Jamaican Red Beans and Rice Recipe (Quick & Easy)
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In Jamaica, rice and peas is Sunday food, the pot that makes a meal feel finished. This Jamaican Red Beans and Rice is my weeknight way into that same bowl, built in one pot with coconut milk, kidney beans, and a Scotch bonnet.
I cook it the way I cook most things, vegetarian, and it loses nothing for it. The coconut milk and jerk seasoning carry the flavor, so there’s no gap where meat would go.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One pot, start to finish. The beans, rice, coconut milk, and broth all simmer together, so you’re washing one pot, not three.
- The coconut milk does the heavy lifting. It cooks into the rice and gives every grain a soft richness. That body is what lets this hold up as a main and not just a side.
- You control the heat. One Scotch bonnet left whole barely whispers; chopped, it climbs fast. The recipe bends to whoever’s eating.
- It reheats better than most rice dishes. The coconut keeps the grains from drying out, so day-two lunch is as good as dinner.
- Naturally vegan, no swaps needed. There’s no dairy or egg to work around. It’s plant-based as written.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need all the ingredients in the photograph below.
- Red kidney beans. In Jamaica, these are the “peas” in rice and peas. Canned, drained beans are my weeknight choice; they save the overnight soak and hold their shape through the simmer. Dried work too if you soak them overnight first. If you want beans as their own dish another night, my copycat Chipotle black beans use the same quick canned-bean route.
- Coconut milk. Use the canned kind, not the thin carton drink. The canned milk is thick enough to cook into the rice and leave it rich rather than watery. It’s the ingredient doing the real work here.
- Long-grain rice. Basmati or jasmine stays separate and fluffy. Short or medium-grain rice turns sticky in all this liquid, so it’s the one swap I’d steer you away from. For a plainer rice side on another night, my cilantro lime rice uses the same long-grain base.
- Scotch bonnet. This is the heat and the fruity, floral note behind it. One to two, depending on your crowd. Habanero is the closest stand-in if you can’t find one. Bell pepper gives you the color with none of the burn if you want it mild.
- Jerk seasoning. A shortcut to the warm, allspice-forward flavor that defines the dish. A shop blend is fine; check the label if you need it gluten-free.
- Vegetable broth. This is where the dish stays vegetarian. It cooks down into the rice alongside the coconut milk, so use one you’d happily sip.
How to Make Jamaican Red Beans and Rice
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Build the Base
Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until they soften and smell sweet. A heavy pot matters here, because a thin one scorches the coconut milk later.
Add the sliced scallions and the chopped Scotch bonnet, and cook a couple of minutes more to let everything come together.
Bloom the Seasoning
Stir in the jerk seasoning and mix until it coats everything in the pot. Letting it warm in the oil for a moment pulls more out of the spices than tipping it in with the liquid does.
Simmer It All Together
Add the drained kidney beans, rice, coconut milk, and vegetable broth, then season with salt and pepper and stir once to combine. Bring it to a boil, then drop the heat to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
The hardest part is leaving it alone. Don’t stir while it simmers, and keep the lid on; every lift lets steam out, and every stir rubs starch off the grains, which is what turns the pot gluey. Finish with fresh cilantro.
If you want to get ahead, you can chop the onion, scallions, and Scotch bonnet a day early and keep them in the fridge, which turns this into a fast weeknight pot. The rice itself is best cooked fresh; it’s quick enough that there’s little to gain from cooking it ahead.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Leave the Scotch bonnet whole for gentle heat. Chopped, the way the recipe is written, the pepper gives you real warmth spread through the dish. If you’d rather have the fragrance with barely any burn, drop the pepper in whole and unbroken instead, then fish it out before serving. It’s the move I use when I’m not sure who can take the heat.
- Rinse the rice first. A quick rinse until the water runs clear takes off surface starch and gives you separate grains rather than a sticky pot.
- Don’t stir once the rice is in. Stirring breaks the grains and releases starch, and that’s the single biggest reason a pot of rice and peas turns mushy.
- Taste before you add salt. Shop jerk blends and vegetable broth both carry salt, so season at the end once you know what the broth and seasoning have already done.
