Rice and peas is a Jamaican side dish of coconut rice mixed with red beans, perfumed with spices, and a whisper of warmth from fresh chilli. Traditionally cooked on the stove but I find it much safer to cook in the oven as coconut milk has a tendency to catch on the base.
Excellent accompaniment with all things Jamaican, Caribbean and tropical. Or eat it straight out of the pot!
Welcome back to Jamaican week!
It’s Jamaican week here on RecipeTin Eats! A week where I’m sharing a set of recipes so you can enjoy a Jamaican-themed dinner in the comfort of your own home! Here’s the menu:
🌴 Jamaican menu 🌴
Main – Jerk Fish
Side salad – Jamaican Slaw
Side – this Jamaican Coconut Rice and Peas (beans)
Dessert – rum and raisin ice cream without an ice cream maker!
Jamaican coconut rice and peas (beans!)
Rice and peas is a staple side dish in Jamaica and much of the Caribbean. Though called rice and peas, it’s actually made with beans! The reason this name came to be is because Jamaicans call red kidney beans peas – though funnily enough, other varieties of beans are called beans.
Confused?
That’s ok. All you need to know is that this coconut rice is delicious and any day it makes an appearance on your dinner plate is a good day!
What you need for Jamaican rice and peas
Remember – Jamaican’s call this dish rice and peas but it’s made with red kidney beans, not peas. So there’s no peas in sight!!!
Rice types – Long grain works best as the grains will separate best. But you can also use basmati, jasmine and medium grain rice. Recipe will also work for sushi rice (short grain rice) but the rice will be stickier (because that’s the nature of the rice).
Rice types not suitable for this recipe – brown rice, risotto (arborio), paella or faux rice (cauliflower, quinoa).
Red kidney beans – Traditionally, dried beans are used which require overnight soaking. I’ve opted for canned for convenience.
Other beans – Black beans also works and will look similar. Other beans will work fine too but will make the end dish look different..
Scotch bonnet or habanero chilli – This adds a subtle hint of heat and flavour into this dish. Authentic! But you can skip it, if you prefer not spicy.
Scotch bonnet is traditional but hard to find here in Sydney, so Habanero makes a great sub (sold at Coles, Woolies, some Harris Farms) else use a large red cayenne pepper or 1 birds eye chilli.
Coconut milk – Not all coconut milk is created equal! Cheaper = less coconut %, more water = less coconut flavour. Aim for > 70% (I use Ayam which is 89%). Check the ingredients label. Low fat – doesn’t have as good a coconut flavour. But it will work.
Dried thyme – A commonly used dried herb in Caribbean cooking.
All spice – For beautiful warmth, another ingredient that makes a regular appearance in Caribbean food! Also used in Jerk seasoning (see Jerk Fish). Substitute with mixed spice.
Bay leaf – Earthy aromatic. Fresh is best if you can, else dried.
Garlic and onion – Essential aromatics that we sauté with butter and the spices. So good!
Butter – You can use oil if you prefer, but butter is better flavour!
Note on authenticity
(Because I got some very cranky messages about the authenticity of this recipe!)
Traditionally, rice and peas is prepared on the stove using dried beans which are soaked overnight. I choose to use canned beans for convenience, and I cook the rice in the oven rather than stove because I find it is the best fuss-free, least risky way to cook rice with coconut milk.
While coconut rice can be successfully and well cooked on the stove, it does require exactness of stove strength, a good pot and certain coconut milk quantities (thin consistency but good coconut flavour, hard to find in ordinary Western grocery stores). The oven is much easier for home cooks!
Avoid the stress. Use your oven! Trust me on this. My team and I tested coconut rice over 30 times to perfect it for my cookbook. It’s taken almost 8 months before we could face a coconut rice recipe again!!
How to make Jamaican rice and peas
This recipe starts off on the stove to sauté the aromatics then is finished in the oven so your coconut rice will come out beautifully fluffy every single time. No more mushy coconut rice, ever again!
Sauté the garlic, onion, thyme, all spice, bay leaves, scotch bonnet habanero chilli until the onion is translucent – about 3 minutes.
Liquids – Add coconut, water, kidney beans and salt.
Rice – Once it comes to a simmer, add rice then give it a quick stir. Once you see bubbles breaking the surface, immediately cover then transfer to oven.
Don’t have an ovenproof pot? Transfer to a baking dish once the liquid is simmering, cover tightly with foil and add 5 minutes to the bake time (to give it time to come up to temperature in the oven).
Bake for 40 minutes. All the liquid should be absorbed (tilt to check) though you will have some coconut cream on the surface.
If you taste the rice at this stage, most grains will still have a small amount of firmness in the middle and be wetter than ideal. This self corrects in the next step when we rest!
Rest 15 minutes – Leave the pot on the counter with the lid on for 15 minutes. During this step, the rice grains will finish cooking so they are tender all the way through, and each grain of rice will absorb the liquid sitting on the surface when you first pull it out of the oven. This is what makes rice fluffy rather than ending up with a pot of mushy rice!
Usually plain rice is rested for only 10 minutes. But for coconut rice, the extra 5 minutes makes all the difference due to the thickness of the coconut milk which takes longer to be absorbed. If you only rest for 10 minutes, the grains will be slightly firmer than ideal and the surface is stickier.
Fluff and serve! Pick out the chilli and bay leave, if you want. Fluff with a rice paddle or rubber spatula, then tumble the rice into a bowl and serve!
What to serve with Jamaican rice and peas (beans!)
Today’s recipe comes as part of a set of recipes for a Jamaican dinner menu. Jerk fish for the main, a tangy tropical Jamaican Slaw, this rice and peas and rum and raisin ice cream (without an ice cream maker) for dessert! See top of post for photo of your Jamaican dinner plate.
