Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Beans
Back home, Sunday dinner wasn't complete without a pot of rice and peas. This recipe for Jamaican rice and peas with canned beans gives you authentic flavor in just 30 minutes!
Learning how to make rice and peas is a step to upgrading your dinner table. It's an easy side dish to make to impress guests and it can be served with almost anything. In fact, apart from my Jamaican green seasoning, this rice and peas is probably the dish I make the most of all my authentic Jamaican recipes!
Recipe Overview: Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Beans
✅ Recipe Name: Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Beans
🕒 Ready in: 30 minutes with less than 10 minutes active prep!
👪 Serves: 6
🍽 Calories: 342 calories per serving (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: Jasmine Rice, coconut milk powder, kidney beans, allspice, butter, thyme, scallions
👌 Difficulty: Quick and Easy!
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Why You'll Love This Side!
- It's easy and quick to make! You get the flavor of authentic Jamaican rice and peas without having to soak beans overnight and cook them for hours!
- You don't need a rice cooker! This recipe shows you how to make perfect rice on the stove.
- It has a concentrated coconut flavor thanks to using coconut milk powder! Usually, you'd have to add more coconut milk if you wanted a stronger flavor, but this would make the rice sticky and mushy.
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Key Ingredients
White Jasmine rice. This rice is fragrant and doesn't cook into an overly sticky texture. You can also use basmati, but keep in mind it has a drier texture once cooked.
Dark red kidney beans. In Jamaica, we generally refer to beans as "peas"; however, an authentic Jamaican rice and peas recipe does not ever use green peas. Dark red kidney beans are the typical choice, and to make this recipe easy, canned beans are used.
Coconut milk powder. It gives a concentrated flavor without adding too much liquid, which would make the rice sticky. My favorite is this Grace brand coconut milk powder; I can usually find it in my grocery store or at my local international grocery store.
Butter. Adds richness, boosting the flavor.
Spices. Allspice, thyme, and scallions. It's important to use fresh herbs and spices for the best flavor. I like to buy whole allspice berries and grind them with a mortar and pestle right before using.
How to Make Quick Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Beans
- Step 1: Rinse the rice with lukewarm water until it runs clear.
- Step 2: Add the water, salt, and coconut milk powder and stir until there are no more clumps of the coconut milk powder.
- Step 3: Add all the other ingredients, stir, and place on the stove over high heat just until it boils.
- Step 4: Once it boils, immediately turn the heat down to low and cover. Making Jamaican rice and peas with canned beans is quick so it only needs to steam for 25 minutes undisturbed.
FAQs
Long-grain white rice, like Jasmine rice or even basmati rice work best for Jamaican-style rice and peas. Avoid short-grains like those used for sushi, paella, or risotto, as these are starchier and will give a sticky and mushy result.
Brown long-grain rice can be used, but this will require trial and error of the recipe since brown rice generally needs more water and takes longer to cook.
Rice and peas is usually made with red kidney beans - I prefer to use dark red since it gives a richer color. Sometimes, Jamaicans use gungo peas (pigeon peas) for rice and peas, but this is usually reserved for special occasions and holidays. Rice and peas with gungo peas also tends to be more mildly spiced, and it's a better pairing for curry dishes, like with this real Jamaican curry goat recipe or the best Jamaican curry chicken recipe.
Soggy rice and peas can be caused by several things, but the most common culprit is too much liquid. Excess liquid is difficult to cook off, and the extra time on the stove overcooks the rice cause it to be mushy. To prevent this, carefully measure the liquid to avoid adding too much and drain the red beans well.
I recommend using unsweetened and unflavored coconut milk beverage, coconut milk powder, or homemade coconut milk. I prefer using coconut milk powder since I can make the flavor concentrated without adding too much liquid, which will make the rice and peas soggy.
Avoid using canned coconut milk since canned options tend to have extra fat and stabilizers, and make the rice and peas extremely sticky and mushy.
Ainseanlea's Top Tips
- Use fresh herbs and spices! This is the secret to most Jamaican recipes - freshly ground allspice and fresh thyme really pack the flavor, especially for this Jamaican-style rice and peas.
- Keep the lid on the pot! Opening or removing the lid releases all the heat and steam and lengthens the time needed for the rice to cook, and can result in unevenly cooked grains.
- Don't skip rinsing the rice. Rinsing the rice gets rid of excess starch that would make the rice and peas sticky. The rice also absorbs some water and helps to cut down on cooking time.
What to Serve With Rice and Peas...
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Quick & Easy Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Beans
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Rinse rice with lukewarm water until the water runs clear.280 grams white Jasmine rice
- Add the rinsed rice to a medium pot along with the water and coconut milk. Stir only to remove any lumps of coconut milk powder.38 grams coconut milk powder, 285 mL water
- Add all the other ingredients (and Scotch bonnet pepper if using) to the pot and stir only to evenly distribute.1 fifteen-ounce can dark red kidney beans, 2 tablespoon butter, 10-12 sprigs thyme, 3 cloves garlic, 1 stalk scallion, 1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground allspice, 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- Place pot on stove over high heat just until it come to a boil.
- Once the rice begins to bubble/boil, immediately turn down to low, give a quick stir to distribute the now melted butter, cover and allow to steam uninterrupted for 25 minutes.
- Once rice is done, fluff with a fork before serving then enjoy!
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Notes
- Use freshly ground allspice. It has a stronger flavor with more depth than pre-ground allspice
- Tie the thyme together with kitchen twine so it's easier to remove the whole bouquet once the rice done.
- Keep the lid on the pot! Opening or removing the lid releases all the heat and steam, lengthening the time needed for the rice to cook, resulting in unevenly cooked grains and even mushy rice
- Do NOT use canned coconut milk. It has fat and stabilizers that will make the rice and peas sticky. If you can't find coconut milk powder, use unflavored, unsweetened coconut milk beverage. You'll likely find this next to other dairy alternatives like almond milk
If you've never had rice and peas, you need to try this recipe!! I can literally devour an entire pot in one sitting.