Jamaican Rice and Peas is an extremely traditional and popular dish perfect for a Caribbean feast. This straightforward and easy-to-follow recipe will transform basic kidney beans and rice into the perfect authentic Jamaican side dish.
Jamaican rice and peas is a naturally vegan side dish which is considerably easy to make. It's a staple on Jamaican menus and a perfect complement to other Jamaican favorites like jerk chicken, brown stew chicken, goat curry, and so much more.
Although in some cases this dish is made with green pigeon peas, it's most often made with red kidney beans. Don't be fooled by the name. It's actually rice and beans, but nobody calls it that.
Other traditional flavorings include whole allspice berries (aka pimento seeds), thyme, garlic, onion, scallions, ginger and of course the holy grail of Jamaican ingredients, the Scotch bonnet pepper.
Ingredient notes
- Kidney Beans: Recipes that use canned cooked kidney beans are absolutely inauthentic. Although it requires extra time, use dried kidney beans and soak them overnight. This will avoid overcooked beans in your rice and peas. Also, the finished dish gets its signature color from the slow cooking of the red kidney beans, which infuses the water and coconut milk with pink tones.
- Rice: Use long grain white rice for this recipe. I have not tested this with brown rice (which isn't traditional anyway) and cannot say with any accuracy how it would turn out and how the cooking times may change.
- Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Scotch bonnet chiles are most authentic to Jamaican cuisine, however habaneros are a good substitution and are easier to find in most supermarkets. That's what I use here. Make sure to leave the pepper whole, don't cut or pierce it, and be careful it doesn't break while cooking your rice and peas, otherwise your dish can become very spicy.
- Coconut Milk: Use canned unsweetened coconut milk for maximum convenience and optimal results.
How to make it
In a medium pot, add the soaked and rinsed kidney beans and cover with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Stir in the coconut milk, onion, scallions, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper.
Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover, lower the heat and continue to simmer until the beans are just tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Check the beans periodically and be careful not to overcook them as they will continue to cook in the next step.
Stir in the rice.
Notice how the liquid has taken on a dark pinkish color from cooking the dried kidney beans. This is key!
Bring the mixture back up to a simmer, then cover and continue to cook over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, another 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and, with the lid still on, rest for about 10 minutes to allow the rice to steam.
Discard the Scotch bonnet, thyme stems, and allspice berries. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and season with additional salt if needed. Garnish rice and peas with sliced scallions and serve.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
The addition of coconut milk sometimes leaves a creamy film over the top of the rice after it's done cooking. This is totally normal and fine. Once you fluff the rice, it's distributed throughout the dish.
Even though the allspice berries are added loose to the rice, along with the thyme stems and chile, they are pretty easy to pick out and often float to the surface so you may find them right on top.
To me, one of the most important steps in making rice and peas is making sure not to overcook the beans. Taste one periodically starting around 25 to 30 minutes into cooking. I usually cook them until they are almost perfectly tender but still a few minutes shy of done. They will continue to cook with the rice, so you don't want to overdo it.
Other recipes you may like
- Jamaican Beef Patties
- Authentic Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
- Baked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
- Rasta Pasta with Jerk Chicken
- Trinidad Macaroni Pie
- Caribbean Curried Rice Pilaf with Citrus
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Jamaican Rice and Peas
Ingredients
- 1 cup (165 grams) dried kidney beans soaked overnight (or minimum 8 hours) in cool water, then drained and rinsed
- 3 cups (24 fluid ounces) water
- 1 (13.5-fluid ounce / 400 ml) can unsweetened coconut milk (preferably full-fat)
- ¾ cup finely chopped yellow or brown onion (about 1 small)
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions (green onions) (about 3 scallions), plus more for garnish
- 3 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper or habanero pepper left whole
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 5 whole allspice berries (aka pimento seeds)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups (350 grams) uncooked long-grain white rice
Instructions
- In a medium pot, add the soaked and rinsed kidney beans and cover with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in the coconut milk, onion, scallions, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover, lower the heat and continue to simmer until the beans are just tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Check the beans periodically and be careful not to overcook them as they will continue to cook in the next step.
- Stir in the rice, bring the mixture back up to a simmer, then cover and continue to cook over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, another 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and, with the lid still on, rest for about 10 minutes to allow the rice to steam. Discard the Scotch bonnet, thyme stems, and allspice berries. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and season with additional salt if needed. Garnish rice and peas with sliced scallions and serve.
Notes
- Scotch bonnet chiles are most authentic to Jamaican cuisine, however habaneros are a good substitution and are easier to find in most supermarkets. That's what I use here. Make sure to leave the pepper whole, don't cut or pierce it, and be careful it doesn't break while cooking your rice and peas, otherwise your dish can become very spicy.
- The addition of coconut milk sometimes leaves a creamy film over the top of the rice after it's done cooking. This is totally normal and fine. Once you fluff the rice, it's distributed throughout the dish.
- To me, one of the most important steps in making rice and peas is making sure not to overcook the beans. Taste one periodically starting around 25 to 30 minutes into cooking. I usually cook them until they are almost perfectly tender but still a few minutes shy of done. They will continue to cook with the rice, so you don't want to overdo it.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Gina
great recipe