As a Jamaican staple dish that’s popular across the Caribbean, rice and peas will be a perfect accompaniment with any dish from this region. But I wouldn’t stop there! Anything tropical or with tropical(ish!) vibes, seafood and citrus flavours would be a fitting match. Think – Huli Huli Hawaiian chicken, lime chicken, Lemon garlic pork chops, steak with chimichurri sauce (yes!) garlic prawns or a beautiful piece of fresh fish with crispy skin finished with a simple squeeze of lemon.
So many possibilities! Share your suggestions for what you’d pair this Jamaican rice with! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Jamaican rice and peas
Ingredients
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter (or 2 tbsp canola or veg oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 small onion , finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp all spice powder (sub mixed spice)
- 2 bay leaves , preferably fresh
- 1 scotch bonnet or habanero chilli – any colour (optional), keep whole (Note 1)
- 2 x 400g / 14oz cans red kidney beans , drained (Note 2)
- 1 x 400 ml / 14oz coconut milk , full fat (Note 3)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp cooking salt
- 2 cups long grain white rice (Note 4)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
- Sauté aromatics – Melt butter over medium-high heat in a medium or large ovenproof pot (Note 5). Cook garlic, onion, thyme, all spice, bay leaves, scotch bonnet until onion is translucent (~ 3 minutes).
- Add coconut milk, water, beans and salt. Once it comes to a simmer, add rice then give it a quick stir. Once you see bubbles breaking the surface, immediately cover then transfer to oven.
- Bake for 40 minutes. All liquid should be absorbed (tilt to check) though you will have some coconut cream on the surface.
- Rest – Leave the pot on the counter with the lid on for 15 minutes. Then fluff and serve!
Recipe Notes:
Life of Dozer
It’s Jamaican week. You know this had to happen…. I’m so predictable! 😂
Made this rice with your jamaican coleslaw. The rice was perfect!! I used basmati rice since that’s all I had. I was afraid to use a scotch bonnet or habanero so just used red pepper flakes instead but I think it would have been better with that flavor. I was just afraid it would end up blow your head off hot.
This rice was easy to make and so delicious. My whole family loved it. I will be making this again very soon.
Not bad, but not as flavourful as I expected.
One of my favourite healthy side dishes! Such a good one
So delicious! I served this as an entree to my vegetarian husband, and he loved it.
My entire family, including a very picky one year old, LOVED it! Thank you!
WOW! I am not even a rice person and this dish just blew my mind with how good it was. It was a hit with my hubby as well. My tiny issue is that I couldn’t taste the whole pepper’s spiciness. I used red habanero peppers. Regardless, this is an excellent dish and I can’t wait to make it again and again. Thanks, Nagi!!
The whole pepper is only for a hint of spice. If you like spicy rice, I’d suggest you pierce the pepper or slice and remove seeds but be warned….can take it to a whole ‘nother level. Lol
This rice was amazing! I love rice and beans cooked together but whenever I’ve tried to make it stove top it never comes out right. This method in the oven is genius and so easy. Definitely will be making this and trying it with other beans and spices. Thank you!
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! Thanks Nagi for another brilliant recipe, the family loved it!!
Oh my goodness, that was the best Jamaican rice and peas I have ever had – it was so delicious – every recipe I make from your website makes me look like an incredible chef LOL – my daughter in law is now obsessed with your recipes – thanks for authentic recipes – Buon Appetite!!
Naji! I have loved following you and your recipes for quite a while now. THIS recipe is truly amazing and addictive. I don’t have access to scotch bonnet peppers so I used one jalapeno. Next time I will try habanero. Thank you!
Fantastic meal !!! Fish was amazing (we cut the cayenne back 1/2). Slaw was fantastic. Can’t wait for summer to serve this to friends. And coconut rice, so delicious! Perfection all the way around. . Been following Nagi and every recipe we’ve made has been a winner. Cannot wait for my cookbook to arrive here in the States. Love the Dozer pics too.
Loved this recipe. Changed out the scotch bonnet for a teaspoon full of cayenne.
Did not have spice mix, so subbed 2 tsp Creole for that and tsp salt, was excellent. Just a touch of heat, red beans gave great flavor along side coconut.
This looks great but I’m wondering if the beans are supposed to be rinsed first, or drained, or if the whole can is used (including liquid). Also, how can we adjust the amount of water if we rinse the rice. Thx!
Hi Nagi, are the beans meant to be drained and rinsed? Or should I use the liquid as well? And should I rinse the rice? Thanks!
I would always assume drained and rinsed, unless specified otherwise.
I checked the photo of ingredients in the blog, and the beans are definitely drained.
Dang! The peas and rice, jerk fish and Jamaican slaw are perfect complements – spicy, sweet, tart and yum. I’m pretty new to the Nagi-verse and I’m here to stay. I’ve tried 4 or 5 recipes and they’re all exactly the kind of food I love – relatively simple and quick to fix and comfort food with a capital C. Can’t wait to try the rum raisin ice cream. Thanks, Nagi!
Ha ha Bill – first Marvelverse, now Nagiverse! Excellent!!
This rice dish is very tasty and so easy to make. I ate it with the Jamaican Slaw. They go so well together. I love the cook in the oven rice dishes.
I made this rice it is delicious…!!! I will do it again….!! Thank you for this great recipe..!!! 🥰🥰🥰👏👏👏
YES! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gloria! N x
Made this yesterday and it was fabulous. I offered my parents a portion to try and they ate it with an Indian curry that they said went well together. Can’t wait to make the Jamaican fish.