- Add a sprig of thyme. If you have fresh thyme, add a sprig with the liquid. It adds an earthy, herbal note that goes well with the coconut milk and jerk seasoning.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the kidney beans for gungo (pigeon) peas, and you’re closer to how many Jamaican cooks make it at Christmas; they hold their shape the same way, so nothing else changes. I’ve tested it both ways and like the deeper, earthier note the gungo peas bring.
- For less heat with the same aroma, use the whole-pepper method from the tips, or step down to a bell pepper and lose the burn entirely. I cook it both ways for a mixed table, so this one is tested.
- Brown rice works, but I haven’t tested it here, and it isn’t a straight swap: it needs more liquid and a longer simmer, closer to 35 to 40 minutes, so add broth as it cooks and give it time. Don’t try it with the times on the card as written.
- Fresh thyme and a pinch of allspice add a more herbal, warm flavor if your jerk blend is mild. That’s a supported tweak rather than one I’ve tested here, but both are commonly used in rice and peas and won’t change the timing.
How to Store Leftovers
Cooked rice shouldn’t sit out to cool slowly, so get the leftovers into the fridge promptly rather than leaving the pot on the stove. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours, keep them for 3 to 4 days, and freeze for up to 2 months in an airtight container. The flavor is, if anything, better the next day, once the coconut and spice have settled into the rice.
Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, to 165°F (74°C), adding a splash of water or vegetable broth to loosen the grains. The microwave or the stovetop both work; low and slow on the stove keeps it from drying at the edges.
What to Serve With Jamaican Red Beans and Rice
This is substantial enough to stand on its own, but it was built to sit beside a main, so I treat it as the anchor of a plate and build out from there. For a vegetarian protein that keeps the Caribbean thread going, jerk-spiced tofu or baked plantains do the job. When I want a second bean dish on the table, a bowl of smoky BBQ beans is an easy partner.
For something fresh against the richness, a crisp salad like my Waldorf salad cuts through, and a side of homemade French bread is there for mopping up what the rice leaves behind. If you’re building it into a bigger spread, it slots straight into a Chipotle-style burrito bowl as the beans-and-rice base.
FAQs
Almost always too much stirring or lifting the lid. Once the rice goes in, leave it covered and untouched for the full simmer; stirring rubs starch off the grains and lets the pot go gluey. Rinsing the rice first helps too.
Keep the pepper in one piece rather than chopping it, and take it out before you serve. That gives you the fruity aroma with very little burn. For no heat at all, use a bell pepper in its place.
Yes, and I usually do. Drain them and add them with the rice and liquid. Dried beans need an overnight soak and a long pre-cook, so canned is the weeknight answer.
Yes, as written. It uses coconut milk rather than dairy and has no egg, so it’s naturally plant-based. Just check that your jerk seasoning and vegetable broth have no hidden animal ingredients.
A long-grain rice like basmati or jasmine. It stays fluffy and separate in the coconut liquid, where short-grain rice turns sticky.
More Hearty Vegetarian Mains to Try
A few more from my kitchen if this one hit the spot:
- The Best Vegetarian Chili. For a cold night when I want a bowl that fills the whole kitchen with warmth, this is the pot I turn to.
- Easy Black Bean Sliders. These are what I make when I want the beans handheld, good for feeding a few people standing around the kitchen.
- The Best Veggie Burger. What I make when I want something meatier on the plate, built on lentils, black beans, and mushrooms.
- Egg Fried Rice. A faster rice dinner for a night when I’ve got cold rice to use up and a few minutes to cook.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 scallions sliced
- 1-2 Scotch bonnets chopped
- 2 teaspoons Jerk seasoning
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 1 can red beans drained
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
- cilantro sliced
Video
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottom pot to medium-high and add the oil. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the scallions and bonnets and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add the Jerk seasoning and mix until fully combined.
- Add the red beans, rice, coconut milk, vegetable broth, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Bring to boil and once it breaks boiling reduce the temperature and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has evaporated.
- Serve the rice with fresh cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
