Jamaican Rice and Peas (or Caribbean Red Beans and Coconut Rice) is an easy and flavorful side dish that brings a fun tropical flair to your meal.
Jamaican Rice and Peas
Jamaican Rice and PeasA common side in Jamaican cooking is a dish called “Rice and Peas”. Jamaican dinners, particularly on special occasions, aren’t served with plain white rice.
No way!
They jazz up their rice with beans (traditionally Pigeon peas), coconut milk, and a lot of flavor!
What are Pigeon Peas?
Pigeon peas are small round peas that can either be found green (fresh) or brown (dried). They are often used in Latin and Caribbean cooking, and can be found canned or dried in many Latin grocery stores.
Since pigeon peas are not particularly common in all parts of the world, red beans (like kidney) are very often substituted in this Jamaican rice and beans side dish.
Caribbean Coconut Rice and Beans
What really sets Jamaican rice and peas apart is that the rice is cooked with coconut milk, aromatic herbs, and Scotch bonnet chilies.
The coconut milk gives the rice a creamy and lightly sweet flavor. While the herbs and chilies give the dish a savory spice.
But don’t worry, our recipe for rice and beans won’t have you calling for the fire department from a chili pepper overload!
Our Jamican Rice and Beans Recipe
Instead of tracking down a whole Scotch bonnet pepper for our rice and peas, we’ve made the dish a bit easier by simply adding heat from ground black pepper.
If you have hot peppers on hand, feel free to throw a whole Scotch bonnet or Habanerro pepper into the pot with the rice as it simmers.
Since the pepper is left whole, it shouldn’t add an alarming heat to the dish, rather a more subtle chili flavor and light spice. (But we’d recommend leaving out the black pepper until you taste your rice, just to be sure you like the heat.)
Serve Jamaican rice and peas with our Slow Cooker Jerk Pork or grilled, whole Jerk Chicken for a fun meal that will transport you to the island!
Jamaican Rice and Peas (or Caribbean Red Beans and Coconut Rice) is an easy and flavorful side dish that brings a fun tropical flair to your meal.
Yield 3 1/2 c
- ½ tsp unsalted butter
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 c rice, dry
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 c water
- ½ c coconut milk
- ½ c cooked red beans (kidney beans or pigeon peas)
- ½ tsp salt
- Heat butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 1-2 minutes over medium heat.
- Add rice, bay, thyme, pepper, water, and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
- Add the beans and continue to cook, covered, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and mix in the salt. Let the rice stand, covered, for 5 minutes to finish steaming.
- Taste the rice and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.
This recipe from January 2014 was updated in May 2015. We made the red beans and rice more authentic to the Jamaican flavors. Enjoy!
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy!
Arlett says
May 30, 2019 at 1:14 pmHello!
I want to make a bigger batch of this, perhaps 3 cups of rice. How much water and coconut milk should I use?
I’m a newbie!
Sarah Ozimek says
June 1, 2019 at 6:25 pmHi Arlett. If you hover over the number “6” in the servings of the recipe, you will find a handy slider that will scale the recipe for you. If you’re looking to use 3 cups of rice, just multiply every ingredient by 3. So you will need 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk. Hope this helps! Enjoy the recipe!
Carolyn says
May 22, 2019 at 6:15 pmThere are various kinds of coconut milk.
What kind/brand do you use?
Sarah Ozimek says
May 23, 2019 at 1:56 pmHi Carolyn. We use canned coconut milk for this recipe. Thai Kitchen or Goya brands are typically readily available, but we prefer to buy organic brands will less fillers when we can, like Whole Foods 365 Organic or Trader Joe’s version which doesn’t contain any additives. (You’ll also want to use the original or full fat versions and not the lite.) Hope this helps!
Lucia says
June 28, 2018 at 6:55 pmIf you think black pepper is spicy… I feel sorry for you . Other than that, the recipe looks good. I will have to add some chile pepper for my taste buds.
Sarah Ozimek says
July 1, 2018 at 1:44 pmHi Lucia. You’re right, black pepper isn’t really spicy. This dish isn’t supposed to be alarmingly spicy, rather it’s just supposed to have a hint of pepper flavor to complement the creaminess of the coconut milk. Even if you used a Scotch Bonnet chile, you’re leaving it whole and letting it simmer with the rice, so it doesn’t give too much heat. If you’d like your rice spicy, definitely feel free to add some chile pepper to get it where you like it!
Nancie says
April 10, 2019 at 1:16 pmHello Lucia…
Regarding your comment on “spicy”, there isn’t any need to be rude or condescending. Bear in mind that many people reading these cooking blogs may not have any experience or awareness with certain ingredients used in recipes. It is the prudent responsibility of the author to explain and offer comparisons that most can understand and relate to. Kudos to Sarah for her non-apologetic, classy reply, encouraging your “spicy” side! Thank you Sarah! Oh, and BTW, your recipe was spot on!
Sarah Ozimek says
April 12, 2019 at 12:23 pmThank you for your kind words Nancie! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!