, substitute with broth or water for the same quantity.
More Jamaican Recipes
Instant pot rice and beans
More Rice Recipes
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Jamaican Rice and Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Kidney beans or Pigeon peas
- 2 cups Rice easy cook long grain rice or sella basmati
- 1 400g Coconut milk canned
- 2 sprig Spring onions
- 1 sprig Thyme
- 1 tablespoon Jerk seasoning
- 1 whole Scotch bonnet
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- First, wash the beans in warm water twice. Add beans in a pot, add water to cover the beans by 3 inches, cover the pot, and leave to cook till soft. The beans should be soft but not mushy. Add more water during cooking if need be to maintain 1 inch above.
- When the beans are tender, add in coconut milk, jerk seasoning, spring onions, thyme, washed rice, salt, and scotch bonnet. Stir, cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat for 20-30 minutes. If using canned beans, add everything to the pot at the same time.To cook it without coconut milk, substitute for water or broth.
- After 30 minutes, when the rice is soft and liquid dried up, stir the rice and beans together.
- Remove the spring onions and thyme.Take off heat and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- If you suffer bloating from eating beans you can benefit from soaking the beans first or you can parboil the beans before adding fresh water to finish cooking.
- Precook the kidney beans or use canned beans to cut down the cooking time.
- You can use canned beans rather than cooking the beans from scratch. If you drain the canned beans the colour of the rice and peas will be subtle.
- Cook the peas in a pressure cooker to cut down the cooking time.
- To cook without coconut milk, substitute with broth or water for the same quantity.
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